SoftBank secures its first order from Blackwell! "Joining hands" with NVIDIA to build Japan's strongest AI supercomputer

Author: Li Xiaoyin

Source: Hard AI

Accelerating the AI wave! SoftBank becomes the first supercomputer client of NVIDIA's Blackwell chip.

Earlier on Wednesday, NVIDIA announced a series of collaborations with Japanese telecom giant SoftBank at the NVIDIA AI Summit held in Tokyo, including building AI infrastructure in Japan and the largest AI factory, aimed at accelerating Japan's sovereign AI program.

The two parties announced that SoftBank plans to build "Japan's most powerful" AI supercomputer based on NVIDIA's Blackwell architecture B200 GPU to support a wide range of local services, with construction set to begin in early 2025.

NVIDIA founder and CEO Jensen Huang stated in a previously released announcement:

"Japanese companies will benefit immensely from the AI-driven new industrial revolution, and employees will enhance their speed and productivity through AI agents automating their work. Future industrial companies will operate dual factories, with the new AI factory primarily focused on creating software intelligence for the production processes of current products and machines."

Additionally, SoftBank will provide AI services over cellular networks based on NVIDIA equipment, as traditional hardware is not the best choice for delivering AI services while maximizing mobile data traffic.

Huang stated at the conference:

"This will be an AI grid across Japan, transforming the communication network into an AI network."

The two companies also announced that they have begun trialing the world's first artificial intelligence and 5G telecommunications network, capable of running AI and 5G workloads simultaneously, also known as AI Radio Access Network (AI-RAN).

According to Huang, the new AI-RAN will be better suited to power remote robotics, autonomous vehicles, and other services while consuming less energy.

Masayoshi Son stated that SoftBank is investing heavily in building data centers in Japan, pressing the "restart button" on Japan's technological development:

"Japan cannot miss this round of AI development; we need infrastructure."

Analysts noted that the 4.9% stake in NVIDIA held by SoftBank at the beginning of 2019 provided it with a first-mover advantage in "seizing" GPUs. In the latest financial report released the day before, SoftBank reported that its Vision Fund has turned profitable, achieving better-than-expected earnings due to the rising valuations of its invested tech companies.

On Monday, Japan's newly appointed Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba also announced that over $65 billion would be provided to support Japan's semiconductor and artificial intelligence (AI) industries, stating that he hopes this funding will drive over 50 trillion yen in public and private investment over the next decade.

Previously, the Japanese government had allocated about 4 trillion yen in a supplementary budget to revitalize the semiconductor industry.

As of the time of publication, SoftBank's stock price fell 2.76% in Tokyo.