SoftBank is planning a supercomputer with Nvidia Blackwell chips: A breakthrough for the Japanese AI market

SoftBank Group Corp. has announced an ambitious project - to create Japan's most powerful AI supercomputer based on the next-generation Blackwell chips from Nvidia Corp. The move is a testament to SoftBank's determination to catch up with global leaders in AI and become a key player in the AI technology field.

SoftBank, Japan's third-largest mobile operator, has joined forces with US-based Nvidia $NVDA to carry out a project that promises to push the country's technology level. The supercomputer will be built on Nvidia's DGX B200 system, a solution combining processors with accelerators specialised in processing large data volumes, which is essential for the efficient operation of AI models. The next phase of the project is to develop an even more powerful system based on Grace Blackwell technology, the latest and most advanced version of Nvidia's chips to date.

Shares of SoftBank Corp. reacted to the news by rising 1%, while parent company SoftBank Group lost 1.7%. The announcement…