Japan to build supercomputer 1000 times faster than world’s most powerful machines

Japan is set to break new ground in the world of computing by launching the construction of the first-ever “zeta-class” supercomputer next year.

Expected to be fully operational by 2030, this supercomputer will be 1,000 times faster than today’s most powerful machines.

The cutting-edge project is expected to cost more than $750 million, marking Japan’s strategic move to stay ahead in the rapidly advancing field of artificial intelligence (AI).

A leap beyond ExaFLOPS: The era of ZetaFLOPS

Japan’s Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science, and Technology (MEXT) unveiled plans for this supercomputer on August 28, signaling a significant leap forward in computational speed. The new machine is designed to operate at zetaFLOPS speeds—a scale of performance never before achieved.

To put this into perspective, the most powerful supercomputers today operate at exaFLOPS levels, capable of performing just over one quintillion (1 followed by 18 zeros) calculations per second.

A zetaFLOPS supercomputer , on the other hand, will be able to handle one sextillion (1 followed by 21 zeros) calculations per second. This massive increase in computational power will enable Japan to tackle the most complex challenges in AI and scientific research.

“The decision to build such a superpowered machine has been made ‘in order to keep up with the development of scientific research using AI,'” reported the Japanese news site Nikkei .

With AI becoming increasingly integral to scientific progress, Japan’s commitment to developing this zeta-class supercomputer underscores its determination to remain at the forefront of technological innovation.

Building on success: Fugaku Next

The proposed supercomputer, tentatively named “Fugaku Next,” will succeed Japan’s current supercomputing powerhouse, Fugaku. With a peak performance of 0.44 exaFLOPS, Fugaku held the title of the world’s fastest supercomputer until 2022 when it was surpassed by the U.S.’s Frontier supercomputer, which reached 1.2 exaFLOPS.

Despite slipping to fourth place in the global rankings, Fugaku remains a symbol of Japan’s technological prowess.

Fugaku Next will be developed by RIKEN and Fujitsu, the same companies behind the original Fugaku. According to Tom’s Hardware , the new machine will likely utilize components designed by Fujitsu, ensuring cross-compatibility between the two supercomputers.

However, details about the specific components and technologies that will power Fugaku Next remain scarce at this stage.

One of the primary challenges in constructing a zeta-class supercomputer is energy efficiency. A 2023 report from HPCwire highlighted that building such a machine with current technologies would require an enormous amount of energy, equivalent to the output of 21 nuclear power plants. This presents a significant hurdle that engineers must overcome to make Fugaku Next a reality.

Financial commitment and global impact

Japan’s financial commitment to this project is substantial. MEXT has earmarked ¥4.2 billion ($29 million) for the first year of development, with the total budget potentially reaching ¥110 billion ($761 million) over the course of the project.

The goal is to complete Fugaku Next by 2030, making it the most powerful supercomputer on Earth—provided no other nation develops a zeta-class machine first, which seems highly unlikely at this point.