On Thursday, July 16, 2026, a consortium of 44 Japanese companies, including SoftBank, Sony, and Honda, initiated a project to develop a sovereign artificial intelligence foundation model using their own data. This collaboration aims to bolster Japan's manufacturing competitiveness amid growing AI advancements by the U.S. and China.

The Japanese government will support the initiative by purchasing 27,500 Rubin chips from Nvidia to aid the development of "physical AI." The announcement was made in Tokyo, with Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang and Japanese Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryosei Akazawa present.

This project represents a strategic effort by Japan to maintain its edge in frontier AI technologies by leveraging domestic data and industry cooperation.

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