SoftBank buys Foxconn’s Ohio factory for Stargate AI
The mystery buyer behind Foxconn’s recent sale of its Lordstown, Ohio factory has been revealed — and it’s not another automaker. According to Bloomberg News, Japanese tech investment giant SoftBank has acquired the facility, with plans to convert it into a hub for building AI servers as part of the ambitious “Stargate” data center project, a joint effort with OpenAI and Oracle.
Foxconn announced the sale earlier this week, identifying the buyer only as “Crescent Dune LLC,” a Delaware-based entity formed in late July. The transaction also included the factory’s electric vehicle manufacturing equipment. Neither Foxconn nor SoftBank has commented publicly on the deal.
An EV Dream Cut Short
The Lordstown plant — once a General Motors facility — was purchased by Foxconn in late 2021 from EV startup Lordstown Motors, with grand plans to turn it into a leading North American hub for electric vehicle manufacturing and R&D. But the venture quickly unraveled.
Lordstown Motors filed for bankruptcy in 2023, and other Foxconn customers, including Fisker Inc. and California-based IndiEV, also went out of business. That left just one remaining contract manufacturing client: Monarch Tractor, a California startup developing electric and autonomous farm equipment. Monarch’s future at the facility is now uncertain, and CEO Praveen Penmesta has not responded to requests for comment.
From EVs to AI Servers
SoftBank’s reported purchase marks a dramatic shift in the plant’s purpose — from building electric trucks to producing infrastructure for artificial intelligence. The factory is expected to play a role in Stargate, a multi-billion-dollar data center initiative announced the day after Donald Trump’s inauguration. The project already includes a massive site under construction in Texas, but its backers have signaled interest in expanding to other states and abroad.
However, progress hasn’t been smooth. A Bloomberg report in May indicated that SoftBank was struggling to secure funding for Stargate, with development already slowed by Trump-era trade disputes.
The Lordstown acquisition could give the project a manufacturing foothold in the Midwest, potentially tapping into the region’s industrial workforce and logistics network. But with questions surrounding financing — and what will happen to Monarch Tractor’s operations — the factory’s next chapter remains as uncertain as its last.
