SoftBank, OpenAI Partner to Develop AI for Japanese Firms

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FEB 3

Above: Masayoshi Son (R) and Sam Altman at the Prime Minister's official residence in Tokyo on Feb. 3, 2025. Image copyright: Franck Robichon/Pool/Contributor/AFP via Getty Imagesstory last updated FEB 5

The Facts

Japan's SoftBank Group and US-based OpenAI on Monday announced a joint venture — SB OpenAI Japan — to develop Cristal intelligence, an advanced enterprise artificial intelligence (AI) offering that securely integrates Japanese firms' systems and data in a customized manner.
During its launch in Tokyo, SoftBank Chief Masayoshi Son and OpenAI's Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman invited Japanese firms to join the vision of their 50-50 held company, operating under SoftBank's telecom arm SoftBank Corp.
SoftBank will spend $3B yearly to deploy OpenAI's services in its group firms, while SB OpenAI Japan will hire 1K people from SoftBank to market OpenAI's products to carmakers, retailers, and other industries.

The Spin

Narrative A

For Son, everything until now has been a mere prelude. The billions spent, the risks taken — these were just warm-ups for his true vision: artificial superintelligence. He envisions a future where AI reshapes daily life, managing households, emotions, and entire economies. With SoftBank's war chest and OpenAI as a key ally, Son is charging ahead, undeterred by past failures. For him, this isn't just business — it's destiny, the defining moment he was born to create.

FT The Japan Times

Narrative B

AI's speculative fever has hit hypergear. Son's high-stakes gambit backing OpenAI, Wayve, and Perplexity AI mirrors a history of dizzying wins and catastrophic losses. As valuations soar and computing power bottlenecks tighten, the AI boom edges toward an unsustainable crescendo. Whether this is the start of a revolution or a Minsky-style collapse, one thing is certain — the AI bubble isn't slowing any time soon. It's only accelerating.

NDTV Profit Guardian

Narrative C

Son's latest AI fervor feels like overcompensation — an almost desperate attempt to rewrite history after missing Nvidia's meteoric rise and arriving late to OpenAI. Now, he's poised to double down, throwing billions at Altman's venture just as challengers like DeepSeek have emerged. The irony? Son spoke of AI's future for years, yet his timing remains off. Whether his latest bet cements his legacy or joins his past misfires remains an open question.

Reuters Lipper Alpha Insight

Narrative D

SoftBank's deepening ties with OpenAI mark a geopolitical pivot, binding Japan to America's AI ambitions while counterbalancing China's rise. Now chairing the $500B US-backed initiative, Son positions Japan as a critical AI power broker. However, as Donald Trump fast-tracks AI infrastructure under national security rhetoric, Japan risks being both a linchpin and a pawn in an escalating US-China tech cold war. The race just got sharper.

Carbon Credits ThePrint