Japanese tech conglomerate SoftBank Group and artificial intelligence (AI) leader OpenAI have formed a joint venture, SB OpenAI Japan, to deepen their collaboration in artificial intelligence. The 50-50 partnership was announced at an event in Tokyo, featuring SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman, who emphasized their commitment to advancing AI technologies within Japan.

During the event, Son introduced “Cristal,” an AI service designed to assist companies with strategic planning, marketing, email management, and analyzing legacy source codes. As a symbolic gesture, Son held a shiny blue crystal ball, highlighting Cristal’s potential to predict and optimize business processes.

“This will be super-intelligence for the company. I’m so excited,” Son stated.

Cristal will initially be deployed within SoftBank’s portfolio companies, including semiconductor and software firm Arm and electronic payment service PayPay. SoftBank plans to invest $3 billion annually to integrate Cristal across its operations, signaling a significant commitment to AI-driven transformation.

Altman discussed OpenAI’s latest development, “deep research,” which enhances ChatGPT’s ability to perform complex tasks, such as generating detailed reports by efficiently browsing the web and aggregating data from thousands of sources. This feature will be available in Japanese, making it accessible to local businesses. “This partnership with SoftBank will accelerate our vision for bringing transformative AI to some of the world’s most influential companies, starting with Japan,” Altman said.

The joint venture also aligns with SoftBank and OpenAI’s involvement in the Stargate project, an ambitious AI infrastructure initiative in the U.S., backed by Oracle and reportedly supported by former President Donald Trump. The project aims to invest up to $500 billion in AI infrastructure, with plans to expand into Japan and other countries.

This collaboration comes amid growing competition in the AI sector, particularly from Chinese company DeepSeek, which recently introduced advanced, cost-effective AI solutions. As global AI development accelerates, partnerships like SB OpenAI Japan are poised to play a critical role in shaping the future of technology both domestically and internationally.

Editorial Note: This news article has been written with assistance from AI. Edited & fact-checked by Harshajit Sarmah.