Recent reports reveal that the Japanese tech giant SoftBank is attempting to make a strategic move into Japan's domestic artificial intelligence industry. The current plan involves investing in the development of a "world-class" Japanese language-specific generative AI model. Over the next two years, further investments are planned to enhance its computing power, aiming to give SoftBank the strongest computing capabilities in all of Japan.
Developing an AI model of this caliber indispensably requires advanced graphics processors. SoftBank plans to address this need by purchasing from Nvidia, one of the world's leading chip manufacturers and a major beneficiary of the current AI boom.
Insiders report that this initiative is set to start in 2024, with an estimated budget of 150 billion yen (approximately 960 million USD). This plan is not SoftBank's sole venture into AI; recognizing the industry's future importance, the company had already invested 20 billion yen in computational infrastructure last year.
This investment represents the largest AI investment by a Japanese company to date. Although the global community is currently embracing the AI revolution, Japan has undeniably fallen behind leading countries due to the absence of top-tier companies with the necessary technology. SoftBank's extensive strategy could potentially fill this gap, positioning it as a leader in Japan's domestic AI industry.
The gap in Japan is currently filled by foreign companies. Last week, OpenAI announced the opening of its first office in Tokyo, and Microsoft stated plans to invest 2.9 billion USD over two years to enhance AI capabilities in Japan. Without significant domestic advancement, Japan risks being dominated by foreign corporations in this critical sector.
Aside from SoftBank, other enterprises are vying for leadership in Japan's domestic AI market. NTT, a Japanese telecommunications company, has announced plans to invest 8 trillion yen (approximately 51.7 billion USD) over the next five years to construct data centers and develop artificial intelligence.
