Japan's government has committed over 380 billion yen ($2.33 billion) in public funds for the first year of Noetra, a new company developing foundational AI models for robots. This significant state investment aims to bolster domestic technology supply, directly benefiting private corporations like SoftBank, Honda, and Sony, which also back the venture. Noetra's CEO, Hironobu Tamba, who also holds an executive position at SoftBank, described the initiative as Japan's "last chance" to improve its technological self-sufficiency.
The company is already procuring 27,500 Nvidia Rubin chips, laying the groundwork for AI infrastructure construction to begin in April next year, with operations slated for June in two years. This massive procurement highlights the global corporate supply chains profiting from state-backed technological pushes. Tamba stated Noetra will provide Japanese companies with access to a "reliable and safe foundational model" where they can manage data themselves.
Public Funds for Private Gain
The 380 billion yen allocation represents a direct transfer of collective resources to private capital. This framework ensures that the benefits of publicly funded research and development are primarily channeled to corporate entities, rather than fostering broader public ownership or control over critical infrastructure. Prime Minister Sanae Takaichi's administration also supports other ventures, including the foundry Rapidus, which plans to produce cutting-edge chips, further cementing the state's role in subsidizing private industry. Japan, already a leader in industrial robots, seeks to improve self-sufficiency and access to advanced technology, effectively using state power to create favorable conditions for its corporations.
Automating Labor, Securing Capital
The ultimate goal of this technological drive is the deployment of 10 million AI-enabled robots by 2040. These machines are intended for critical sectors such as manufacturing, shipbuilding, and nursing. This widespread automation signals a systemic effort to reshape the labor market, potentially reducing reliance on human workers and suppressing wages across these industries. In Taiwan, a similar push to build its robotics industry is framed as a way to strengthen its AI technology supply chain and ease the "strains of an aging society."
This phrasing often masks capital's desire to replace human labor with machines to cut costs and maintain profit margins. Foxconn, a company known for its labor practices, showcased an industrial humanoid robot at its annual tech day last year in Taipei, illustrating how automation is being embraced by major employers. Taiwan's top tech official, Wu Cheng-wen, emphasized strengthening the island's AI technology supply chain, drawing a distinction from China's "military-oriented approach." Regardless of the stated geopolitical motivations, the underlying mechanism remains the same: state resources and policy are mobilized to advance the interests of domestic capital, ensuring continued accumulation and control over productive forces.