Source: Finance Association
Author: Ma Lan
① SoftBank, which recently saw a sharp rise in stock prices due to Arm's amazing performance, is preparing a new artificial intelligence plan;
② According to reports, SoftBank Group founder Sun Zhengyi is raising up to 100 billion US dollars for a chip manufacturing company called Izanagi, and plans to directly charge Nvidia.
Masayoshi Sun, founder of Japan's SoftBank Group, is fully committed to a new plan. According to people familiar with the matter revealed to the media, the group plans to establish a new chip manufacturing company called Izanagi (Izanagi) and invest 100 billion US dollars to compete with Nvidia in the field of artificial intelligence processors.
And Izanagi is the god of creation and life in Japanese legends, and Masayoshi Sun chose this image to name his new company, which undoubtedly reflects his great ambition.
According to comprehensive news, Sun Zhengyi plans to invest 30 billion US dollars from SoftBank, while the remaining 70 billion US dollars will probably come from Middle Eastern institutions. However, judging from Sun Zhengyi's investment style, this plan may also continue to change over time.
An avid fan of artificial intelligence
The Izanagi project is clearly the product of Sun Zhengyi's double bet on artificial intelligence, and it is also a key point for SoftBank to further expand in the field of artificial intelligence after processor architecture design company Arm.
As a chip design company, Arm plays a key role in SoftBank's artificial intelligence strategy. Arm executives, on the other hand, observed a surge in demand for artificial intelligence chips in the industry, which spurred SoftBank to create a company to directly compete with Nvidia.
However, in the face of Nvidia, which has accumulated 16 years of technical experience, the Izanagi project is clearly unlikely to break the current pattern in a short period of time. The only curious thing is how SoftBank will use Arm's strengths to develop Izanagi.
On the other hand, Sun Zhengyi recently discussed cooperation with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman in the field of semiconductor manufacturing. Altman was also reported last week to be negotiating trillions of dollars of investment with investors in the Middle East to improve global chip manufacturing capabilities.
However, judging from what is known, Masayoshi Sun's Izanagi project shows no signs of introducing investment from Altman personally or OpenAI. However, as mentioned earlier, Sun Zhengyi's projects may have unpredictable variables before the moment they actually land.
What has not changed is Sun Zhengyi's confidence in artificial intelligence. He believes that general artificial intelligence will be realized within ten years, and actively tells Japanese corporate customers to embrace artificial intelligence, and repeatedly emphasizes the transformative potential of general artificial intelligence.
Editor/Jeffy