NVIDIA CEO Jensen Huang embarked on a visit to Japan, and during his two-day trip, observers are closely watching whether NVIDIA will cooperate with the government-backed artificial intelligence company Noetra in Japan.
According to Nikkei Asia, Noetra is a joint venture with SoftBank Corp., NEC, Honda Motor, and Sony Group as its core members, aiming to develop foundational models for “physical AI.” Forty-four Japanese companies, including manufacturers, have invested in this project, with the Japanese government providing up to 1 trillion Japanese yen (approximately 62 billion US dollars) in funding.
Jensen Huang and the president of Noetra are both expected to attend an event hosted by the Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade, and Industry on Thursday. Noetra plans to use NVIDIA’s latest AI chips in model development, providing Jensen Huang with another opportunity to showcase his sales skills.
This is Jensen Huang’s first official visit to Japan since October 2025. During his last visit, NVIDIA announced a partnership with the technology group Fujitsu to jointly develop AI chips. Since late May this year, while visiting Taiwan and South Korea, NVIDIA has also announced collaborations with local companies.
Countries around the world are accelerating the development of local AI models – known as “sovereign AI” – as this technology is increasingly seen as a “strategic asset” crucial to economic security. NVIDIA views independently developed AI systems by various countries as new sources of revenue, and has established similar partnerships in over 20 countries worldwide.
For NVIDIA, “sovereign AI” represents a significant new business opportunity. The company is involved in AI development projects in more than 20 countries, including the United Kingdom, Germany, France, India, and the United Arab Emirates.
In the fiscal year ending January, NVIDIA’s revenue related to “sovereign AI” more than doubled, reaching over 30 billion US dollars. NVIDIA provides the necessary AI chips for data centers in these countries.
Focusing on sovereign AI also helps NVIDIA diversify its risks. Over 50% of NVIDIA’s data center-related revenue comes from just five customers, including major cloud service providers like Google and Microsoft. Despite NVIDIA’s stock performance appearing weak since May, the growing interest in sovereign AI may reignite investor enthusiasm and potentially drive stock prices up.
Competition in the sovereign AI field is intensifying. Leading Canadian AI company Cohere announced plans to merge with a German counterpart to advance the development of sovereign AI.
However, the uncertainty remains whether NVIDIA can exclusively reap the rewards brought by sovereign AI. Competitors are also striving to challenge NVIDIA’s dominant position. US semiconductor startup Cerebras Systems plans to expand the total capacity of data centers equipped with its chips to 200 terawatts by the end of 2027, covering Norway, Finland, France, and other regions.