“50 Times Bigger Than the Dot-Com Boom”

Dear Reader,

This is Simmy Adelman with Behind the Markets.

Happy Wednesday. Today is Wednesday, June 3rd.

I want to talk about something Masayoshi Son said yesterday that stopped me in my tracks.

"50 Times Bigger Than the Dot-Com Boom"

Son is the CEO of SoftBank — one of the largest technology investment firms in the world.

He was speaking to CNBC in Paris, a day after SoftBank announced it is investing $87 billion to build AI infrastructure across France — including 5 gigawatts of AI data center capacity.

That is SoftBank's largest AI infrastructure commitment in Europe.

And in that interview, Son said this:

"I think this is like more than 10x, probably 50x bigger than dot-com."

He called the AI revolution "the biggest revolution of technology and realization that mankind ever experienced."

And he said we are "just at the beginning" of a technological transformation that could last 50 to 100 years.

Think About What That Actually Means

The dot-com boom minted an entire generation of millionaires.

Amazon went from a $438 million valuation at IPO to nearly $3 trillion today.

Microsoft. Google. Apple.

The companies that survived the dot-com crash and came out the other side went on to become the most valuable businesses in the history of capitalism.

And Son is saying AI is 50 times bigger than that.

What About the Bubble Fears?

Son was asked directly about the AI bubble concerns.

His answer was interesting.

He said corrections are inevitable — they always are — but he drew a parallel to the 1929 crash.

Auto stocks and electronics stocks got crushed in 1929.

And then they went on to deliver decades of extraordinary growth.

"So there may be some correction," he said, "but that will be the best investment opportunity to me."

I find that compelling.

Not because I think corrections don't matter — they do — but because Son is making a distinction between the short-term noise and the long-term signal.

The signal here is unmistakable.

Where Son Sees the Next Trillion-Dollar Opportunity

When asked what excites him most right now, Son didn't hesitate.

Physical AI.

And I KNOW you’ve heard this from us at this point.

We put out a breakthrough report about the “E.I. Era” - the next logical evolution of AI, where it jumps out of chatbots and into the physical world.

Humanoid and industrial robotics, with physical AI as the core.

SoftBank already acquired the robotics division of Swiss engineering firm ABB for $5.4 billion last October.

They own a significant stake in ARM Holdings — which is becoming an increasingly major AI player.

They are one of the largest investors in OpenAI.

And now they're committing $87 billion to AI infrastructure in France alone.

This is not a man hedging his bets.

This is a man going all in.

What I Take From This

We have been saying for a long time here that we are in the early innings of something historic.

The SaaSpocalypse fears we discussed yesterday? Overblown — the dominant companies are adapting and growing.

The bond market concerns? Real, and worth watching.

But the underlying AI megatrend?

Masayoshi Son — one of the most successful technology investors in history, the man who put $20 million into Alibaba before anyone knew what it was and turned it into $50 billion — is now committing $87 billion in a single European country.

That tells you something.

The correction may come.

And if it does, it could be the best investment opportunity of the decade.

Anyway, that's all I have for you today.

Have a great Wednesday.

I will see you tomorrow.

All the best,

Simmy Adelman, Editor-in-Chief

Behind the Markets