SoftBank and OpenAI have launched a 50-50 joint venture called SB OAI Japan to localize and sell OpenAI's enterprise AI technologies to Japanese companies. The partnership’s first customer is SoftBank itself, which will deploy the new "Crystal intelligence" packaged solution across its businesses. SoftBank reports that all its employees are actively using AI and that it has created 2.5 million custom ChatGPT instances for internal use. The joint venture aims to combine OpenAI’s enterprise offerings with SoftBank’s local implementation and support, helping Japanese firms boost productivity and management efficiency. Read more →