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Japanese technology giant Softbank is investing $1bn (£806m) in US space start-up OneWeb.

Softbank founder Masayoshi Son said it was the "first step" in a pledge made to US President-elect Donald Trump about US investment.

OneWeb is working on satellites that will help bring faster internet to developing countries.

Softbank's investment will give it a 40% stake in the Florida-based firm, making it the biggest shareholder.

The deal will create about 3,000 jobs.

Earlier this month Mr Son met Mr Trump and said he would put $50bn into US businesses and create 50,000 jobs over the next four years,

Florida-based OneWeb, which is a direct rival to Elon Musk's SpaceX, is now estimated to be worth around $2.5bn following its latest funding round. It also received another $200m from existing investors including Airbus, Virgin, India's Bharti and chipmaker Qualcomm.

"SoftBank has a long history of investing in disruptive, foundational technologies that promise to help us realize the future sooner," Mr Son .

"OneWeb is a tremendously exciting company poised to transform internet access around the world. America has always been at the forefront of innovation and technological development and we are thrilled to be playing a part in continuing to drive that growth as we work to create a truly globally connected ecosystem."

Mr Son is known to have an eye for potentially transformative industries and trends. He was an early investor in Alibaba and saw the potential in e-commerce before anyone else did.

He has also embarked on an aggressive spending spree aimed at expanding Softbank's footprint in the so-called Internet of Things, which will see billions of devices becoming interconnected.

Softbank acquired UK technology firm ARM Holdings in July for $32bn. The Cambridge-based firm designs microchips used in many smartphones, including those of Apple and South Korea's Samsung.

It has previously bought Vodafone's Japanese operations and the US telecoms company Sprint. The $20bn deal was the biggest foreign acquisition by a Japanese firm at the time.

In October, Softbank also partnered with Saudi Arabia's sovereign wealth fund to launch a technology fund worth as much as $100bn.