SoftBank not only invested US$500 billion in Project Stargate to become part of OpenAI's ability to build American artificial intelligence infrastructure, but also established a Japanese joint venture with OpenAI to spend US$3 billion to deploy OpenAI technology in various SoftBank companies. It also claimed that it would use AGI to revolutionize business through a new artificial intelligence system called "Cristalintelligence".
The Wall Street Journal reports that SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son, who has also invested billions in WeWork, claimed at an announcement event in Tokyo that artificial general intelligence (AGI) will arrive "earlier" than the two to three years he previously predicted.
Of course, changes in the definition of AGI may help this prediction, as new partner Sam Altman recently explained.
In a press release, SoftBank highlighted how AI agents can "automate routine tasks" to facilitate knowledge work. SoftBank shared some vague examples of how it will use Cristal Intelligence at Arm, which it owns, and SoftBank Corp.: Arm, which designs many of the chips and servers used by artificial intelligence companies, said it will use the technology to "drive innovation and increase productivity across the company," while SoftBank plans to "automate more than 100 million workflows" to "increase efficiency and create new business opportunities in its ecosystem."
Son announced Cristal Intelligence at an event in Tokyo and held a crystal ball at the event.
The joint venture between SoftBank and OpenAI is called "SBOpenAIJapan", and the two companies will each hold half of the shares. According to the press release, the joint venture will "exclusively sell Cristal smarts to major companies in Japan."