SoftBank plans to invest a total of $960 million in generative AI development by 2025
Japanese operator SoftBank will invest a total of 150 billion yen ($960 million) by 2025 to equip its computing facilities with the capabilities needed to develop world-class generative artificial intelligence. Local newspapers reported that they were planning to do so. Nikkei Shimbun report.
Once this anticipated investment is completed, SoftBank aims to develop Japanese-specific generative AI with world-class performance, and SoftBank's computing power will likely be among the best in Japan, the report said. states.
of Nikkei Shimbun The report also states that graphics processing units (GPUs) will be purchased from US chip designer Nvidia. SoftBank aims to use GPUs not only for its own generative AI development, but also to lend them to other companies.
SoftBank has invested 20 billion yen in building computing infrastructure in 2023. According to the report, an additional investment of 150 billion yen will be made from 2024 to 2025.
SoftBank is currently developing a large-scale language model (LLM) as the basis for generative AI. According to the report, Japanese telecommunications companies plan to complete development of a model with 390 billion parameters in fiscal 2024, and will begin developing a high-performance model with 1 trillion parameters as early as next year. He plans to do so.
The report also highlighted that SoftBank is building the data centers needed to offer new services.
SoftBank founder and CEO Masayoshi Son reportedly said in February that he wanted to raise $100 billion for a new company focused on artificial intelligence microchips. bloomberg.
The venture, dubbed “Project Izanagi,” aims to create an AI chip company that would complement SoftBank's arm and challenge Nvidia's position in the AI chip market.
Izanagi is the Japanese god of life and creation, and Son understands to some extent the level of importance of AGI (which he sometimes refers to as the “singularity”). The last three letters of his name also make him AGI.
“Artificial general intelligence (AGI) is what all AI professionals are pursuing,” Son said. bloomberg. “But when you ask them about the detailed definitions, the numbers, the timing, the computing power, how much smarter AGI is than human intelligence, most people don't have an answer. […] I have my own answer. AGI believes he will make it happen within 10 years. ”
Project Izanagi reportedly refers to Altman's efforts to raise $5 trillion to $7 trillion to shore up global AI chip manufacturing capacity and related infrastructure and processing needs for OpenAI. This is separate from plans to work with CEO Sam Altman.
Speaking at the SoftBank World corporate conference in October 2023, Son said he believes AGI will be 10 times more intelligent than all human intelligence combined.
