Sharp and KDDI will reuse the Sakai factory and transform it into a NVIDIA AI data center
Sharp previously announced that the Sakai factory, which has been producing large-sized LCD panels for televisions, will cease production. According to industry news in Japan, Sharp and Japanese telecommunications operator KDDI will work together to renovate the Sakai factory into an artificial intelligence (AI) data center driven by advanced chips from Nvidia.
Sharp and KDDI agreed on June 2nd to begin negotiations with partners, including Japanese system developer Datasection, to establish a joint venture in the data center. The investment scale and ownership details have not yet been determined.
It is reported that this AI data center will be equipped with 1000 servers using the next-generation Nvidia GPU (such as Blackwell) series. These servers will be procured through Datasection, which has established a partnership with US server manufacturer Super Micro Computer. The data center will be provided to developers of big language models in the future.
Nvidia Blackwell architecture chips include models such as B100 and B200, and are expected to be fully shipped in late 2024. According to Datasection, this procurement will be one of the largest among similar data centers in Asia.
Sharp invested 430 billion yen to build the Sakai factory in 2009, but it has been difficult to maintain stable operation of the factory in the near future. The company announced at a press conference held in May 2024 that the Sakai factory will close in September of this year.
It is reported that this AI data center will be equipped with 1000 servers using the next-generation Nvidia GPU (such as Blackwell) series. These servers will be procured through Datasection, which has established a partnership with US server manufacturer Super Micro Computer. The data center will be provided to developers of big language models in the future.
Nvidia Blackwell architecture chips include models such as B100 and B200, and are expected to be fully shipped in late 2024. According to Datasection, this procurement will be one of the largest among similar data centers in Asia.
Sharp invested 430 billion yen to build the Sakai factory in 2009, but it has been difficult to maintain stable operation of the factory in the near future. The company announced at a press conference held in May 2024 that the Sakai factory will close in September of this year.