SoftBank buys $676M old Sharp plant for its OpenAI collab in Japan | TechCrunch

by techmim trend


SoftBank is marching forward on its ambitions to construct out a big AI operation in its house marketplace of Japan, by itself steam and in strategic partnership with others like OpenAI. On Friday, the tech corporate showed it might pay $676 million for manufacturing unit up to now utilized by Sharp to construct LCD panels to transform it into a man-made intelligence information heart.

SoftBank’s acquire and sale settlement with Sharp comprises each the land and structures of the Sharp Sakai Plant in Osaka, for a worth of 100 billion yen ($676 million).

This used to be a important early step for SoftBank since information facilities are a lynchpin within the large wave of generative AI sweeping the tech international: considerable information heart capability is wanted each to coach fashions and to provision and run next products and services.

When requested if the web site is a part of its plans to commercialize OpenAI’s fashions in Japan, a SoftBank spokesperson pointed techmim to its earlier announcement relating to a collaboration with OpenAI to deploy a complicated endeavor AI known as “Cristal Intelligence” in Japan. Contacted for a reaction, OpenAI declined to remark at the information.

OpenAI era/Synthetic-intelligence/SoftBank-OpenAI-to-run-AI-agents-at-former-Sharp-LCD-plant” goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener nofollow”>reportedly intends to carry its AI foundational fashions to the Jap marketplace, leveraging GPUs to increase fashions on the Sakai plant. SB OpenAI Japan, a three way partnership between SoftBank and OpenAI, will teach fashions the use of shoppers’ information from advertising and different actions. The JV will then promote custom designed AI brokers to shoppers, era/Synthetic-intelligence/SoftBank-OpenAI-to-run-AI-agents-at-former-Sharp-LCD-plant” goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener nofollow”>in step with a file through Nikkei.  

The knowledge heart plan underscores how SoftBank and OpenAI are broadening the scope in their collaboration.

The 2 tech corporations unveiled their three way partnership in Japan following OpenAI’s collaborations with SoftBank, Oracle, and different corporations to construct a number of AI information facilities within the U.S. The Jap telco massive may be making an investment in OpenAI. Talks had been happening for months, and the most recent is that SoftBank is reportedly making an investment up to $25 billion in OpenAI at a valuation of just about $300 billion. Alternatively, that fundraise has but to near, nor be introduced formally.

SoftBank’s acquire of the plant comes kind of 10 months after signing an MOU to build a big AI information heart at a plant Sharp up to now used for LCD panel manufacturing.

SoftBank targets to start operations in 2026. SoftBank expects the LCD panel manufacturing unit to have enough energy capability to function the AI information heart, to start with at round 150 megawatts and ultimately expanding to over 240 megawatts.

The Sakai facility might be SoftBank’s 3rd information heart. It already working a knowledge heart in era/Synthetic-intelligence/SoftBank-OpenAI-to-run-AI-agents-at-former-Sharp-LCD-plant” goal=”_blank” rel=”noreferrer noopener nofollow”>Tokyo and every other one is being in-built Hokkaido.



OpenAI,SB OpenAI Japan,Softbank

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