SoftBank Corp. unveils Telco AI Cloud vision for social infrastructure
Telecommunications operator is integrating GPU cloud, AI-RAN and software for AI data centers to evolve into an AI infrastructure provider
SoftBank Corp. announced a new vision, Telco AI Cloud, aimed at building next-generation social infrastructure for the AI era by leveraging its nationwide telecommunications foundation.
Telco AI Cloud is an AI infrastructure vision that integrates a large-scale AI data center platform powered by a GPU (Graphics Processing Unit) cloud, an AI-RAN-based MEC (Multi-access Edge Computing) platform, and a software stack for AI data centers*1 called “Infrinia AI Cloud OS.” By optimizing AI processing from training to inference and utilizing its nationwide telecommunications infrastructure, SoftBank will build a distributed AI infrastructure that delivers low latency, high reliability, and sovereign capability (data sovereignty). Through its Telco AI Cloud vision, SoftBank aims to evolve beyond the traditional role of a telecommunications operator and become an AI infrastructure provider.
Read More: ITTech Pulse Exclusive Interview with Kevin Paige, Field CISO at ConductorOne
Components of Telco AI Cloud
Telco AI Cloud is a vision uniquely enabled by SoftBank’s position as a telecommunications operator with a nationwide network infrastructure. Unlike hyperscaler-type centralized clouds, it enables the construction of a distributed AI infrastructure embedded within a telecommunications network.
Telco AI Cloud consists primarily of:
- Large-scale AI data centers (GPU cloud) responsible mainly for AI training,
- An AI-RAN-based MEC platform and orchestrator that perform low-latency inference processing, and
- he “Infrinia AI Cloud OS” software stack that centrally manages and integrates these components.
In its AI-RAN product “AITRAS,” SoftBank is developing an orchestrator (“AITRAS Orchestrator”) that monitors in real time the demand for computing resources used for both AI processing and RAN (Radio Access Network) control. Based on multiple indicators—such as resource availability, application requirements, and projected power consumption—the orchestrator dynamically and flexibly allocates resources. Within Telco AI Cloud, RAN itself is managed as a unified AI application, enabling advanced cross-domain control of computing resources across both the telecommunications network and AI processing infrastructure.
In distributed AI infrastructure environments, variations in configurations across sites can create operational complexity. To address this challenge, SoftBank has developed “Infrinia AI Cloud OS,” a software stack that provides integrated management from GPUs and telecommunications networks to Kubernetes*2 and AI workloads. This enables optimized AI processing from training to inference and supports secure, multi-tenant GPU cloud operations.
Announcements Related to Realizing Telco AI Cloud
In conjunction with MWC Barcelona 2026, SoftBank has announced the following initiatives to realize Telco AI Cloud:
- Advancing Telecommunications Networks for the Physical AI Era
Following the start of collaboration with Yaskawa Electric Corporation on physical AI robots utilizing MEC for social implementation of Physical AI*3, SoftBank successfully conducted a joint proof-of-concept with Ericsson using AI-RAN to deliver low-latency, high-reliability networks for Physical AI. By tightly integrating robots, networks, and computing resources, and enabling dynamic offloading of AI processing along with network optimization, SoftBank aims to realize next-generation networks that support real-time Physical AI applications.
Related Press Release:
February 27, 2026: “SoftBank Corp. and Ericsson Successfully Demonstrate Low-Latency, High-Reliability Network-enabled Physical AI With AI-RAN” - Deployment of Secure Edge AI Infrastructure for Industrial Sectors
SoftBank has commenced collaboration with Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. to expand the deployment of “AITRAS” in the edge data center domain. This initiative enables secure, low-latency AI inference in on-premises environments, promoting advanced edge AI utilization in industrial sectors such as manufacturing.
Related Press Release:
March 2, 2026: “SoftBank Corp. and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries Begin Collaboration in Edge Data Center Domain Using “AITRAS”
Read More: Generative AI & AI Agents in the Enterprise: Architecture, Use Cases, Risks, and the Road Ahead
- Expansion of the AI-RAN Ecosystem
SoftBank has open-sourced the Dynamic Scoring Framework (DSF), a core function of the AITRAS Orchestrator. DSF enables optimization based on resource conditions in multi-cluster environments. Through this initiative, SoftBank will strengthen collaboration with partners and open-source software (OSS) communities, lower barriers to AI-RAN adoption, and accelerate commercial deployment.
Write to us [wasim.a@demandmediaagency.com] to learn more about our exclusive editorial packages and programmes.
