<h1>SoftBank and OpenAI form SB OpenAI Japan, investing $3B annually to advance AI services like Cristal and ChatGPT.</h1> Japanese technology giant SoftBank Group and OpenAI have established a joint venture, SB OpenAI Japan, to advance AI services. The collaboration, announced by SoftBank's Chief and OpenAI's Chief in Tokyo, aims to integrate AI service Cristal into SoftBank's companies, such as Arm and PayPay, with a $3 billion annual investment. Cristal will assist in planning, marketing, and more. OpenAI's 'deep research' feature will enable ChatGPT to perform complex tasks in Japanese. Both companies are part of the Stargate project, supported by the U.S., to invest in AI infrastructure. The initiative aims to expand beyond Japan amidst competition from Chinese firm DeepSeek.