Robot AI company Noetra is ‘last chance’ for Japan, CEO says

Noetra, a government-backed company developing a foundational model for physical artificial intelligence and robots, is the “last chance” for Japan as it seeks to improve the domestic supply of key technologies, its CEO said in an interview.

Noetra ‌is supported ⁠by ⁠government funding for the project of more than 380 billion yen ($2.33 billion) for its first year and backing from 44 companies including SoftBank, Honda and Sony.

The company is procuring 27,500 Nvidia Rubin chips and plans to begin construction on AI infrastructure in April 2027 ⁠with operations ‌starting in June of the following year.