Softbank Corp will be among the first to build out an AI supercomputer using Nvidia's Blackwell platform. Softbank will get Nvidia's first Nvidia DGX B200 systems with plans to build out a Nvidia DGX SuperPOD supercomputer.
At Nvidia's AI Summit Japan, Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang said Softbank will use multiple products including the Grace Blackwell platform, Nvidia AI Aerial accelerated computing and Nvidia AI Enterprise software.
"With SoftBank’s significant investment in Nvidia’s full-stack AI, Omniverse and 5G AI-RAN platforms, Japan is leaping into the AI industrial revolution," said Huang.
Softbank CEO Junichi Miyakawa said the supercomputer will look to reinvent networks for AI. Softbank recently floated a debt offering to pay for the Nvidia supercomputer and other growth investments.
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Miyakawa tipped off the Nvidia news a few days before Huang spoke at Nvidia AI Summit.
Speaking on Softbank Corp.'s second quarter conference call, Miyakawa outlined the plans for the Nvidia supercomputer. Note that Softbank Corp. is the operating unit of Softbank. Softbank Group is the investment arm with the Vision Fund and equity stakes in OpenAI and others.
Miyakawa said:
"Since the end of October, our new AI computing platform, powered by Nvidia's 800, has been up and running. The number of GPUs on the platform increased to 6,000 to deliver five times better performance, which makes it one of the biggest AI platforms in Japan. We plan to increase the GPU count to 10,000 sometime in the first half of next fiscal year."
Softbank Corp. is aiming to be a leader in genAI in Japan. The company has built a large language model with 460 billion parameters focused on Japan research and development.
Miyakawa said the plan is to accelerate training for a commercial launch next fiscal year. Softbank Corp. has a consumer unit that offers mobile service with brands such as Y!Mobile, which is being converted to Softbank branding, enterprise services and integration, and fintech.
Ultimately, Softbank is investing to be Japan's genAI services provider.
More on Nvidia:
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