SoftBank Tomakomai AI Data Center (Japan)

SoftBank is developing what is slated to be Japan’s largest AI data center in Tomakomai, Hokkaido. Announced in partnership with NVIDIA in November 2024, the facility will be the first in the world to receive NVIDIA DGX B200 systems (Blackwell architecture), with plans to scale to a liquid-cooled Grace Blackwell (GB200 NVL72) supercomputer. The site spans 700,000 m² and leverages Hokkaido’s cool climate and local renewable energy to minimize power consumption. A key innovation at the site is the world’s first successful pilot of AI-RAN (AI Radio Access Network), which allows 5G base stations to run AI workloads simultaneously. The project is part of a national strategy to provide Japan with sovereign compute resources for generative AI development.