What is 'Izanagi', SoftBank founder Son's new $100B AI venture
SoftBank founder Masayoshi Son is working on a massive $100 billion project to develop a new artificial intelligence (AI) chip unit, called 'Izanagi.' According to Bloomberg, this ambitious venture aims to compete with NVIDIA, the current leader in the AI chip market, and help produce essential semiconductors for AI applications. SoftBank plans to contribute $30 billion, while the remaining $70 billion could come from Middle Eastern institutions.
Arm CEO Rene Haas is advising Son on the project
The Izanagi project, named after the Japanese god of creation and life, could become one of the largest investments in the AI sector, surpassing Microsoft's recent $10 billion investment in OpenAI. SoftBank board member and Arm CEO Rene Haas is advising Son on the project, highlighting the potential of AI investments using Arm's chip designs. Although Son has discussed semiconductor manufacturing with OpenAI's Sam Altman, Izanagi is a separate endeavor.
Arm's role and collaboration with other AI companies
Arm executives reported earlier this month that there is strong demand for their central processors, especially when paired with NVIDIA's chips for AI tasks in data centers. Despite past changes in direction, Son remains confident that artificial general intelligence (AGI) will become a reality within the next decade. He has been urging Japanese businesses to adopt AI or risk falling behind.
Son's vision and timeline for AGI
In October, Son told a group of Japanese enterprise clients that AGI is what every AI expert is after. He mentioned that these experts don't have an answer for the timing, computing power, and the smartness of AGI in comparison to human intelligence. "I'm convinced AGI will be real in 10 years," Son said at the time. AGI would possess the capacity to learn and understand tasks similar to humans, applying its intelligence to tackle a wide range of problems.
