Fujitsu launches made-in-Japan next-generation CPU FUJITSU-MONAKA
93 points by my123 2 days ago | 29 comments
  • rwmj an hour ago |
    It's Arm based, although they barely mention that.
    • thebeardisred 39 minutes ago |
      Thanks I was, of course, looking and very curious what their tool chain story will be.
    • minimeow 31 minutes ago |
      Yes the lack of transparency on ARM architecture and the obfuscation of the RAM capacity with just the slot information is annoying. Not sure if it is deliberate to sell this at a premium to "mainframe" customers or whether its just their marketing folk not being on the ball. Fascinated by the fact Japan has a 2nm process node but I suspect that too is marketing. Perhaps the 2nm portion of the chip is done at TSMC and the rest of the package done in Japan or something like that. It's not like there's a plethora of 2nm Fabs around the planet to choose from.
    • nubinetwork 13 minutes ago |
      If they didn't mention SVE2, I wouldn't have known either... that would make it arm9 at the earliest...
  • sherujgr an hour ago |
    Iam very curious as to how well it'll perform outside of Asia.
    • esafak 40 minutes ago |
      And if they'll sell it, seeing as they market it as 'sovereign AI'.
  • alightsoul 37 minutes ago |
    Fun fact, Fujitsu used to run their own fabs in Japan until they were sold to UMC and now they're another UMC fab although they are stuck at like the 20nm node. So this is likely made at JASM.
    • iicc 31 minutes ago |
      I think they'd say if the CPU was fabbed in Japan, instead there's some very "careful" wording:

      >next-generation CPU, FUJITSU-MONAKA [1], designed and developed in Japan

      >Fujitsu MONAKA Server, powered by the FUJITSU-MONAKA CPU, enhances sovereign capabilities through domestic manufacturing,

      • iicc 23 minutes ago |
        >FUJITSU-MONAKA utilizes a 3D-stacked architecture with a state-of-the-art 2nm process for the core and a 5nm process for the cache and I/O sections.

        https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japan_Advanced_Semiconductor_M...

        >The Phase 2 factory was under construction as of January 2025, next to the Phase 1 facility, and is expected to be completed by 2027.[3] Initially planned for manufacturing semiconductors using a 6 nm process, 3 nm was incorporated into production plans for 2028 in 2026

  • Youden 36 minutes ago |
    Where are the CPUs fabbed? They make a big deal about "sovereign" but is the CPU actually made in Japan, or do they rely on TSMC?

    Also odd how big an emphasis they put on AI inference when they don't build the GPU?

    • Max-q 34 minutes ago |
      The article says that it’s manufactured in Japan.
      • ranger_danger 29 minutes ago |
        where exactly does it say that? I don't consider "designed and developed in Japan" to be the same as manufactured there
        • bradyd 27 minutes ago |
          At the very top of the article: "Achieving world-class AI inference performance through Japan-developed 2nm 3D-stacked CPU and server integrated, developed, and manufactured in Japan"
          • sgerenser 22 minutes ago |
            "Japan-developed CPU..." plus the server itself (parts, power supplies, case, etc.) integrated, developed and manufactured in Japan. It sounds like they're weasel-wording it a bit, but I don't think the CPU itself is manufactured in Japan, only "developed."
          • hobofan 14 minutes ago |
            Pretty sure it's worded in a way that it applies only to the server, so it should be read as two distinct things:

            - Japan-developed 2nm 3D-stacked CPU

            - server integrated, developed, and manufactured in Japan

    • nicce 28 minutes ago |
      > put on AI inference when they don't build the GPU?

      GPU in AI world is essentially a set of specific matrix calculations that this CPU supports on hardware-level. Thought memory speed seems low.

    • DashAnimal 24 minutes ago |
      According to a Feb press release, they're fabbed by TSMC:

      > For FUJITSU-MONAKA, the 2nm semiconductors will tape out next year. Due to this, Rapidus would be unable to meet the deadline, so TSMC is handling the manufacturing.

      Source: https://global.fujitsu/en-global/pr/news/2026/02/12-01?utm_s...

      According to Rapidus webpage, they are explicitly starting mass production of their 2nm in 2027.

      Source: https://www.rapidus.inc/en/iim/?utm_source=chatgpt.com

  • redlewel 27 minutes ago |
    Would be cool to get ahold of one of these in the US.

    I do find it odd that the 2U model has less storage capacity than the 1U on their chart. That doesn't make much sense to me.

  • 10729287 20 minutes ago |
    The two made-in-Japan, premium grade, Fujitsu laptops I had to work with were by far the worse pieces of electronic I have ever used. Both exhibited identical defects: fans running continuously at maximum speed, and the batteries would completely die within hours of the devices being powered off. Windows or Linux. And don't talk about that tiny unresponsive trackpad to me. Never again.
    • dijit 15 minutes ago |
      The Fujitsu Lifebooks were legendary for their robustness back in the day, I'm genuinely sad you had that experience.

      The only fujitsu laptops I used was back in 2011- it was a budget version for on-call and it was fine..

      Sounds like the fans running 100% probably contributed significantly to the issue here. If I had to guess it was likely that the C-States were disabled in BIOS somehow so the CPU clock was running at full tilt the whole time, maybe combined with a bad thermal paste job.

      I'm not here to defend Fujitsu but I've had really bad experiences with basically every major laptop brand (Dell: majorly bad coil whine and especially faulty soldered RAM, HP: keys vanishing from the keyboard and very weak hinges that break all the time, Apple: The GPU unsoldering itself and the butterfly keyboard shenanigans).

      I don't really know any brand with a flawless track record sadly.

      Before anyone brings up Thinkpads, they're trading on a reputation that hasn't been true for over a decade. If you have fond memories of a thinkpad it's most likely that you had it from before 2016, or it's "fine", but certainly not great.

    • dwroberts 4 minutes ago |
      Their consumer electronics arm is completely unrelated and also majority owned by Lenovo
  • pipes 13 minutes ago |
    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Post_Office_scandal

    Their software is so poor that it caused probably the biggest miscarriage of justice in history. Well that and Fujitsu staff colluding with post office executives to put innocent people in prison rather than admit there was a problem

    • varispeed 8 minutes ago |
      I wouldn't trust that this CPU can do maths properly.
    • jfewhfuehg 4 minutes ago |
      Japan fell from greatness. It will take many more generations to regain their spirit.
    • Maken 2 minutes ago |
      The 'Fujitsu' that made the shitty software was a British consulting company that was acquired by Fujitsu [1] to farm public contracts. This is made by the Japanese parent company.

      [1] https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/International_Computers_Limite...

  • varispeed 9 minutes ago |
    Never buy products of this dodgy company.

    https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/British_Post_Office_scandal

  • kittikitti 4 minutes ago |
    I think what's most notable about this for me is the reduced environmental impact. The specifications list liquid-cooling as optional and it highlights the CPU as the main processor instead of a power hungry GPU. My takeaway is that the next generation of AI HPC's will focus more heavily on sustainable operations.