Billionaire CEO and cofounder of SoftBank, Masayoshi Son, plans to boost $100b for an AI chip manufacturing venture to compete with NVIDIA.
Son named the brand new enterprise Izanagi, after the Japanese god of creation and life. Son mentioned he wished to be the architect of “what Mankind’s future will and must be” and that the “AI Revolution” was one thing during which SoftBank wished to play a number one function.
AI processing depends on enormous quantities of chips and there are extreme provide shortages, with market chief NVIDIA struggling to maintain up with demand. SoftBank owns 90% of British chip producer Arm and plans to leverage this in its foray into AI chip manufacturing.
The $100b funding may even see $30b coming from SoftBank and the stability from unnamed Center Japanese traders. The US beforehand banned NVIDIA from supplying some corporations within the Center East on account of perceived Chinese language affect within the area.
The final three letters in Venture Izanagi’s identify are additionally a nod to the pursuit of AGI. Son mentioned that based mostly on Arm’s growth roadmap, he believes that AI will ultimately “have no less than 10,000 instances the sum complete of the knowledge of the world.”
As soon as AI superintelligence is achieved, Son says will probably be “the beginning of a lifeform far past mankind” and that it’s going to “resolve issues mankind can not.” Son believes progress in the direction of this anticipated AI utopia must be accelerated by making extra AI chips.
Masayoshi Son is elevating $100 billion for a chip enterprise that can rival Nvidia
The venture is code-named “Izanagi”
“will probably be the beginning of a life type far past mankind” pic.twitter.com/zdoMf1GK6F
— Chief AI Officer (@chiefaioffice) February 18, 2024
A “happier extra linked world” sounds nice, and traders like the concept too. SoftBank shares gained round 30% within the final two weeks, with Arm’s shares up greater than 80%.
SoftBank declined to promote its stake in Arm to NVIDIA again in 2022, which now appears to have been a wise name as demand for chips retains rising. Son beforehand mentioned attainable collaboration with Sam Altman on his trillion-dollar chip venture, however there’s been no phrase on any agency plans to work collectively.
Will the super-smart, self-replicating AIs that Son envisions carry concerning the utopic future he envisions, or the top of our species the AI doomsayers anticipate? Both means, Son’s Izanagi venture will get us there sooner.