In a groundbreaking move to enhance artificial intelligence services, Japanese tech giant SoftBank Group and OpenAI have joined forces to set up a joint company named SB OpenAI Japan. This strategic partnership aims to bring advanced AI solutions to some of Japan's most influential companies and beyond.
The announcement was made at an event in Tokyo, where SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman underscored the importance of their collaboration. Son highlighted the potential of their AI service, Cristal, which is designed to streamline corporate tasks such as marketing, planning, email management, and deciphering legacy source codes. The initial rollout of Cristal will occur within SoftBank's portfolio companies, including semiconductor firm Arm and digital payment platform PayPay.
SoftBank has committed to investing $3 billion annually to integrate the AI service, Cristal, across its businesses. Son enthusiastically described the initiative as a step toward creating 'super-intelligence' for the company, expressing his excitement during the Transforming Business through AI event.
Adding to the innovative thrust is OpenAI's introduction of 'deep research,' an advanced feature of ChatGPT. This development allows AI to perform complex tasks such as generating comprehensive reports through extensive web searches, outperforming traditional human capabilities in speed and breadth. Notably, this feature will be available in the Japanese language, making it exceptionally useful for local enterprises.
Altman affirmed that the collaboration with SoftBank would significantly accelerate OpenAI's mission of delivering transformative AI solutions globally, with Japan as the starting point.
Furthermore, SoftBank and OpenAI, alongside Oracle, are key players in the Stargate project—a significant initiative supported by former U.S. President Donald Trump—which plans to inject up to $500 billion into building AI infrastructure in the United States. Son mentioned that a similar expansion is on the horizon for Japan and other countries, reflecting the global reach and impact of this venture.
This partnership emerges amidst competitive pressures in the AI sector, with new entrants like China's DeepSeek introducing sophisticated yet affordable AI solutions. The collaboration between SoftBank and OpenAI signifies a robust push towards staying at the forefront of AI innovation and business transformation.
