NVIDIA’s CEO Flies to Japan: Securing Priority Access to AI GPUs

With the United States increasingly limiting NVIDIA’s business in China, the world’s leading GPU manufacturer is now shifting its focus to Japan. As a result, NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang has held a meeting with Japanese Prime Minister Fumio Kishida to discuss Japan’s future in the AI world, which relies heavily on NVIDIA’s GPUs.

Any country wanting to make significant advancements in artificial intelligence (AI) must turn to NVIDIA. While other companies exist, it is evident that none can truly compete on an equal footing. This is why many nations are entering agreements with NVIDIA to ensure the supply of AI-accelerating GPUs for their domestic companies. These companies often struggle to access the best AI GPUs due to scarcity, but with government intervention, success becomes more attainable.

Japan has shown great interest in NVIDIA’s products and has requested an increase and consistency in GPU supply to join the AI race. In response, Jensen Huang acknowledged the high demand and promised to prioritize shipments to fulfill Japan’s needs as much as possible.

“The demand is very high, but I have pledged to the Prime Minister that we will do everything we can to prioritize Japan’s GPU needs,” Jensen Huang told the press at the Prime Minister’s official residence in Tokyo.

Thanks to this new agreement, Japan hopes to accelerate generative AI developments, benefiting local companies such as SoftBank, NEC, NTT, and Sakura Internet. NVIDIA’s CEO has also committed to supporting the growth of Japanese data centers, including AI GPU supply and the necessary equipment to build large-scale data centers for language LLM models and data training in Japan.

This news comes two months after Japan announced its intent to approve an additional budget for chip investments. The budget increase amounts to roughly $13.6 billion exclusively for chip acquisitions. Japan’s new funds will be allocated to NVIDIA and major acquisitions with TSMC and local foundry Rapidus, aiming to manufacture cutting-edge chips on the northern Japanese island of Hokkaido.

“The semiconductor industry that Japan is starting to develop and promote GPU production,” stated NVIDIA’s CEO.

This shows NVIDIA’s commitment to prioritizing Japan and providing access to their AI GPUs for the future of Japanese artificial intelligence advancements.