OpenAI, SoftBank to launch joint AI venture

By Mucahithan Avcioglu

ISTANBUL (AA) - US AI giant OpenAI and Japan's SoftBank announced on Monday that they have agreed to establish a joint venture called "SB OpenAI Japan."

The joint venture will focus on marketing a new advanced enterprise AI, named "Cristal intelligence," exclusively to major companies in Japan.

As part of the agreement, SoftBank will invest $3 billion annually for its own use and that of its subsidiaries, providing them access to OpenAI’s technology in Japan.

SoftBank and its affiliates will have access to OpenAI’s ChatGPT Enterprise, API, custom models, and agent products like Operator. Additionally, OpenAI tools will be used by Arm, the British chip designer acquired by SoftBank in 2016, to "boost productivity across the company."

This partnership follows the disruption caused by China's DeepSeek AI chatbot on US tech stocks.

Both companies are also listed as contributors to "The Stargate Project," which is said to invest up to $500 billion into AI infrastructure in the US.