Nvidia is accelerating its expansion into Japan’s industrial technology sector through new partnerships with some of the country’s biggest robotics manufacturers, as Chief Executive Jensen Huang broadens the company’s strategy beyond AI chips and cloud computing into what he describes as the next major growth frontier: physical AI.

Speaking at a media event in Tokyo on Thursday, Huang announced collaborations with industrial automation leaders Fanuc and Yaskawa Electric to advance robotics and artificial intelligence, underscoring Nvidia’s ambition to become the foundational technology provider for intelligent machines as factories worldwide become increasingly automated.

“With AI, robots will become smart, easily adaptable and accessible,” Huang said.

The partnerships represent an important step for Nvidia as it seeks to extend its dominance from training large language models to powering autonomous robots capable of operating in factories, warehouses, logistics centers and eventually homes. Rather than focusing solely on supplying graphics processors, Nvidia is positioning its hardware, software platforms, and AI models as the operating system for a new generation of intelligent industrial machines.

The announcement also aligns with Japan’s long-standing strengths in robotics. Fanuc and Yaskawa are among the world’s largest industrial robot manufacturers, supplying automation equipment to automotive, electronics, and manufacturing companies across the globe. Integrating Nvidia’s AI computing platforms into those systems could enable robots to move beyond repetitive programmed tasks toward machines capable of perception, reasoning, and real-time decision-making.

The collaborations come as governments and companies increasingly see “physical AI” as the next phase of artificial intelligence, where AI systems move from generating text and images to interacting directly with the physical world.

Separately, government-backed AI infrastructure company Noetra announced plans to purchase 27,500 Nvidia Rubin AI chips as it develops physical AI capabilities. The company counts Sony among its investors, highlighting growing public and private sector efforts to build domestic AI infrastructure in Japan.

The Rubin processors represent Nvidia’s next-generation AI architecture, succeeding its Blackwell platform, and are expected to power some of the world’s largest AI data centers and robotics applications. A deployment of 27,500 chips would constitute one of Japan’s largest announced AI hardware investments and would further strengthen Nvidia’s presence in one of Asia’s most technologically advanced markets.

Japan has emerged as a priority for Nvidia as countries race to establish sovereign AI capabilities. Rather than relying entirely on foreign cloud providers, governments are investing heavily in domestic computing infrastructure, advanced semiconductors and AI research to secure long-term technological competitiveness.

Huang’s visit also points to Nvidia’s broader effort to deepen relationships across Japan’s semiconductor ecosystem. Although Japan no longer dominates global chip manufacturing as it did during the 1980s, it remains indispensable to the semiconductor supply chain through its leadership in chipmaking equipment, specialty chemicals, precision materials and advanced manufacturing technologies.

During the trip, Huang met executives from several key suppliers, including the chief executives of memory chipmaker Kioxia and semiconductor equipment manufacturer Tokyo Electron, companies that play critical roles in producing advanced AI chips.

The visit comes as momentum across the global semiconductor industry continues to strengthen.

Dutch chip equipment maker ASML raised its sales forecast this week and announced further capacity expansion to meet growing demand from AI chip manufacturers. Meanwhile, Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Co. reported record earnings on Thursday and increased its capital expenditure forecast, reflecting sustained investment by customers building AI infrastructure worldwide.

Together, those developments amplify expectations that the AI investment cycle remains robust despite concerns over supply constraints, valuations and geopolitical risks.

Huang also appeared alongside Japan’s Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry, Ryosei Akazawa, at a government AI event, marking what many believe to be a close coordination between Nvidia and Japanese policymakers.

The partnerships announced in Tokyo show that Nvidia’s strategy is evolving beyond selling AI accelerators to cloud providers. The company has been embedding its technology across the entire AI value chain, spanning data centers, robotics, industrial automation, autonomous systems and sovereign AI infrastructure.

Against the backdrop of the widening gap left by China’s robotics leadership, Japan sees collaborating with Nvidia as an opportunity to combine world-leading robotics expertise with cutting-edge AI computing, potentially strengthening the country’s competitiveness.

On the other hand, as manufacturers worldwide shift toward more autonomous, AI-driven production systems, Nvidia sees the alliances as an opportunity to deepen its presence in one of the world’s most sophisticated manufacturing economies. This will help the chipmaker to boost its ambition to become the foundational technology platform not only for generative AI but also for the emerging era of intelligent machines.

OpenAI is reportedly developing its first dedicated consumer hardware product, a screen-free artificial intelligence companion designed for the home that could mark the company’s biggest step yet beyond software and put it in position to compete in the emerging market for AI-native consumer devices.

According to a Bloomberg report, the device is being developed as a mobile smart speaker with deep ChatGPT integration. However, it is intended to be far more than a conventional voice assistant. Internally, OpenAI is said to describe it as a “humanlike AI companion that lives in the home,” capable of learning about its owner over time and becoming increasingly personalized through continuous interaction.

