Countries like the United States and China have taken a considerable lead in terms of artificial intelligence; and it is true that Japan is lagging behind its competitors. Once a pioneer in many technological fields, the Empire of the Rising Sun seeks to regain its place among the leading technology nations.
In this context, SoftBank Group has just reached a decisive step which will certainly mark the history of the country. The company becomes the first global player to equip itself with a supercomputer integrating NVIDIA’s powerful Blackwell architecture, thus placing Japan in an excellent position in the AI sector.
Next-generation infrastructure
The project revolves around the deployment of the DGX B200, a system combining classic processors and specialized accelerators for AI. SoftBank does not intend to stop there: an even more sophisticated version, called Grace Blackwellis already scheduled for a second deployment phase. This large-scale infrastructure will power a wide range of high-tech services across the archipelago.
This immense project is not limited to the supercomputer alone. SoftBank intends to modernize its entire telecommunications network to adapt it to the requirements of artificial intelligence. The Japanese operator has surrounded itself with leading partners: Fujitsu for its expertise in network infrastructure and Red Hat, a subsidiary of IBM, for its software solutions.
Together, they will deploy a new generation of mobile networks called AI-RANs. This new technology promises reduced energy consumption and optimized performance for future applications, whether remote robot control or autonomous vehicle management.
A national ambition taken to the highest level
The symbolism of this partnership crystallized at the NVIDIA AI Summitwhich took place in Tokyo. Masayoshi Son, the founder of SoftBank, recalled his group’s historic stake in NVIDIA (a 4.9% stake sold in early 2019). An investment which, if it had been preserved, would today represent a colossal value of 178 billion dollars. “ We will buy a lot of your chips “, promised Son to Jensen Huang, CEO of NVIDIA, emphasizing SoftBank’s determination not to miss the turn of artificial intelligence.
This private sector alliance is rooted in a national strategy, in which the Japanese state plays a very important role. Indeed, the government is currently mobilizing considerable resources to revitalize its local semiconductor production. For this, he released an envelope of 4,000 billion yen, the equivalent of 26 billion dollars.
The flagship project of this initiative, Rapidus, aims to create a state-of-the-art factory able to compete with the Taiwanese world leader, TSMC (Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company). For Masayoshi Son, these investments, although important, should be further amplified. Son told Huang at the summit: They should do more. As you say, it’s time to restart, to catch up for this revolution. We can’t miss this opportunity “. Lhe first foundations of a new technological supremacy may have just been asked.
- SoftBank launches the world’s first supercomputer with NVIDIA’s Blackwell architecture.
- The project includes modernizing SoftBank’s telecom network to create networks specifically optimized for artificial intelligence.
- The Japanese government is supporting this technological advancement with an investment of 4,000 billion yen.
