SoftBank Group¡¯s Japanese mobile unit and OpenAI will launch AI services for local companies next year, seeking to realize real revenue in the face of growing concerns over sky-high valuations.
SoftBank Corp. and Open AI are still fine-tuning the products the two companies are co-developing for Japanese enterprises, said Junichi Miyakawa, president of the country¡¯s third-largest mobile carrier. Miyakawa said he has seen a test version of the services, which once launched would ¡°completely change¡± the speed in which business is done. One feature is voice recognition that would allow users to rely less on manual typing, he said.
¡°This will become a seed of growth to look forward to next year and beyond,¡± he said during an earnings call on Wednesday, which also marked the launch of SoftBank and OpenAI¡¯s local joint venture, SB OAI Japan.
That¡¯s as shares of SoftBank Group plunged 10%, the most since April, hit by fears about the Tokyo-based group¡¯s exposure to sector leaders OpenAI and Nvidia. SoftBank Corp.¡¯s shares dropped 0.5%, outperforming the broader market after reporting a better-than-expected 26% rise in net income to ?203.4 billion ($1.3 billion).
The Japanese mobile unit also reported an 8% rise in revenue in the September quarter, helped by demand for its distribution and subscription services. SoftBank Corp., which has operations spanning e-commerce and payments services, is a core source of revenue and provides fuel for billionaire tech investor Masayoshi Son¡¯s global ambitions.
In the past, the telecom arm has offered a path for overseas technologies to take root in Japan. One result of those efforts, SoftBank-controlled payments business PayPay, now seeks to make a stock debut in the U.S., although the Securities and Exchange Commission¡¯s review of the plans has slowed due to the U.S. government shutdown. ¡°I anticipate PayPay will turn out to be an extremely valuable company,¡± over the long term, Miyakawa said.
The telecom company, which plans to provide free access to computing infrastructure to startups, is seeking to secure Nvidia¡¯s Rubin chips to help meet ballooning AI demand in Japan, Miyakawa said.
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