SoftBank pledges $960M for AI development
TOKYO, JAPAN — Telecom giant SoftBank Group is investing a staggering 150 billion yen (US$960 million) by 2025 to supercharge its computing facilities, in an ambitious bid to establish Japan’s prowess in the rapidly evolving generative artificial intelligence (GenAI) landscape.
Following a ¥20 billion expenditure last year, the investment positions SoftBank to possess potentially the strongest computing capabilities in Japan, Nikkei Asia reported.
Powering AI with Nvidia GPUs
The company plans to purchase advanced graphics processing units (GPUs) from U.S. chipmaker Nvidia, which are essential for training large language models similar to OpenAI’s ChatGPT.
These high-performance GPUs will not only power SoftBank’s own generative AI development but will also be loaned to other companies, fostering a collaborative ecosystem.
This move by SoftBank is seen as a significant step to compete in the global AI market, where it faces competitors like OpenAI and Microsoft, both expanding their operations in Japan.
Softbank closing the generative AI gap
Currently, U.S. tech giants like OpenAI dominate the generative AI landscape, leaving Japanese companies playing catch-up. SoftBank’s investment, believed to be the largest of its kind in Japan, could help close this gap.
As SoftBank continues to expand its AI data centers across Japan, including a new project in Hokkaido, it reinforces its commitment to becoming a dominant force in the AI industry.
According to Statista, the Japanese generative AI market is projected to grow to around $13 billion by 2030, a 17-fold increase from 2023.
This move by SoftBank is seen as a significant step to compete in the global AI market, where it faces competitors like OpenAI and Microsoft, both expanding their operations in Japan.
With OpenAI recently announcing its first Asian office in Tokyo and Microsoft investing $3 billion in Japanese cloud computing and AI infrastructure, the race for AI supremacy in Japan is heating up.
