TOKYO (Reuters) -SoftBank's Japanese telecoms unit will receive the first chips using Nvidia's latest Blackwell design for its supercomputer, the California-based chip designer said, as Masayoshi Son looks to ride the artificial intelligence boom.

Softbank Group Corp would be the first to build a supercomputer with chips using Nvidia Corp’s new Blackwell design, a demonstration of the Japanese company’s ambitions to catch up on artificial intelligence (AI). The group’s telecom unit, Softbank Corp, plans to build Japan’s most powerful AI supercomputer to support local services, it said.

SoftBank Group Corp. will be the first Nvidia Corp. customer to build a supercomputer based on the chipmaker’s new Blackwell design, a move to meet growing demand in a country eager to catch up in artificial intelligence.