US technology company Nvidia and Fujitsu, a Japanese telecommunications and computer maker, agreed Friday to work together on artificial intelligence to deliver smart robots and a variety of other innovations using Nvidia's computer chips.
“The AI industrial revolution has already begun. Building the infrastructure to power it is essential in Japan and around the world,” Nvidia Chief Executive Jensen Huang said, hugging his Fujitsu counterpart Takahito Tokita on stage.
“Japan can lead the world in AI and robotics,” Huang told reporters at a Tokyo hotel.
The companies will work together on building what they called “an AI infrastructure,” or the system on which the various futuristic AI uses will be based, including health care, manufacturing, the environment, next-generation computing and customer services. The hope is to establish that AI infrastructure for Japan by 2030.
It initially will be tailored for the Japanese market, leveraging Fujitsu’s decades-long experience here, but may later expand globally, and will utilize Nvidia’s GPUs, or graphics processing units, which are essential for AI, according to both sides.
The two executives did not outline specific projects or give a monetary figure for planned investments. But exploring a collaboration in AI for robots with Yaskawa Electric Corp., a Japanese machinery and robot maker, was noted as a possible example. AI will be constantly evolving and learning, they said.
Fujitsu and Nvidia have been working together on AI, speeding up manufacturing with digital twins and robotics to tackle aging Japan’s labor shortages.
Tokita said the companies were taking a “humancentric” approach aimed at keeping Japan competitive.
“Through our collaboration with Nvidia, we aim to create new, unprecedented technologies and contribute to solving even more serious social issues,” said Tokita.