The project signals OpenAI’s ambition to build an integrated AI ecosystem where proprietary hardware, software and cloud-based models work together, echoing the strategy y that helped Apple dominate the smartphone era through tight integration between its devices and operating systems.

Unlike existing smart speakers from Amazon, Google and Apple, OpenAI’s reported device would be screen-free and designed around conversational AI rather than voice commands alone. Bloomberg said the product would have access to a user’s digital life, including emails and other personal information, enabling it to deliver highly contextual responses, anticipate user needs and automate everyday tasks.

The report also described the device as incorporating “mechanical elements that can move on their own,” suggesting OpenAI may be experimenting with a more expressive physical interface aimed at making interactions feel more natural. Rather than functioning as a passive speaker waiting for commands, the product is reportedly envisioned as a proactive assistant that develops a relationship with its owner over time.

That approach represents a significant shift in consumer AI. Today’s smart speakers generally operate as voice-controlled utilities that respond to explicit requests. OpenAI’s reported vision is closer to an always-present AI agent that continuously learns preferences, manages information, and acts autonomously on behalf of users.

Such capabilities could transform the device into a central hub for the connected home, integrating scheduling, communications, entertainment, shopping and smart-home controls while serving as a physical extension of ChatGPT.

The project indicates that OpenAI is pursuing a strategic goal of reducing its dependence on third-party hardware platforms.

For years, ChatGPT has primarily reached users through smartphones, computers, and web browsers controlled by companies such as Apple and Google. Building proprietary hardware would allow OpenAI to own the entire customer experience, gather richer contextual data and introduce new AI interaction models that are difficult to replicate through existing devices.

Industry analysts have described AI hardware as the next major battleground following the rapid adoption of generative AI software. While smartphones remain the dominant computing platform, technology companies are searching for new device categories that place artificial intelligence at the center of the user experience rather than treating it as another application.

The reported device is being developed with the assistance of several former Apple engineers who played key roles in creating products including the iPhone and Mac, according to Bloomberg. Their involvement suggests OpenAI is attempting to build a long-term consumer hardware business rather than launch a single experimental product.

The timing, however, is particularly sensitive.

Last week, Apple sued OpenAI in federal court, accusing the AI company of misappropriating confidential information and trade secrets related to consumer hardware development. Apple alleged the claims outlined in its complaint represented only “the tip of the iceberg” and said additional evidence would emerge during the discovery process.

OpenAI, in response, has denied the allegations.

Bloomberg reported that OpenAI believes its planned hardware product differs substantially from Apple’s existing products and does not infringe on Apple’s intellectual property. The legal dispute introduces an additional layer of uncertainty to OpenAI’s hardware ambitions, particularly if the company intends to launch multiple consumer devices over the coming years.

The reported home companion also enters an increasingly crowded race to define AI-native hardware. Technology companies have spent more than a decade developing smart speakers and voice assistants, yet products such as Amazon Echo, Google Nest, and Apple’s HomePod have generally remained secondary devices rather than replacing smartphones or computers.

Generative AI has renewed optimism that more capable conversational models could finally unlock broader consumer adoption by making digital assistants significantly more useful, proactive, and personalized.

That optimism has fueled substantial investor interest.

Hark, an AI startup founded by Brett Adcock, raised an oversubscribed $700 million Series A funding round in May at a $6 billion valuation to develop what it describes as “personal intelligence” through proprietary AI models paired with custom hardware. Although Hark has disclosed few details about its product, the financing illustrates the growing willingness of investors to fund AI hardware companies before commercial products reach the market.

The emergence of multiple well-funded startups suggests investors increasingly believe the next major computing platform could revolve around AI-first devices rather than incremental improvements to smartphones.

For OpenAI, launching dedicated hardware would create new revenue opportunities beyond subscriptions and enterprise software while strengthening customer engagement through continuous interaction. It would also give the company another avenue to distribute its AI models as competition intensifies among OpenAI, Google, Anthropic, Meta and other developers seeking to establish dominant consumer ecosystems.

The reported device remains under development, and OpenAI has not publicly confirmed its existence or provided a timeline for a commercial launch.

If successful, however, the product could represent an important milestone in the evolution of consumer artificial intelligence, shifting AI from an application users occasionally open to an always-available companion embedded in everyday life. Such a transition would also intensify competition among technology companies seeking to define the next generation of personal computing after the smartphone.

DBS Group has set an ambitious target to grow assets under management (AUM) in its wealth business to more than S$1 trillion (US$774 billion) by 2030, betting that Asia’s expanding affluent population and accelerating cross-border wealth flows will continue to position Singapore as one of the world’s premier private banking hubs.

The target represents a roughly S$400 billion increase from the S$632 billion in wealth AUM the bank managed at the end of 2025, effectively requiring DBS to replicate the asset growth it achieved over the previous decade in just five years.

The accelerated growth strategy underscores intensifying competition among Asian and global banks to capture the region’s rapidly expanding wealth pool, as geopolitical uncertainty, changing investment patterns and the creation of new fortunes through technology and entrepreneurship reshape private banking across Asia.

