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

Bloomberg News reports that the unidentified purchaser of the former General Motors factory in Lordstown, Ohio, which is owned by Foxconn, appears to be SoftBank. The Japanese conglomerate plans to utilize the facility for manufacturing AI servers as part of its Stargate data center initiative in partnership with OpenAI and Oracle.

This news comes on the heels of Foxconn’s recent announcement concerning the sale of the factory and its electric vehicle manufacturing equipment to a buyer known as “Crescent Dune LLC,” a company that was established in Delaware in late July. Neither Foxconn nor Crescent Dune has yet commented on the matter.

The situation for Monarch Tractor, a California-based startup focusing on electric and autonomous agricultural machinery, remains unclear. Monarch was the only client using Foxconn’s contract manufacturing services at the Ohio facility, following the bankruptcy of three other prospective clients. Monarch CEO Praveen Penmetsa has not responded to email inquiries.

SoftBank, OpenAI, and Oracle revealed the Stargate project the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration. This initiative features a large data center under construction in Texas, with plans to establish similar infrastructure in other states and countries. In May, Bloomberg indicated that SoftBank was struggling to secure funding for the project, which was also impacted by Trump’s significant trade disputes.

Foxconn acquired the factory from the electric vehicle startup Lordstown Motors in late 2021. At that time, Foxconn chairman Young Liu expressed ambitions to transform the location into “the most important electric vehicle manufacturing and R&D hub in North America.”

The sale was completed in 2022, and merely a year later, Lordstown Motors entered bankruptcy. Other potential clients, including Fisker Inc. and California’s IndiEV, also ceased operations.