OpenAI, SoftBank launch joint venture to bring AI agents to Japan

February 03, 2025 11:05 AM

OpenAI has teamed up with SoftBank to launch SB OpenAI Japan, a joint venture developing AI tools and models specifically for Japanese businesses.

SB OpenAI Japan will provide priority access to specialist OpenAI models developed under the name ‘Cristal intelligence’. The companies behind it will own an equal 50:50 share of the joint venture.

The new company will also work to create agentic AI solutions, or AI agents like OpenAI’s new Operator, which are designed to automate tasks for Japanese enterprises while “setting a model for global adoption”.

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Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, said: “This partnership with SoftBank will accelerate our vision for bringing transformative AI to some of the world’s most influential companies — starting with Japan.”

SoftBank said it will spend $3 billion annually to deploy OpenAI’s systems across its portfolio of companies, while also looking at applying AI agent solutions to its companies, including chipmaker Arm, to “transform their management and operational practices”.

SoftBank said it plans to use agentic AI solutions from Cristal intelligence to automate more than 100 million workflows which it said will boost efficiency and “enable the creation of new business opportunities within its ecosystem”.

The new joint venture will be tasked with building environments to support data training for new agentic AI applications. The companies behind it said they’re exploring ways to ensure customer data is secured on servers of data centres based in Japan,

Masayoshi Son, chair and CEO of SoftBank Group Corp, said: “We are thrilled to bring Cristal intelligence, advanced enterprise AI that is customised specifically for each company, to the market in a big way.

“This initiative will not only transform the way SoftBank operates but also revolutionize the way companies work in Japan and around the globe. SoftBank is fully committed to leveraging the new products across our entire organisation and utilise our great partnership with OpenAI to drive the AI revolution forward.”

OpenAI’s work with SoftBank on Cristal intelligence is the latest in the ever-growing growing partnership between the two firms.

Having already taken a $1.5 billion stake in the startup and added $500 million to its October 2024 funding round reports suggested SoftBank will add up to $25 billion into the ChatGPT maker to cover its share of the Stargate Project.