Nvidia chief Jensen Huang says company to work with local companies to build network of AI chip plants in Japan.
Nvidia is to collaborate with local companies to build a network of semiconductor manufacturing facilities in Japan to meet demand for artificial intelligence-oriented graphics chips, Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang said on Tuesday.
Huang also said Nvidia, which is by far the leading supplier of chips for training AI tools, would work with Japan to support domestic start-ups in the highly competitive AI sector.
AI has become an investment hotspot over the past year after the popularity of generative AI tools surged with the launch of OpenAI's ChatGPT. Worldwide demand for AI infrastructure including Nvidia GPUs has sent Nvidia's share price soaring and has led a number of countries to prioritise the technology as critical national infrastructure.
The US in October introduced new sanctions aimed at preventing China from obtaining high-end AI processors and the manufacturing technology from developing such chips itself.
US commerce secretary Gina Raimondo in a speech on Saturday criticised Nvidia for making GPUs that could be sold to China in compliance with US restrictions but were capable of performing AI training tasks.
Japan and other countries have made efforts to localise production of GPUs and other high-end chips in their own countries rather than in Taiwan, which manufactures about 90 percent of all advanced semiconductors.
Japan recently passed an extra budget that included about 2 trillion yen in funding for chip investment and manufacturing, including support for a third Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co factory in Japan that is to focus on making high-end AI chips.
The funding is also expected to support chip foundry venture Rapidus, which intends to manufacture high-end chips in Japan's northern island of Hokkaido.
This Cyber News was published on www.silicon.co.uk. Publication date: Tue, 05 Dec 2023 12:13:06 +0000