Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang has claimed his company will do its best to supply artificial intelligence (AI) processors to Japan as the country makes efforts to catch up with other countries leading in AI.

“Demand is very high, but I promised the prime minister we will do our very, very best to prioritise Japan’s requirements for GPUs,” Huang said in an interview with reporters on Monday (4 December), following a meeting with Japan’s Prime Minister Fumio Kishida.

Nvidia will also be cooperating with Japan-based companies such as SoftBank to aid in the acceleration of generative AI (GenAI) research.

The AI market is currently dominated by US-based Nvidia’s graphics processing units, a key component used in training large-scale AI and GenAI systems. 

“In combination between GenAI and Japan’s expertise in manufacturing, the future of robotics could be revolutionized here in Japan,” Huang said.

Japan recently announced $13.6bn in funding to go towards chip investment and manufacturing. 

“The semiconductor industry that Japan is now starting to grow and foster will be able to produce GPUs,” Huang said.

He added: “Countries like Japan are realising that you need to own your own data, build your own AI factories and produce your own AI intelligence.”

Japan’s budget will also be used to support a third factory in the country for Taiwanese chipmaker TSMC, with a focus on making high-end AI chips. 

The country’s push in AI chip manufacturing follows the total value of its AI deals peaking in 2018, according to GlobalData’s Deals Database.

In 2018, the value of AI deals in Japan totalled $536m, significantly more than the following five years.

GlobalData estimates the total AI market will be worth $383.3bn in 2030, implying a 21% compound annual growth rate between 2022 and 2030.