Nikkei reported on the 13th that Japan's Fujitsu will begin exporting semiconductors for artificial intelligence (AI) developed using supercomputer technology. This is the first time Fujitsu will fully sell advanced semiconductors externally.
According to Nikkei on the 13th, Fujitsu plans to sell MONAKA, an advanced AI CPU, in Japan, the United States, and the Asia-Pacific region after 2027. Fujitsu agreed to supply the product to U.S. server company Super Micro Computer and is also seeking sales to large U.S. cloud corporations.
MONAKA is a CPU for AI that applies a 2-nanometer (nm; 1 nm = one-billionth of a meter) process, with Fujitsu handling the design and Taiwan's TSMC in charge of production. The product is characterized by significantly boosting computing performance relative to power consumption.
Until now, Fujitsu has mainly used advanced semiconductors for AI in its own products. Through external CPU sales, Fujitsu aims to achieve cumulative revenue of 250 billion yen (21.9 billion won) by fiscal 2030.
Fujitsu plans to sell not only CPUs but also AI servers equipped with MONAKA both domestically and overseas. Twenty-four companies, including firms in finance and telecommunications, are verifying performance using test equipment, and it is said to be in talks with more than 40 companies on adoption. Fujitsu aims to sell 60,000 AI servers and plans to expand the related business by bundling not only CPUs and servers but also AI development and operations platforms.
Fujitsu, along with Toshiba in the 1980s, led the global semiconductor market and ushered in the heyday of Japan's semiconductor industry. However, after losing ground in competition with Korean, U.S., and Taiwanese corporations, it effectively withdrew from in-house semiconductor production in the 2010s and focused on development. Behind Fujitsu's renewed bid to reenter the semiconductor market is surging demand for advanced logic semiconductors driven by the spread of artificial intelligence (AI). Fujitsu appears to be aiming for a comeback in this market by leveraging its independently developed AI CPUs. Growth in the global semiconductor market is also supporting Fujitsu's renewed push. The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics (WSTS) projected that the global semiconductor market in 2026 will reach about 240 trillion yen, up 90% from the previous year.