When examining the current landscape of AI investments, it appears that AI firms and their backers are replicating a self-sustaining profit cycle. Rather than a natural ecosystem, this is a financial loop designed to funnel returns back into their own pockets.
Take SoftBank as an example: after pouring tens of billions into OpenAI and pledging even more for the construction of AI data centers and infrastructure, the company has now established a joint venture with OpenAI in Japan. This partnership aims to adapt and distribute OpenAI’s enterprise technologies to Japanese businesses. Interestingly, SoftBank itself will be the inaugural client for this new venture.
Named SB OAI Japan, this collaboration will be equally owned by SoftBank and OpenAI. The companies describe their offering as “Crystal intelligence,” a bundled AI solution tailored for Japanese corporate management and operational needs.
“Crystal intelligence aims to boost organizational productivity and management effectiveness by leveraging advanced AI technologies. The solution merges OpenAI’s enterprise products with localized deployment and support through SB OAI Japan,” SoftBank explained in a statement.
SoftBank appears determined to drive the AI excitement—and the profits that come with it. The group noted that all its staff are “actively using AI in their everyday work,” and that it has developed 2.5 million customized ChatGPT models for internal purposes so far.
The company also shared plans to implement the joint venture’s solutions across its various subsidiaries, assess their impact on product innovation and “business transformation,” and then share the knowledge and experience gained with other organizations via SB OAI Japan.
This partnership is launching at a time when industry experts are voicing concerns about the enormous sums being invested in AI and related projects, as well as the soaring valuations of companies in this sector. Many are drawing parallels to the dot-com era, when the rapid expansion of the internet led to a surge in venture funding and inflated company values—echoing previous cycles where vast resources were spent on untested business models without clear evidence of substantial returns.
