SoftBank's Masayoshi Son recently revealed a strategic shift for Arm towards becoming an AI-centric chip company. Meanwhile, Nvidia's Jensen Huang announced an extensive collaboration with SoftBank, with plans to use the NVIDIA Grace Blackwell platform to construct the next supercomputer.
During a meeting in Japan, Son and Huang discussed their past dealings and the current trajectory of AI development. Four years ago at SoftBank World 2020, Son had praised Huang's achievements, predicting he would rival Steve Jobs in a decade. Despite earlier setbacks, both leaders are now heavily investing in AI.
Although Nvidia's acquisition of Arm fell through, Nvidia (NVDA) has emerged as a leader in AI, with Arm joining the AI chip arena, planning mass production by next fall. Both leaders are focused on leveraging AI technologies.
Son, previously Nvidia's largest shareholder, regretfully sold Nvidia stock in 2019 amidst financial pressure, missing out on significant gains. If SoftBank had maintained its stake, the shares would now be worth over $170 billion given Nvidia's stock surge.
SoftBank is actively integrating Nvidia's technologies for its AI supercomputing ambitions in Japan. It plans to use these advancements across universities, research institutions, and enterprises. Additionally, SoftBank successfully trialed a combined AI and 5G telecom network.
Japan aims to revive its semiconductor industry, capitalizing on AI developments. The government committed $650 billion in support of the semiconductor and AI sectors over the next decade. Japanese companies like Sakura are already enhancing their Nvidia-powered AI capabilities.
