Which companies are part of the Noetra consortium?

The Noetra consortium includes SoftBank Corp., Sony, NEC, and Honda. The project is also supported by 44 additional companies and organizations, including the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).

What are the primary goals of Japan’s new AI infrastructure?

The infrastructure will train multimodal AI models, enable robotics, support digital twins, and drive industrial automation. The project aims to develop models with trillions of parameters capable of processing text, images, video, and audio.

What is the budget for the FRONTia project?

The first-year funding is estimated at ¥387.3 billion ($2.4 billion), with the total five-year budget potentially reaching ¥1 trillion ($6.1 billion). The final amount will depend on annual reviews.

← All news

Artificial intelligence

Japan and Nvidia Build National AI Infrastructure with 27,500 Rubin GPUs

July 16, 2026

Photo: Tom's Hardware

Quick answer

Japan and Nvidia are constructing the world’s first national AI infrastructure with 27,500 Rubin GPUs, delivering 140 MW of compute power for training trillion-parameter multimodal models and advancing industrial…

Japan has launched the world’s first national AI infrastructure in partnership with Nvidia. The project, led by the Noetra consortium, will establish an "AI factory" with a 140 MW capacity, powered by 27,500 Nvidia Rubin GPUs and 13,750 Vera CPUs. This infrastructure will underpin the FRONTia initiative, a government-backed program focused on advancing embodied AI.

The consortium includes SoftBank Corp., Sony, NEC, and Honda, with 44 participants and government support contributing ¥387.3 billion ($2.4 billion) in the first year. By 2030, the project’s budget could grow to ¥1 trillion ($6.1 billion), pending annual reviews.

The infrastructure will run on Nvidia’s DSX platform, utilizing Vera Rubin NVL72 racks, each containing 72 Rubin GPUs and 36 Vera CPUs. Equipment costs alone may exceed $2.7 billion based on current VR200 NVL72 pricing. The project will focus on training multimodal models for robotics, digital twins, and industrial automation.

Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang highlighted that Japan’s "AI factories" will spearhead a new industrial revolution. Deployment is scheduled to begin in 2026, with full-scale rollout expected by 2030. The initiative aims to develop trillion-parameter models capable of handling text, images, video, and audio.

The FRONTia project marks Japan’s first national tender for AI infrastructure, distinct from corporate or academic initiatives like the FugakuNEXT supercomputer. The country aims to capture over 30% of the global AI robotics market by 2040, valued at $133 billion.

Common questions

Which companies are part of the Noetra consortium?: The Noetra consortium includes SoftBank Corp., Sony, NEC, and Honda. The project is also supported by 44 additional companies and organizations, including the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST).
What are the primary goals of Japan’s new AI infrastructure?: The infrastructure will train multimodal AI models, enable robotics, support digital twins, and drive industrial automation. The project aims to develop models with trillions of parameters capable of processing text, images, video, and audio.
What is the budget for the FRONTia project?: The first-year funding is estimated at ¥387.3 billion ($2.4 billion), with the total five-year budget potentially reaching ¥1 trillion ($6.1 billion). The final amount will depend on annual reviews.

Dzen feed: /feed/dzen.xml · RSS: /feed.xml