Nvidia CEO Lobbies Japan to Generate More Power to Fuel AI

(Bloomberg) -- Nvidia Corp. Chief Executive Officer Jensen Huang met with Japanese Prime Minister Shigeru Ishiba on Monday to push for more electricity generation to meet artificial intelligence’s needs. 

The two discussed how Japan is particularly well-positioned to develop AI, given its leadership in robotics and industrial manufacturing, Huang told reporters after the meeting. But he also said that generating and creating intelligence will require energy.

“The country needs to build new infrastructure,” Huang said, eschewing his usual black leather jacket for a blue suit and tie. “Energy is essential for all industrial growth.”

Resource-poor Japan is weighing data centers’ hunger for electricity against the challenges of restarting nuclear reactors that were shuttered following the Fukushima disaster, as well as boosting imports of pricey fossil fuels. Japan would consider investing in a $44 billion liquefied natural gas project in Alaska as part of a deal in negotiating a trade deal with the US, Ishiba has said.

AI is set to transform all industries, from health care to manufacturing to education and agriculture, Huang said. But the fleet of data centers and air conditioners required will likely trigger the fastest rate of electricity demand growth in years, according to the International Energy Agency.

The meeting comes on the heels of the CEO’s trip to Beijing and US President Donald Trump’s decision to bar the company from selling its H20 AI chips to China. The move marked an escalation in Washington’s tech battle with Beijing and targeted a product line Nvidia explicitly designed for Chinese customers to comply with previous US export controls.

Last week, Nvidia warned of a $5.5 billion writedown from the newest US chip restrictions. A bipartisan US House committee also urged Nvidia to hand over information on sales of chips in Southeast Asia and China, arguing that such chips may have helped Chinese AI upstart DeepSeek  develop its breakthrough chatbot.

(Updates with executive comment and background)

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