SoftBank and OpenAI Drive AI Infrastructure Investment
SoftBank Group Corp. CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman will collaborate in Tokyo to promote investments in AI infrastructure.
The event, titled "Transforming Business through AI," will also feature Arm Holdings CEO Rene Haas and SoftBank telecom head Junichi Miyakawa.
According to Nikkei, the executives aim to secure support from Japanese companies for building data centers, power plants, and other AI-supporting hardware.
SoftBank has partnered with OpenAI, Oracle, and MGX for the multi-billion dollar "Stargate Project," which aims to construct data centers and infrastructure for the ChatGPT creator. The project plans to invest $100 billion initially, with a target of $500 billion over four years.
Son has emphasized the urgency for Japan to invest in AI, given its missed opportunities in internet growth. However, Japan faces challenges with oil and gas imports and public concerns about nuclear power after the Fukushima disaster.
SoftBank's shares declined 2.5% in Tokyo on Monday amid concerns over Stargate's feasibility and financial impact. Credit risk gauges, measured by credit default swaps, have also widened.
SoftBank's plans involve Arm's chip architecture and the company's domestic telecom arm, which has partnerships across Japan. Son has criticized Japanese companies for slow AI adoption, likening non-adopters to goldfish with limited information processing capabilities.
SoftBank's mobile arm, Japan's third-largest wireless carrier, collaborates with Microsoft to market OpenAI services in Japan and develops its own chatbot. It also owns shares in PayPay, Line, and Yahoo Japan.