Japanese computing and telecom company Fujitsu is aiming to develop an AI inference device that combines its own neural processing units (NPUs) with central processing units (CPUs), a high-stakes bid to forge greater technological independence and national economic security.
According to Japanese media reports, the new device will be produced by Japan’s IC foundry Rapidus at its second fab in Hokkaido using a 1.4-nm process developed in partnership with IBM – by the end of the decade, if everything goes according to plan.
A large part of the development costs is likely to be picked up by Japan’s New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), which operates under the auspices of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.