Nvidia CEO Urges Japan to Boost Power Infrastructure for AI Growth
Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba, urging more investment in electricity production to fuel the growing energy needs of artificial intelligence infrastructure as reported by Bloomberg. Huang highlighted Japan's special strengths in robotics and manufacturing industries, noting that the country is poised to become a world leader in the AI space, if it ramps up its energy capacity.
Huang said, “The country needs to build new infrastructure. Energy is essential for all industrial growth.”
The comments resonate with increasing worldwide alarm at the energy implications of AI technologies, especially data centers and their massive cooling systems. AI could ignite the fastest increase in electricity demand in decades, the International Energy Agency estimates.
Japan is left with hard decisions in diversifying its energy supply. Having just recovered from the Fukushima nuclear meltdown, the nation is wary of reviving nuclear reactors and still has a large dependence on costly fossil fuel imports.
One option that is being discussed is a possible $44 billion investment in an Alaskan liquefied natural gas (LNG)project, attached to current US-Japan trade talks.
Prime Minister Ishiba has indicated a desire to obtain energy sources to fuel Japan's digital economy, including its AI and quantum computing ambitions.
AI's Industrial Promise
Huang characterized AI as a game-changing force across industries, ranging from health care and manufacturing to education and agriculture. But he cautioned that without sufficient power infrastructure, Japan might not be able to take advantage of these opportunities.
The meeting comes on the heels of Huang's latest trip to Beijing and at a time of tense relations for Nvidia, which is riding out a growing US-China tech war.
The Biden administration recently prohibited Nvidia from selling China its H20 chips on the grounds of national security threats. The chips had been specially designed to comply with earlier US export controls, making the new restrictions a costly blow.
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Mounting Scrutiny in Washington
Nvidia last week warned of a $5.5 billion writedown due to the new export limits. Meanwhile, a bipartisan US House committee has requested details on Nvidia’s chip sales to China and Southeast Asia, alleging that Chinese AI firm DeepSeek may have used these to develop its breakthrough chatbot model.