“From full year 2015 to 2025, in 10 years, we grew our AUM by S$400 billion,” Shee Tse Koon, DBS’ Group Executive and Group Head of Consumer Banking and Wealth Management, said during a media briefing.

“Looking at the traction, our ambition now is to grow the same S$400 billion by half the time.”

He attributed the optimism to powerful structural trends.

“Many of the macro trends that we see, for example the rise of wealth in Asia, and also the shift of wealth into Asia, I think these macro trends are what will be tailwinds,” Shee said.

Riding Asia’s Wealth Creation Boom

DBS’ strategy is built on one of the fastest-growing wealth markets globally.

Asia continues to produce new millionaires at one of the quickest rates worldwide, driven by technology companies, manufacturing, financial services, and family-owned businesses. At the same time, wealthy individuals are increasingly seeking geographic diversification for their assets, creating opportunities for regional financial centers.

Singapore has emerged as one of the biggest beneficiaries of that trend.

The city-state has attracted substantial inflows from entrepreneurs, family offices and high-net-worth individuals seeking political stability, a predictable regulatory framework, competitive tax policies and sophisticated financial services. Rising geopolitical tensions, including U.S.-China strategic rivalry, have further reinforced Singapore’s status as a preferred destination for wealth preservation and management.

The influx has supported robust growth across Singapore’s banking sector, particularly for its three largest lenders, DBS, OCBC, and UOB, whose wealth management businesses have become increasingly important earnings drivers alongside traditional lending operations.

One of the strongest indicators of Singapore’s growing appeal is the rapid expansion of family offices. DBS said it now banks more than one-third of all single-family offices established in Singapore, giving it a dominant position in one of the fastest-growing client segments in private banking.

The bank also reported that, as of May, the number of newly onboarded high-net-worth and ultra-high-net-worth clients had increased 20% compared with a year earlier.

Family offices typically generate higher-value relationships than conventional private banking clients because they often require investment advisory services, estate planning, philanthropy management, lending, corporate banking, foreign exchange, trust structures, and succession planning.

As more wealthy Asian families establish formal investment offices, banks with integrated capabilities across these services stand to benefit from deeper and longer-term client relationships.

To support its growth ambitions, DBS plans to hire more than 600 additional employees by the end of 2028, including relationship managers, frontline advisers, platform engineers and technology specialists. The recruitment will focus on the bank’s major Asian markets, including Singapore, Hong Kong, mainland China, India, Indonesia, and Taiwan.

There is a growing shift in wealth management that has seen digital capabilities become as important as traditional client advisory services.

“It’s not just about the frontliners,” Shee said.

“We need the engineers, the tech people, the platform people to create that capability and the capacity.”

Digital platforms, artificial intelligence, data analytics and automated portfolio management are increasingly becoming competitive differentiators as wealthy clients expect seamless digital experiences alongside personalized financial advice.

Largest Physical Expansion of Wealth Franchise

The hiring drive complements DBS’ largest-ever investment in its physical wealth management network. Last month, the bank announced plans to open 18 new wealth centers across Asia by the end of 2027 while upgrading another 36 existing centers over the following 18 months.

The expansion signals that, despite rapid digitalization, face-to-face advisory services remain central to serving affluent and ultra-high-net-worth clients, particularly for complex investment strategies, succession planning and cross-border wealth structuring. The new centers are expected to strengthen DBS’ presence in key Asian wealth markets while supporting higher client acquisition and deeper engagement with existing customers.

The announcement underpins the growing importance of fee-based businesses for banks facing a more challenging lending environment. Unlike traditional banking, wealth management generates recurring income through advisory fees, portfolio management charges and investment products rather than relying primarily on interest income. That makes earnings less sensitive to fluctuations in interest rates and credit demand.

For DBS, expanding wealth management also aligns with broader demographic and economic trends. Asia is expected to account for an increasing share of global wealth creation over the coming decade, supported by rising incomes, expanding capital markets and rapid growth in entrepreneurial businesses. At the same time, an intergenerational transfer of wealth across the region is expected to create significant demand for financial planning, trust services, and investment management.

DBS is positioning itself to capture those long-term opportunities by building a “wealth continuum” that serves customers across every stage of their financial journey, from affluent retail banking clients to ultra-high-net-worth families.

“Our wealth continuum is about really winning in every segment,” Shee said.

“It’s about serving them most appropriately in that segment, because, as I said, customers are not homogeneous.”

DBS’ ambitious target comes amid intensifying competition for Asian wealth. Global financial institutions, including UBS, HSBC, JPMorgan, Citi, and Bank of America, have expanded their private banking operations across Asia, while regional lenders are investing heavily in digital wealth platforms and advisory capabilities.

Singapore remains one of the focal points of that competition because of its growing concentration of family offices, stable regulatory environment and role as a gateway for Southeast Asian and Greater China wealth.

If DBS achieves its S$1 trillion AUM target by 2030, it would further cement its position as Southeast Asia’s largest wealth manager and augment Singapore’s status as one of the world’s leading international wealth management centers.