- 1. SoftBank invests 1.5 trillion yen ($10B) in new AI unit for chips and clouds.
- 2. Japan cloud market hits $25B annually, led by AWS (32%) and Azure (22%).
- 3. Initiative localizes 30% of semiconductors by 2028 amid geopolitical shifts.
SoftBank Group launched the SoftBank AI unit on April 13, 2026, in Tokyo. It invests 1.5 trillion yen ($10B) in domestic AI semiconductors and cloud technology to cut reliance on U.S. providers like AWS and Microsoft Azure.
Japan's government mandated domestic AI infrastructure in 2024 for data sovereignty, per Nikkei Asia. Foreign clouds handle 70% of Japanese workloads.
SoftBank AI Unit's 1.5 Trillion Yen Investment Targets AI Chips
Masayoshi Son, SoftBank Chairman and CEO, called the unit "a firewall for Japan's digital future" at the Tokyo event.
Engineers develop custom AI semiconductors in Tsukuba Science City. Mass production starts at a Kumamoto fab by late 2027 using 2nm processes.
SoftBank shares climbed 2.1% on the Tokyo Stock Exchange post-announcement.
Japan's $25 Billion Cloud Market Needs Local Options
Japanese firms spend $25 billion annually on cloud services. AWS holds 32% share, Azure 22%, per Statista.
The SoftBank AI unit partners with NEC and Fujitsu on hybrid clouds. These serve clients like Toyota in autonomous vehicles with edge AI.
Yukari Iwasaki, Nikkei Asia tech reporter, said: "This protects Japanese firms from U.S. AI chip export controls."
Financial Gains and ASEAN Expansion Ahead
SoftBank plans ASEAN exports from the unit. Nomura forecasts 15% of the $8 billion regional cloud market by 2030.
Kenji Hirose, Nomura senior analyst, told Reuters Japanese AI startup VC funding rose 40% last quarter, signaling tech sovereignty confidence.
SoftBank's Vision Fund eyes AI-blockchain investments amid market volatility.
Geopolitics Fuels Semiconductor Push
Japan imports 90% of semiconductors, per METI. The SoftBank AI unit targets 30% localization by 2028.
It counters U.S.-China trade bans on chips like NVIDIA H100 GPUs, which hit supplies in 2023-2025.
The unit commits to carbon-neutral data centers using geothermal power near Fukushima, supporting 2050 net-zero goals.
Global AI Infrastructure Race Heats Up
AI infrastructure spending reaches $200 billion in 2026, per McKinsey. SoftBank casts Japan as a third pole against U.S. and China giants.
Son addressed scalability at last month's UN Tokyo AI Summit. Analysts predict 10% market cap growth for SoftBank in two years.
Toyota and Mitsubishi UFJ show early interest. ASEAN plans track regional tech recovery.
This ties to Japan's $100 billion 2023 semiconductor plan. The SoftBank AI unit could reshape Asia's AI finance sector with tech autonomy.
