SoftBank partners with Nvidia and Foxconn to build homegrown AI servers in Japan
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SoftBank in talks with Nvidia to build homegrown AI servers, Nikkei reports
May 8 (Reuters) - Japan's SoftBank Corp (9434.T), opens new tab has begun discussions with U.S. chip giant Nvidia and Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn as the conglomerate weighs plans to build homegrown artificial intelligence servers, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday. SoftBank is considering starting design and component assembly by the end of the decade, Nikkei added. Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara Our Standards: The Thomson Reuters Trust Principles., opens new tab
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SoftBank explores homegrown AI servers with Nvidia, Foxconn: Report
SoftBank is exploring plans to manufacture artificial intelligence servers within Japan. The company is in talks with chip giant Nvidia and contract manufacturer Foxconn. Initially, SoftBank aims to assemble components sourced from abroad. This initiative is part of SoftBank's upcoming medium-term management plan. The focus will be on high-performance servers for advanced AI applications. SoftBank Corp has begun discussions with U.S. chip giant Nvidia and Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn as it weighs plans to build "made-in-Japan" artificial intelligence servers, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday. The Japanese telecom company wants to build a production system by initially assembling externally sourced components by the end of the decade, before eventually taking charge of the entire server manufacturing process, Nikkei added. The unit will focus on high-performance servers capable of running advanced graphics processing units at high speeds, the report also said. The project will be part of SoftBank's medium-term management plan, which, according to Nikkei, could be announced as soon as Monday. The development comes after Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank Group poured in more than $30 billion in investments in OpenAI so far, for about an 11% stake, in an "all-in" bet that it will emerge as a winner in the battle among developers of large language models.
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Japan's SoftBank explores homegrown AI servers with Nvidia, Foxconn, Nikkei reports
May 8 (Reuters) - SoftBank Corp has begun discussions with U.S. chip giant Nvidia and Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn as it weighs plans to build "made-in-Japan" artificial intelligence servers, the Nikkei newspaper reported on Friday. The Japanese telecom company wants to build a production system by initially assembling externally sourced components by the end of the decade, before eventually taking charge of the entire server manufacturing process, Nikkei added. The unit will focus on high-performance servers capable of running advanced graphics processing units at high speeds, the report also said. The project will be part of SoftBank's medium-term management plan, which, according to Nikkei, could be announced as soon as Monday. The development comes after Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank Group poured in more than $30 billion in investments in OpenAI so far, for about an 11% stake, in an "all-in" bet that it will emerge as a winner in the battle among developers of large language models. (Reporting by Shivangi Lahiri in Bengaluru; Editing by Diti Pujara)
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SoftBank Corp has initiated discussions with chip giant Nvidia and contract manufacturer Foxconn to develop made-in-Japan AI servers. The telecom company plans to start with component assembly by the decade's end before taking full control of manufacturing, focusing on high-performance servers capable of running advanced GPUs at high speeds.
SoftBank Corp Launches Ambitious AI Server Manufacturing Initiative
SoftBank Corp has begun discussions with U.S. chip giant Nvidia and Taiwanese contract manufacturer Foxconn as the Japanese telecom company weighs plans to build homegrown AI servers, according to a report by Nikkei
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. The initiative represents a significant move toward establishing domestic AI infrastructure manufacturing capabilities in Japan, with SoftBank aiming to develop a complete production system by the end of the decade2
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Source: Reuters
Building a Production System from Component Assembly to Full Manufacturing
The company's strategy involves a phased approach to developing its manufacturing capabilities. Initially, SoftBank plans to focus on component assembly using externally sourced parts before eventually taking charge of the entire server manufacturing process
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. This gradual transition allows the telecom giant to build expertise while partnering with established players like Nvidia and Foxconn, who bring decades of experience in chip design and contract manufacturing respectively.Focus on High-Performance Servers for Advanced AI Applications
The planned manufacturing unit will concentrate on producing high-performance servers capable of running advanced graphics processing units at high speeds, according to the Nikkei report
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. These specialized servers are essential for training and deploying large language models and other computationally intensive AI workloads. The timing aligns with growing global demand for AI infrastructure as companies race to develop and deploy advanced AI systems.Related Stories
Strategic Alignment with SoftBank's AI Investment Portfolio
The AI server project will be incorporated into SoftBank's medium-term management plan, which could be announced as soon as Monday, according to Nikkei
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. This development follows Masayoshi Son-led SoftBank Group's massive investment of more than $30 billion in OpenAI, securing approximately an 11% stake in what the company views as an all-in bet on the future of large language models2
. The server manufacturing initiative suggests SoftBank is building a vertically integrated AI ecosystem, controlling both the software investments and the hardware infrastructure needed to support them.For Japan's tech sector, this represents a potential shift toward greater self-sufficiency in critical AI infrastructure. As nations worldwide recognize AI computing power as strategic assets, SoftBank's move to establish domestic server production could reduce dependency on foreign supply chains while positioning Japan as a more competitive player in the global AI race. The collaboration between SoftBank, Nvidia, and Foxconn will be closely watched as an indicator of whether traditional tech partnerships can successfully adapt to meet the specialized demands of AI infrastructure manufacturing.
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