Nvidia’s Jensen Huang Tokyo Visit: 30-Year Sega History, Partners With Toyota, Fanuc, Noetra, and Other Japanese Firms to Deploy Physical AI

On the eve of the official partnership announcement, Jensen Huang completed a "charm offensive" targeting key nodes of Japan's AI supply chain through a low-profile izakaya dinner. On the evening of July 15, he appeared at a traditional izakaya in Tokyo's Kanda district, dining with executives from a host of core Japanese supply chain companies.

Attendees included the heads of companies such as Kioxia, Shin-Etsu Chemical, Tokyo Electron, Ajinomoto, Sumitomo Electric, Taiyo Yuden, and Panasonic, virtually outlining the entire landscape of the Japanese hardware supply chain that Nvidia's next-generation AI systems rely on. Earlier that day, Huang noted that while semiconductor manufacturing is distributed globally, Japan remains the most prominent in basic materials, chemical technology, and core sciences.

On July 16, Nvidia announced that it is expanding its robotics development collaboration with four Japanese companies—Fujitsu, Fanuc, Yaskawa Electric, and Kawasaki Heavy Industries—all of which will join the Nvidia-led Cosmos alliance. Meanwhile, Nvidia also announced an expanded partnership with Toyota, covering areas such as autonomous driving, smart cities, and factory simulation, with Toyota currently developing its next-generation L2++ vehicles based on the Nvidia DRIVE AGX platform.

At a media event in Tokyo, Jensen Huang remarked, "With AI, robots will become intelligent, adaptable, and accessible." He added, "This is a historic moment for Japan, as Japan has historically excelled in precision manufacturing and large-scale manufacturing."

In an interview, Jensen Huang dismissed external concerns about an AI investment bubble, stating, "We are still very far from an AI bubble, and demand is extremely strong," and emphasizing, "We need to build infrastructure for at least ten years." He also stated that Nvidia is already deeply integrated with Japan's sovereign AI development initiatives.

According to Japanese media reports, on July 16, Nvidia and Noetra, Japan's "national physical AI model team" composed of giants such as Sony and Honda, officially announced a strategic partnership. The two parties will jointly build a brand-new national-level AI super factory powered by 27,500 Rubin GPUs, fully accelerating the development of the core world model for Japan's next-generation intelligent robots.

This trip to Japan, from the nostalgic reunion in Akihabara to confidential supply chain talks in an izakaya, and finally to the implementation of partnerships with manufacturing giants, outlines a clear main thread of Nvidia's global strategy: Japan's manufacturing base, materials supply chain, and robotics industry are being systematically integrated into Nvidia's physical AI blueprint. Meanwhile, the startup that was saved 30 years ago by a $5 million investment from a Japanese company has now grown into a global giant with a market capitalization exceeding $5 trillion. For Shoichiro Irimajiri's initial investment, Sega received about $15 million when they quickly cashed out. Roughly estimated , if Sega had held onto it until today, this money would be worth nearly $1 trillion.

This content was translated using AI and reviewed for clarity. It is for informational purposes only.