Nvidia plans network of chip plants in Japan to meet AI demand

NVIDIA will build a network of semiconductor plants in Japan in partnership with the country’s companies to meet the demand for artificial intelligence (AI)-powering graphics chips, chief executive officer Jensen Huang said.

“Japan has all of the technical expertise, the industrial capability to create your own artificial intelligence right here in Japan,” Huang said during opening remarks in a meeting with Japanese Economy Minister Yasutoshi Nishimura on Tuesday (Dec 5). Nvidia will help the country foster more AI startups, he said.

Nvidia’s graphics chips, which process large amounts of data by performing calculations in parallel, have become the go-to tool for training AI services. Prices have surged as companies and governments fight to develop their own AI prowess.

Tokyo is trying to entice investment in the production of cutting-edge semiconductors critical to future technologies. Prime Minister Fumio Kishida’s administration has offered billions of US dollars to support Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing, the industry leader in advanced chip production, as well as Rapidus, a local startup that aims to compete in high-end chip production.

Huang met with Kishida earlier this week and told the Japanese premier that demand for Nvidia GPUs was high, but that he would do his best to prioritise Japan, according to local news reports. BLOOMBERG