TOKYO (Kyodo) -- U.S. chipmaker Nvidia Corp. CEO Jensen Huang and SoftBank Group Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son on Wednesday announced plans to join forces to accelerate the use of artificial intelligence, emphasizing that Japan's technological prowess, combined with AI, could position the country as a leader in the field.

The two companies will work together to create an AI-assisted mobile network management system capable of maintaining communication speed in heavy traffic areas. Such a system would also be useful in self-driving car and autonomous industrial robot operations, among other purposes, the CEOs said at an event hosted by Nvidia in Tokyo.

"Each one of these new infrastructures opens up new opportunities, so it's incredibly exciting for me to partner with SoftBank to make this possible in Japan," Huang said.

SoftBank's Son said, "I think every industry will be affected by this revolution."

The announcement came as the two companies have ramped up efforts to capitalize on the growth potential of AI amid the fast-expanding use of the technology globally.

Nvidia, widely considered the darling of the industry as many companies rely on its graphics processing units to develop AI, has seen its stock price skyrocket in recent years, becoming one of the most valuable companies in the world following the AI boom.

SoftBank has also been focusing on AI, promoting the use of the technology across countries and industries through its influential British chip-designing subsidiary Arm Holdings Plc., while boosting investments in startups in the sector, such as OpenAI.

Huang said Japan, known for its quality manufacturing but lagging behind overseas rivals in software, could boost its industrial competitiveness by focusing on AI technology.

Cars and robots, two product areas where Japan holds a competitive advantage, are well-suited for AI integration and have strong growth potential, he said.

The Japanese government is not trying to overly regulate the domestic AI market and that should benefit the country's economy, Son said.

The two CEOs have a long-standing history.

In June, Son said he failed to acquire Nvidia, which he hoped to merge with Arm, noting that he held hours-long discussions with Huang about the issue about a month after buying the British chip designer in 2016.

In 2020, SoftBank attempted to sell Arm to Nvidia but abandoned the plan in 2022 due to competitive concerns from regulators in the United States and Europe.

Asked about diversification of Nvidia's supply chain at a press conference later in the day, Huang suggested the possibility of outsourcing part of his company's production in the future to Japan's state-backed chip venture Rapidus Corp., saying he has confidence in that firm's business outlook.