Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang used a two-day visit to Tokyo to announce what he called the start of "Japan AI." Speaking alongside Japan's Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Ryohei Akazawa, Huang unveiled Cosmos 3 Edge, a new world model that helps robots and vision AI agents perceive and navigate physical environments in real time.
Nvidia is partnering with manufacturing giants Fanuc and Yaskawa Electric to build AI-powered robotics, with Fujitsu, Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries joining a broader industrial coalition. Japan's government separately confirmed it will procure 27,500 of Nvidia's next-generation Rubin chips, which Huang said have already entered production and are shipping to customers.
The push follows recent "Japan passing" criticism that the country was being overlooked in the global AI race. Huang framed the visit around sovereign AI, arguing that "a nation's intelligence must be nurtured, strengthened, and developed domestically." The announcements also touched healthcare, finance and quantum computing, including a new Mizuho AI factory and a RIKEN quantum-HPC system.