The AI data center market is expected to expand to approximately ¥270 trillion by 2030. While Japanese companies are seizing growth opportunities from the resulting surge in demand, challenges involving power supply and the circulation of funds are coming to the fore.
Amid the AI development race led by US big tech companies, the data center market is spreading into related industries such as semiconductor materials and power supply, and is expected to expand into a huge market by 2030. Technological advances are driving the development of larger, multilayered GPUs, increasing demand for Japanese companies’ materials, components and substrate technologies.
Among developments involving Japanese companies, Ibiden, Furukawa Electric and Nitto Boseki are seizing growth opportunities from the surge in demand across the AI infrastructure economy. Japanese companies are also becoming increasingly involved in Nvidia’s supply chain, as shown by reports analyzing the GPU supply network. The market’s impact extends to fields including materials, power and cooling equipment.
The enthusiasm surrounding AI infrastructure investment brings risks involving the flow of funds and power supply, while the stability of fund circulation, regional diversification and the development of technical standards have emerged as challenges. Depending on how developments unfold, these issues could determine the benefits and drawbacks of the market, making the responses of local governments and companies critical.
This feature, produced jointly with Nikkei Business and others, is positioned as an in-depth analysis of the AI infrastructure economy, which is taking on an unprecedented aspect.