Japan commits $6.2bn to SoftBank-led group to build a trillion-parameter AI model
Japan's government will fund a nine-company consortium led by SoftBank, Honda, NEC, and Sony with up to $6.2 billion over five years to build a domestic, trillion-parameter foundation model for physical AI. The program targets a top-tier model by 2027, a direct state bet to keep frontier AI capability onshore as the US and China widen their lead.
Source: asia.nikkei.com ↗
Japan will provide up to 1 trillion yen ($6.16 billion) for a group of nine companies including telecom SoftBank Corp. to develop a domestic artificial intelligence foundation model
Japanese government statement
Why this matters
- → Japan funds domestic trillion-parameter AI to avoid US-China dependency.
- → Physical AI focus leverages Japanese manufacturing expertise.
- → State backing aims for 2027 frontier-tier capability parity.
Japan's AI sovereignty bet