Leading chip maker Nvidia and SoftBank, the telecommunications arm of SoftBank Group, have piloted the world’s first artificial intelligence and 5G telecommunications network, the two companies said on Wednesday.

The network can run AI and 5G workloads concurrently, a process known as an AI radio access network (AI-RAN), the companies said. Applications for the network include autonomous vehicle remote support and robotics control.

“Every other telco will have to follow this new wave,” SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son said at an AI event where he was speaking alongside Nvidia CEO Jensen Huang.

Huang said SoftBank was the first to receive its new Blackwell chip designs, which it is incorporating into the AI supercomputer it is developing to create its own generative AI model. — Anton Bridge, (c) 2024 Reuters

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