GMI Cloud Unveils $12 Billion Sovereign AI Infrastructure Project in Japan
March 18, 2026
In a significant move to address the growing global demand for secure and controlled artificial intelligence compute, GMI Cloud has announced a massive $12 billion sovereign AI infrastructure initiative in Japan. The announcement, made during the Nvidia GTC event, underscores the strategic importance of nations developing domestic, trusted AI capabilities to power next-generation industries.
The centerpiece of the initiative is a large-scale AI Factory to be built in Kagoshima, a seaside city on Japan's Kyushu Island. GMI Cloud is partnering with Taiwanese electronics manufacturer Wistron on the project, which will be situated within a development by Kai Shin Digital Infrastructure—a joint venture between CDIB Capital and Shin-Etsu Science Industry. The site was first earmarked for a data center in October 2025. Construction is scheduled to commence in late 2026, with an initial capacity of 350 megawatts. The long-term ambition is to scale the facility to a substantial 1 gigawatt of power capacity.
While specific AI hardware details were not disclosed, GMI Cloud is a known partner of Nvidia. The facility is designed to meet strict sovereignty requirements for Japanese organizations, ensuring that sensitive data and AI workloads remain under national control while providing critical access to advanced computing resources.
"Japan has built some of the world's most sophisticated industrial and manufacturing systems," said Alex Yeh, CEO of GMI Cloud. "The next frontier is ensuring those systems are powered by AI that Japan owns, controls, and can trust. That is exactly what we are here to build."
The company stated the data center will be "green and sustainable," with a project rendering featuring rooftop solar panels, though further operational details were not provided. The "physical AI" applications targeted include robotics, autonomous vehicles, and advanced manufacturing. David Shen, CTO of Wistron Corporation, emphasized the partnership's rationale: "Building a sovereign AI Factory at this scale requires a partner with a strong track record. GMI Cloud's demonstrated experience in deploying the most advanced hardware into production-grade AI infrastructure is exactly what this project demands."
The platform will utilize the Vast AI Operating System. This Japanese project marks a major expansion for GMI Cloud, which launched in 2023 and pivoted from Bitcoin mining to AI infrastructure. In late 2025, the company revealed a $500 million data center plan in Taiwan to house approximately 7,000 Nvidia GB300 GPUs. With existing operations in the US, Taiwan, Singapore, Thailand, and Japan, and a current pursuit of a 50MW site in the US, the Kagoshima project solidifies GMI Cloud's position as a key player in building global, sovereign AI capacity.
Source: datacenterdynamics
