Nvidia launched Cosmos 3 Edge, a world model designed to help robots and AI systems perceive and navigate physical environments in real time.

The announcement came during CEO Jensen Huang's two-day visit to Japan, where the chip giant is forming a coalition with local industrial leaders including Fujitsu, Hitachi and Kawasaki Heavy Industries. The model follows Nvidia's broader Cosmos 3 launch in May.

"The next frontier of AI is in the physical world, and this is a once-in-a-generation opportunity for Japan," Huang said. "Japan invented modern manufacturing. Now, it has the opportunity to reinvent it for the age of intelligent industries."

World models differ from large language models by learning from a wider range of inputs, enabling systems to better understand and interact with physical spaces.

Healthcare and biotech expansion

Nvidia is simultaneously expanding into Japan's healthcare sector through its AI drug discovery initiatives. The company highlighted growth in Tokyo-1, an AI drug discovery consortium operated by Xeureka, a Mitsui subsidiary, which launched in 2023.

Major Japanese pharmaceutical companies including Astellas Pharma, Daiichi Sankyo and Ono Pharmaceutical are using Nvidia's BioNeMo Agent Toolkit to streamline drug discovery workflows.

The platform has grown steadily since its initial announcement, powered by Nvidia's specialized biology toolkit for autonomous AI drug discovery.

Nvidia's Japan push comes months after Microsoft's $10 billion investment in the country to build AI infrastructure and strengthen cybersecurity. SoftBank has also bet heavily on AI development, partnering with Microsoft and Sakura Internet.

Japan's AI market is projected to reach $27.9 billion by 2029, according to the International Trade Administration. The growth is driven by Tokyo's active promotion of AI adoption across industries and local firms' eagerness for international partnerships.

Beyond biotech, Nvidia said it is expanding into industrial automation through a partnership with Kawasaki Heavy Industries, though specific details were not disclosed.