The group’s telecom unit, Softbank Corp, plans to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer to support local services, it said. Nvidia Corp chief executive officer Jensen Huang, left, and Softbank Group founder Masayoshi Son interact at the Nvidia AI Summit Japan in Tokyo yesterday. The announcement indicates that Softbank Group, which until early 2019 owned 4.9 percent of Nvidia, has secured a favorable spot in line for the AI chips. Softbank Group founder Masayoshi Son has said he is preparing to “swing for the fences” in AI bets. Traditional hardware, based on custom chips that are designed to maximize mobile data traffic, is not optimal for new AI services.
