Tsurugi Database – Nautilus Technologies, Inc., Internet Initiative Japan Inc., TEPCO Power Grid, Inc., CHUBU Electric Power Grid, Fujitsu Limited, and 1Finity Inc., a Fujitsu company and leading provider of global network solutions, today announced the launch of a joint proof-of-concept experiment for a next-generation distributed AI processing infrastructure aimed at realizing the Watt-Bit Convergence Vision, under the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization’s (NEDO) “Study on the Validation of Low-Latency Distributed Processing Technologies for Next-Generation Infrastructure” (1) .
This proof-of-concept experiment aims to realize the distributed deployment of computing resources envisioned by the Watt-Bit Vision, a strategic framework that links electricity grids (“watts”) and telecommunications (“bits”) to optimize energy use and computing power. To this end, an All-Photonics Network (APN) (2) will be constructed by combining optical fiber cables owned by TEPCO Power Grid and CHUBU Electric Power Grid with communications equipment provided by Fujitsu and 1Finity. By controlling the operating timing of GPU servers (3) deployed at two geographically separated locations, the experiment will evaluate the feasibility of flexible adjustments in response to electricity demand conditions, while also validating the effectiveness of low-latency distributed processing technologies for operating these resources as a unified AI processing environment.
Specifically, this proof-of-concept experiment will use the final race of the “KYOJO CUP” formula racing series held at Fuji Speedway as its field environment. Real-time 4K video footage and telemetry data(4) collected from onboard cameras and telemetry units(5) installed in race cars will be gathered and transmitted via the APN through highbandwidth, low-latency communications to GPU servers for AI-processing distributed across the TEPCO Power Grid and Chubu Electric Power Grid service areas. This enables the collected data to be processed by any of the GPU servers located across both service areas.
With demand for AI computing expected to continue growing, this proof-of-concept experiment will examine the feasibility of applying low-latency distributed processing technologies to utilize the power consumption of GPU servers as a resource for electricity supply-demand balancing. The demonstration will evaluate the practical applicability of these technologies toward achieving that objective.
This initiative represents Japan’s first attempt(6) to jointly operate geographically distributed GPU servers as a unified AI processing environment across areas with different utility frequencies (50 Hz and 60 Hz). Looking ahead, the project is expected to contribute to the realization of Watt-Bit Convergence by enabling AI workloads to be shifted to regions with surplus power capacity, thereby promoting more efficient utilization of electricity infrastructure.
The proof-of-concept period is scheduled to run from August 2026 to March 2027, with the proof-of-concept commencing from Round 3 of the KYOJO CUP series. Details of this proof-of-concept and its system verification results are expected to be presented at industry events, including Inter BEE(7), from autumn 2026 onward.
Reference 1: Roles of participating companies
The roles of each participating company in this proof-of-concept experiment are as follows.
Reference 2: Infrastructure configuration of the proof-of-concept experiment
The GPU servers installed in the two locations are interconnected via optical fiber cables provided by TEPCO Power Grid and CHUBU Electric Power Grid, together with optical network systems provided by Fujitsu and 1Finity, enabling them to operate as a unified AI processing infrastructure.
Reference 3: Key technologies utilized in the proof-of-concept experiment
・All-Photonics Network (APN)
The All-Photonics Network (APN) is a next-generation communications infrastructure that processes information as optical signals wherever possible. In conventional communication networks, optical and electrical signals are repeatedly converted at each network device. APN minimizes these conversions, enabling low-latency, high-capacity, and energy-efficient communications.
For this proof-of-concept experiment, an optical Network Interface Card (optical NIC) currently under development by 1Finity and scheduled for commercial release in October 2026 will be deployed. By utilizing the optical NIC, servers located more than 100 kilometers apart can be directly interconnected using optical signals without relying on conventional Layer 2 and Layer 3 switches or routers.
This approach further reduces communication latency while leveraging proprietary technologies to minimize performance degradation over long-distance connections.
・Next-Generation High-Performance Relational Database “Tsurugi”
This proof-of-concept experiment employs Tsurugi, a next-generation high-performance relational database (RDB) developed in Japan, as the core database of the system. Support and architecture design for the system are provided by Nautilus Technologies, Inc.
Tsurugi is an open-source next-generation relational database developed in Japan with support from the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO). It is designed to deliver high transaction processing performance and scalability while providing an end-to-end domestic support and manufacturing framework.
Tsurugi is also being enhanced to support future AI-driven applications. In addition to supporting AI integration technologies such as the Model Context Protocol (MCP) (9), it provides a mechanism for seamlessly utilizing remote GPUs directly from the database through user-defined functions (UDFs) (10) .
These capabilities enable efficient integration between the data management platform and the AI processing infrastructure, contributing to the realization of low-latency AI processing in this proof-of-concept experiment.
