Insiders reveal that Japan's technology investment giant, SoftBank Group, is seeking financing for a massive $10 billion AI-related investment plan. This significant investment is primarily focused on the energy sector and reflects the profound impact of the current AI boom on traditional industries.
After a near silence of nearly a year, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son has recently re-emerged in the public eye. He has expressed great enthusiasm for the future development of AI and outlined his ambitious plan to transform SoftBank into a leader in the AI field. Son even boldly predicts that an artificial superintelligence (ASI) 10,000 times smarter than humans will emerge within the next 10 years.
In addition to seeking bank loans, insiders have revealed that SoftBank is actively exploring ways to acquire a large number of NVIDIA GPUs. These graphics processors play a crucial role in AI development. It is estimated that NVIDIA currently holds 70% to 95% of the AI chip market share, with these chips mainly used for training and deploying large language models like OpenAI GPT.
A notable feature of SoftBank's investment plan is the combination of AI with energy projects. This move highlights the tremendous application potential of AI technology in the energy sector, possibly involving optimizing energy distribution and improving the efficiency of renewable energy sources among other aspects.