Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) announced that ten of Japan’s biggest industrial names, including FANUC, Fujitsu, Sony Group and SoftBank Corp., plan to build robots and factory systems on its own physical AI software.
this advertisement It comes despite the fact that Nvidia has halved its list of authorized resellers across Asia to keep its high-end GPUs out of China.
the The Nikkei 225 fell briefly by more than 3% on July 16 before closing down 2.79%, dragged down by semiconductor stocks.
Why is Nvidia focusing on Japan?
Nvidia (NASDAQ: NVDA) has announced major partnerships with major Japanese robotics and manufacturing companies such as FANUC (TYO: 6954), Fujitsu, SoftBank (TYO: 9984), and Kawasaki Heavy. These companies build their systems on Nvidia’s Cosmos physical AI platform.
As of May, Nvidia’s combined robotics and automotive unit posted quarterly sales of $567 million, which was 72% higher than a year earlier. But the company’s robotics division represents only about 1% of its revenue.
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang believes that “the next frontier for AI will be in the physical world” and that this expansion into the country is a “once-in-a-generation opportunity for Japan.” Cryptopolitan I mentioned previously that The company’s interest in Japan This is due to its strengths in factory automation and precision engineering
The centerpiece of this Japanese expansion is the new Cosmos 3 Edge, a 4-billion-parameter model that runs directly on Nvidia’s Jetson Edge PCs, especially the newly announced Jetson T2000 and T3000 units. It allows robots to understand their surroundings and make decisions instantly without having to connect to the cloud. Developers can adapt the model to a specific robot or sensor setup in about a day.
A big part of the plan is to expand the Cosmos Alliance into Japan. More than 20 of Japan’s biggest industrial names have said they plan to join. This includes companies such as Hitachi, Kubota, NEC, and Yaskawa Electric.
Fujitsu is leading efforts with FANUC, Yaskawa and Kawasaki Heavy to build a common control platform for industrial robots. Other companies are focusing on more targeted solutions, such as Kubota, which is looking to use this technology in autonomous farming.
GROOVE In shipbuilding, Kawasaki Heavy and Nvidia will develop an AI-driven shipyard using digital twin technology to help fix the skilled labor shortage in Japan.
However, while 22 companies have been named as intending to join the Cosmos Alliance, this is merely an expression of intent, and no binding commitments or funds have been mentioned.
How do US export controls affect Nvidia’s business in Asia?
While it is ramping up its robotics ambitions in Japan, Nvidia is simultaneously tightening controls on who can buy its chips in the rest of Asia. The company reduced its list of authorized Asian distributors by more than half and imposed stricter vetting rules in key countries such as Japan, Singapore and Malaysia. Cryptopolitan I mentioned This new, more stringent process has already closed more than 50% of previous buyers.
The process now includes on-site data center audits, customer contract verification, and user interviews, with the U.S. Department of Commerce overseeing.
This campaign is a direct response to pressure from Washington to prevent the smuggling of advanced Nvidia chips into China. In March, a co-founder of Super Micro Computer (NASDAQ: SMCI) was indicted over an alleged $2.5 billion scheme to smuggle Nvidia chips into China through an intermediary in Southeast Asia.
CEO Jensen Huang told investors in May that Nvidia had “largely ceded” the Chinese market to rival Huawei.
