SoftBank and Chat GPT developers to release enterprise AI services

SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son has reached an agreement with OpenAI CEO Sam Altman to create a joint venture in Japan that will provide AI solutions to corporate clients, Reuters reports.

The joint venture is called SB OpenAI Japan. It will be owned by OpenAI and a company created by SoftBank in cooperation with its telecommunications division.

In addition, SoftBank will pay $3 billion annually for the use of OpenAI technologies in its subsidiaries. The total investment of the Japanese conglomerate in OpenAI could be $15-25 billion.

SoftBank is also investing $15 billion in the Stargate project, a joint venture between OpenAI and Oracle aimed at expanding artificial intelligence capabilities in the United States.

Interestingly, the launch of Stargate last month was the second public event involving Masayoshi Son and Donald Trump since his victory in the 2016 election.

After a period of financial cuts caused by the decline in the value of SoftBank’s technology portfolio, Son is returning to large-scale investments. His company has a long history of cooperation with American technology giants – in 2008, it was SoftBank that helped bring the iPhone to the Japanese market.