SoftBank inks deal after CEO promises Trump he will create US jobs

San Francisco

SOFTBANK Group Corp chief executive officer Masayoshi Son told US President-elect Donald Trump this month that he would create 50,000 jobs in the US. Money for the first 3,000 positions was announced on Monday.

Satellite startup OneWeb Ltd said that it raised US$1.2 billion from SoftBank and existing investors, with the Japanese technology company providing US$1 billion. The round will fund the development of small, low Earth orbiting satellites and pay for the construction of a facility in Florida that will churn out 15 of these devices a week, said OneWeb, based at Exploration Park, Florida, an area near Kennedy Space Center.