SoftBank Reportedly Acquires Foxconn’s Ohio Factory for Stargate AI Project

The mystery surrounding the new owner of Foxconn's former General Motors factory in Lordstown, Ohio, appears to be solved. According to Bloomberg News, SoftBank is the entity behind the purchase. The Japanese conglomerate plans to use the factory as part of its ambitious Stargate data center project alongside OpenAI and Oracle.

This acquisition follows closely on the heels of Foxconn's announcement that it sold the factory and its electric vehicle production equipment to a company called “Crescent Dune LLC,” a business established in Delaware just last month. However, neither Foxconn nor SoftBank have commented on the transaction yet.

Questions remain about the implications for the California-based startup Monarch Tractor, which specializes in electric and autonomous farming machinery. Monarch Tractor was the only remaining client of Foxconn's contract manufacturing operations at the Ohio site after several other potential clients filed for bankruptcy.

The Stargate project was first announced shortly after Donald Trump was inaugurated. It involves building a major data center in Texas with plans for further expansion in other states and countries. However, difficulties have arisen, including issues with securing financing and complications from trade tensions during Trump's administration.

Previously, Foxconn acquired the factory from the electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors in late 2021, with ambitions to transform it into a major hub for electric vehicle manufacturing and R&D in North America. The sale finalized in 2022, but within a year, Lordstown Motors faced bankruptcy, joined by the failures of other potential partners like Fisker Inc. and IndiEV.