OpenAI and SoftBank partner to push AGI and agents
Add Axios as your preferred source to
see more of our stories on Google.
Photo: Tomohiro Ohsumi/Getty Images
OpenAI and SoftBank are teaming up to sell an enterprise AI system in Japan called "Cristal intelligence," powered by agents that help businesses securely use AI in a way that fits their unique needs.
Why it matters: The announcement further strengthens OpenAI's partnership with SoftBank as the ChatGPT maker lessens its reliance on Microsoft's support.
What they're saying: OpenAI CEO Sam Altman said at a conference Monday that AI agents are the "next evolution beyond ChatGPT."
- SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son said that AGI will arrive much sooner than two years and will be deployed first in large corporations in Japan. Son later added that he believes AGI will be able to understand human emotions.
- SoftBank says Cristal will act as a smart assistant, learning and adapting to each company's operations.
- "This partnership with SoftBank will accelerate our vision for bringing transformative AI to some of the world's most influential companies, starting with Japan," Altman said.
Between the lines: To speed up its rollout in Japan, the two companies are launching a joint venture called SB OpenAI Japan. As part of the deal, SoftBank Group companies will get first access to OpenAI's most advanced AI models in Japan.
- The announcement comes two weeks after Trump announced the Stargate project to advance AI, a venture that also includes SoftBank.
Altman noted on stage at the conference that the rate of AI progress is going to be rapid from here on.
- On Monday, OpenAI released Deep Research — powered by a version of the upcoming o3 model — an agent that can compile cited research reports based on available internet sources.
- Less than a week ago, OpenAI announced o3 mini, a model that focuses on improved reasoning capabilities.
- "Reasoning paves the way for AI agents, AI systems that can do work for you independently," Altman said. "We're going to look back in a few years at o3 and be like 'man, can you believe how bad that was?'"
