The new supercomputer, ABCI 3.0, has been unveiled at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST) in Chiba Prefecture and marks a major milestone in Japan’s dedication to driving AI innovation. Officially commencing full-scale operation on January 20, the system demonstrates Japan’s commitment to advancing research and development through high-performance computing, particularly in the realm of artificial intelligence.
Developed with a government investment of around 36 billion yen and built with an array of high-powered GPUs sourced from Nvidia, ABCI 3.0 boasts the highest computing capacity among public supercomputers in Japan. The system is designed to facilitate collaboration among universities, research institutes, and startups, enabling them to tackle complex AI problems that previously required the scale of major U.S. companies.
The supercomputer is a significant upgrade from its predecessors, with its computing performance reaching 6.2 quintillion calculations per second—approximately three times the AI capability of the renowned Fugaku supercomputer. This leap in performance is attributed to a complete redesign of its GPU configuration and other critical enhancements, resulting in an AI computing capacity seven times greater than that of the ABCI 2.0 system.
AIST plans to harness the advanced capabilities of ABCI 3.0 to develop multimodal generative AI, which integrates various data formats including images, text, sound, and 3-D data measurements. In addition, the institute envisions combining this innovative AI technology with robotics, further expanding the potential applications of the supercomputer in both academic and industrial domains.