Nvidia and Japan forge sovereign AI infrastructure with $6.2 billion Noetra deal
The Japanese government is committing up to 1 trillion yen over five years to the Noetra project, aiming to reduce reliance on foreign infrastructure while targeting a 30% share of the global AI robotics market by 2040.
Nvidia chief executive Jensen Huang concluded a two-day visit to Tokyo on July 16, securing a series of strategic agreements that anchor the United States chipmaker within Japan’s industrial core. The engagements, which included meetings with the CEOs of Toyota, Fanuc, Yaskawa, Fujitsu, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries, signal a concerted effort to integrate Nvidia’s hardware and software into Japan’s manufacturing and robotics sectors.
Central to these developments is the Noetra project, a national AI infrastructure initiative backed by up to 1 trillion yen ($6.2 billion) over five years. Led by a consortium of approximately 44 domestic firms, including SoftBank, Sony, NEC, and Honda, the project aims to build sovereign artificial intelligence for robots, vehicles, and factory floors. The Japanese government intends to reduce dependence on foreign infrastructure, though the underlying hardware will still originate from Nvidia.
To support this ambition, Nvidia is constructing a Vera Rubin AI factory in Japan, expected to launch in 2028. This data centre will house 13,750 Vera CPUs and 27,500 Rubin GPUs, delivering 140 megawatts of power. Noetra will oversee the development of the facility, which is designed to train foundation models with trillions of parameters, serving as the computational backbone for Japan’s physical AI strategy.
The initiative also involves significant collaboration with major robotics manufacturers. Fanuc, Yaskawa, Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Fujitsu, Hitachi, NEC, Sony, SoftBank, Kubota, and the robotics group AIRoA have committed to utilising Nvidia’s Cosmos models. Nvidia unveiled Cosmos 3 Edge, a version of the open model designed to run on Jetson Thor chips within machines, with companies such as Honda R&D and Omron already developing solutions on the platform.
Toyota further deepened its ties by committing its next-generation vehicles to Nvidia’s Drive platform. This partnership extends Nvidia’s technology into Toyota’s manufacturing simulations, vehicle software, and traffic reading systems. While Toyota’s advanced driver assistance systems remain conservative compared to fully autonomous rivals, the integration underscores the shift toward physical AI across Japan’s automotive sector.
The broader strategic context is defined by Japan’s AI Robotics Strategy, released in March, which targets the deployment of 10 million AI-equipped robots by 2040. The government aims to capture more than 30% of the global AI robotics market, valued at approximately ¥20 trillion ($133 billion). This push is supported by the Takaichi administration’s growth plan, which targets ¥370 trillion ($2.3 trillion) in public and private investment by 2040.
Noetra’s development follows a staged timeline, beginning with a reasoning model featuring Japanese-language skills in fiscal 2026. An omni-modal version handling text, images, video, and audio is scheduled for 2028, with “Real-world Native AI” for robots targeted for 2030. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi joined the physical-AI launch via video on July 16, highlighting the political weight behind the initiative.
