SoftBank Group has secured its position as the first customer for Nvidia’s highly anticipated Blackwell chips, marking a significant milestone in Japan’s AI ambitions. The partnership will see the construction of what the companies are calling Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer in early 2025.
The announcement was made at Nvidia’s AI summit in Tokyo on Wednesday, where CEO Jensen Huang declared, “Together we’re going to build Japan’s largest AI factory.” The Blackwell-powered supercomputer will serve multiple purposes: driving generative AI development, supporting research institutions, and providing computational resources for companies across Japan.
Beyond the supercomputer project, the two tech giants unveiled additional collaborations, including deals to provide AI services on 5G networks and create an AI marketplace for local compute. These initiatives underscore Japan’s determination to reclaim its status as a global technology and innovation leader amid concerns about lagging AI adoption.
The timing is particularly crucial for Japan, which faces demographic challenges including an aging society, severe labor shortages, and widespread overwork issues. Nvidia emphasized that the supercomputer will accelerate Japan’s AI adoption across critical sectors including telecommunications, robotics, and healthcare.
This partnership comes as demand for Nvidia’s chips has skyrocketed, with companies and countries worldwide competing to secure supplies for their AI capabilities. Nvidia’s dominant position in the AI chip market makes it a gatekeeper for organizations seeking to advance their AI infrastructure.
The Blackwell chips faced earlier concerns about potential delays of two to three months, which would have pushed shipments to Q1 2025 instead of late 2024. This delay threatened to impact major customers including Meta, Microsoft, Google, and smaller cloud providers. However, Huang assured investors in August that Nvidia would ship billions of dollars worth of Blackwell GPUs by Q4.
SoftBank’s procurement of the first Blackwell platform reflects the close relationship between Huang and SoftBank’s billionaire founder Masayoshi Son. Son, known for early investments in Alibaba and the $32 billion acquisition of chipmaker Arm in 2016, is going all-in on AI with investments spanning OpenAI and numerous other ventures globally. During the summit, the two executives displayed their camaraderie, with Huang acknowledging that SoftBank was once Nvidia’s largest shareholder and crediting Japan’s support as essential to Nvidia’s success.
Key Quotes
Together we’re going to build Japan’s largest AI factory
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang made this statement at the company’s AI summit in Tokyo, emphasizing the scale and ambition of the partnership with SoftBank to create Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer.
Nvidia would ’not be here today’ if not for Japan and its first AI supercomputer
Huang acknowledged Japan’s historical importance to Nvidia’s success during the summit, highlighting the long-standing relationship between the company and Japanese technology partners, particularly SoftBank which was once Nvidia’s largest shareholder.
Our Take
This announcement reveals how geopolitical considerations are reshaping AI infrastructure development. Rather than relying on American or Chinese cloud providers, Japan is building sovereign AI capabilities—a trend we’re seeing globally. SoftBank’s first-customer status isn’t just about technology; it’s about strategic relationships in an industry where chip access equals power. The emphasis on robotics and healthcare applications is particularly astute given Japan’s demographic crisis, suggesting AI adoption will be driven by necessity rather than novelty. What’s most telling is how Nvidia is conducting regional summits—Tokyo, Mumbai—essentially treating nations as customers in the AI arms race. This partnership could accelerate similar deals across Asia, fundamentally changing how countries approach AI infrastructure investment and potentially fragmenting the global AI ecosystem into regional powerhouses.
Why This Matters
This partnership represents a pivotal moment for both Japan’s technological resurgence and the global AI infrastructure race. Japan’s investment in AI supercomputing infrastructure addresses critical national challenges—from labor shortages to healthcare demands—while positioning the country to compete with AI leaders like the United States and China.
The deal highlights Nvidia’s unprecedented influence in the AI ecosystem, where access to cutting-edge chips has become a strategic imperative for nations and corporations alike. SoftBank securing first access to Blackwell chips demonstrates how personal relationships and early investments continue to shape the AI industry’s power dynamics.
For the broader AI industry, this signals accelerating competition among nations to build sovereign AI capabilities. Similar to Nvidia’s recent summit in Mumbai with Indian business leaders, the Tokyo announcement reflects a pattern of countries investing heavily in domestic AI infrastructure rather than relying solely on foreign cloud providers.
The focus on telecommunications, robotics, and healthcare applications also indicates where AI’s near-term economic impact will be most pronounced, particularly in societies facing demographic transitions. This could serve as a model for other developed nations confronting similar challenges.
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