SoftBank and OpenAI Launch "SB OAI Japan" Joint Venture to Revolutionize Japanese Enterprise with "Crystal Intelligence"

The SoftBank Group and OpenAI have officially launched a new joint venture, SB OAI Japan, on November 5, 2025, aiming to introduce "Crystal intelligence" across Japan. This strategic collaboration seeks to transform corporate management and operational practices within Japanese enterprises using advanced AI tools, as reported by group.softbank.

This new company is designed to combine OpenAI's cutting-edge enterprise offerings with localized support, specifically tailored for the Japanese market. The initiative underscores a significant push to enhance productivity and management efficiency through the widespread adoption of advanced AI, according to a Phemex report.

The core offering, "Crystal intelligence," is described as a packaged enterprise AI solution that integrates OpenAI's latest products with comprehensive implementation and system integration services. This bespoke approach ensures that the AI solutions are customized for each company, securely integrating their systems and data, Investopedia noted on February 3, 2025.

SoftBank Corp. will serve as the inaugural adopter of this technology, deploying "Crystal intelligence" internally to rigorously validate its effectiveness. This internal deployment will provide crucial insights and operational expertise, which will then be shared with other enterprises through SB OAI Japan, as detailed by group.softbank.

OpenAI CEO Sam Altman emphasized the joint venture as a pivotal step in bringing advanced AI to influential companies globally, starting with Japan, according to group.softbank. This aligns with OpenAI's broader global expansion strategy, which includes establishing a robust infrastructure and pursuing substantial partnerships, as reported by techi on March 25, 2025.

Masayoshi Son, Chairman & CEO of SoftBank Group Corp., stated that this venture marks the beginning of a new era of innovation, transforming how businesses are managed and people work. He envisions AI agents collaborating autonomously to perform tasks, driving the AI revolution to its next stage, group.softbank confirmed.

The joint venture, which is 50:50 owned by OpenAI and a SoftBank entity, will be consolidated into SoftBank Corp., according to softbank News. This structure highlights SoftBank's deep commitment, with the group pledging to spend $3 billion annually to deploy OpenAI's solutions across its various companies, The Fast Mode reported.

• Strategic Market Entry and IPO Ambitions: SB OAI Japan is set to exclusively market "Crystal intelligence" in Japan, with commercial availability anticipated in 2026, as reported by PANews on November 5, 2025. Furthermore, the joint venture plans to pursue an initial public offering (IPO) as early as 2026, signaling strong confidence in its scalability and the trajectory of the broader AI market, according to ainvest. This move positions Japan as a strategic launchpad for global enterprise AI integration, as highlighted by Bitget News on November 4, 2025.

• SoftBank's AI-Native Transformation: The SoftBank Group is actively transforming into an "AI-native" organization, encouraging all employees to utilize AI in their daily operations. group.softbank reported that the company has already created approximately 2.5 million custom GPTs for internal use, laying the groundwork for "Crystal intelligence". This internal adoption by SoftBank Corp. will provide a real-world validation of the technology before its wider rollout, ensuring proven effectiveness for future clients, as stated by softbank News.

• OpenAI's Expanding Global Footprint: The formation of SB OAI Japan is a significant part of OpenAI's aggressive global expansion strategy, which aims to bring advanced AI to key international markets. OpenAI CEO Sam Altman has emphasized Japan's "mature technology ecosystem and regulatory environment conducive to AI innovation" as a strategic first market, according to ainvest. This follows OpenAI's establishment of an office in Tokyo in April 2024, demonstrating its long-term commitment to the region and its enterprise clients, coingeek reported.

• Addressing Japan's AI Adoption Gap: Despite Japan's technological prowess, AI utilization among its knowledge workers has lagged behind other major economies, with only 32% compared to 91% in China and 71% in the United States, a survey released by SoftBank on May 8, 2025, indicated. SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son has expressed concern over this gap, urging Japan to "wake up" and actively embrace AI technology. SB OAI Japan aims to bridge this gap by providing tailored, localized AI solutions to Japanese businesses, as noted by Tokyoesque.

• Broader AI Ecosystem and Competition: The Japanese AI market is experiencing rapid growth, driven by government initiatives and corporate innovation across various sectors, according to dkv Global. While SB OAI Japan focuses on "Crystal intelligence," OpenAI has also partnered with NTT Data to bring ChatGPT Enterprise and develop AI agents for the Japanese market, as reported by Capacity Media on April 25, 2025. This indicates a competitive yet dynamic landscape for enterprise AI solutions in Japan, with multiple players vying for market share.

• Technological Integration and Future Vision: "Crystal intelligence" is designed to securely integrate enterprise systems and data, offering customized solutions for each company, as explained by The Fast Mode. SoftBank Corp. President & CEO Junichi Miyakawa outlined SoftBank's broader AI vision, which includes deploying "Crystal intelligence," developing homegrown Japanese LLMs, and building a top-tier AI computation platform, telecomtv reported on February 11, 2025. This comprehensive approach aims to create next-generation social infrastructure powered by AI across Japan.

• Impact on Japanese Industries: The initiative targets critical sectors such as finance, healthcare, and customer service, where AI adoption is gaining momentum but remains fragmented, ainvest stated. By leveraging OpenAI's advanced AI capabilities and SoftBank's extensive domestic network, SB OAI Japan intends to develop tailored solutions that will enhance productivity and management efficiency across these industries, as highlighted by Bitget News. Tokyo's corporate landscape, for instance, is already seeing AI reshape operations from data analysis to customer experience, according to unser.