OpenAI and the SoftBank Group has announced a partnership to develop and market advanced enterprise AI called “Cristal intelligence.” Cristal intelligence will securely integrate the systems and data of individual enterprises in a way that is customised specifically for each company. SoftBank Group will spend US$3 billion annually to deploy OpenAI’s solutions across its group companies, making it the first company in the world to integrate Cristal intelligence at scale, as well as deploying existing tools like ChatGPT enterprise to employees across the entire group.
Furthermore, to accelerate the deployment of Cristal intelligence customised for Japan-based companies, OpenAI and the SoftBank Group agreed to establish a joint venture (JV) company called “SB OpenAI Japan.” This JV will market Cristal intelligence exclusively to companies in Japan.
Details of this partnership
A vision to transform industry with Cristal intelligence
In 2024, OpenAI launched their o1-series, AI models capable of reasoning. In 2025, these models will evolve into agents, AI’s capable of doing work for you independently — you give it a task and it will execute it.
AI agents for knowledge work will automate everyday tasks — such as generating financial reports, drafting documents and managing customer inquiries — to empower professionals to focus on creativity and decision-making.
OpenAI, SoftBank Group Corp., Arm and SoftBank Corp. share a vision to enable AI agents to help make every knowledge worker more effective and solve even more complex problems. With Cristal intelligence, these AI agents will lay the groundwork for even more advanced systems that can learn and adapt to any enterprise’s needs.
Deploying OpenAI across SoftBank Group companies
By deploying Cristal intelligence across the entire SoftBank Group, we will accelerate the development and adoption of AI agents and more advanced systems. As part of its agreement with OpenAI, SoftBank Group companies, including Arm and SoftBank Corp., will be granted priority access in Japan to the latest and most-advanced models developed by OpenAI.
Arm and SoftBank Corp. will use these technologies to transform their management and operational practices.
Specifically:
- Arm will utilise Cristal intelligence to drive innovation and boost productivity across the company, strengthening its role in advancing AI globally.
- SoftBank Corp. plans to automate over 100 million workflows by using Cristal intelligence. While providing data and additional training in a secure manner, that means not including information related to confidential or personal information used in communications, SoftBank Corp. aims to boost efficiency and enable the creation of new business opportunities within its ecosystem. For utilisation, SoftBank Corp. and the JV will build a secure environment for additional data training and fine-tuning of its data, integrated with its internal systems, to build AI agents.
- By automating and autonomising all of its tasks and workflows, SoftBank Corp. will transform its business and services, and create new value.
A joint commitment to innovation
SB OpenAI Japan, which will be 50:50 owned by OpenAI and a company established by SoftBank Group Corp. and SoftBank Corp., will be consolidated to SoftBank Corp. The JV will serve as a springboard for introducing AI agents tailored to the unique needs of Japanese enterprises while setting a model for global adoption.
To fully maximise the benefits of AI, it is essential for enterprises to be able to conduct additional training and fine-tuning in their own IT environments. This JV will market Cristal intelligence exclusively to companies in Japan to meet this need, and enable clients to securely train their own data in a secure environment and build AI agents that are fully integrated with their own IT systems. By automating and autonomising all of their tasks and workflows, clients will be able to transform their businesses and services, creating new value.
OpenAI will provide its advanced AI research, technology and engineering support to SB OpenAI Japan, while SoftBank Corp. will second its sales staff and engineers to contribute its extensive Japan-based network, operational expertise and business insights to scale these solutions effectively.
Arm’s compute platform will provide the performance, efficiency, and scalability required to support the increasing computational demands of AI agents, from the cloud to the edge.
The learnings gained through this collaboration in Japan will create a repeatable model for AI-driven transformation worldwide.
Masayoshi Son, the chairman and CEO of SoftBank Group, said: “We are thrilled to bring Cristal intelligence, Advanced Enterprise AI that is customised specifically for each company, to the market in a big way. This initiative will not only transform the way SoftBank Group operates but also revolutionise the way companies work in Japan and around the globe. SoftBank Group is fully committed to using the new products across our entire organisation and utilise our great partnership with OpenAI to drive the AI Revolution forward.”
Sam Altman, the CEO of OpenAI, said: “This partnership with SoftBank will accelerate our vision for bringing AI to some of the world’s most influential companies—starting with Japan.”
Rene Haas, the CEO of Arm, said: “Arm is partnering with OpenAI and SoftBank to drive unprecedented productivity across the global technology ecosystem, setting new benchmarks and building a future in which AI agents span from edge to cloud on Arm. We are at the forefront of the AI revolution, and our high-performance, energy-efficient compute is going to be critical to advancing the Cristal intelligence.”
Junichi Miyakawa, the president and CEO of SoftBank Corp., said: “We’re extremely pleased to be partnering with OpenAI. To realise our long-term vision of building next-generation social infrastructure with the aim of implementing AI into society, SoftBank Corp. has been promoting various initiatives, including the buildout of distributed AI data centers and Japan top-level AI computing platforms. I’m greatly looking forward to seeing how we can transform Japan’s businesses through our partnership with OpenAI. By supporting the implementation and utilisation of Cristal intelligence, we’ll transform the management and operational practices of our clients.”
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