SoftBank (SFTBY.US) and OpenAI's Japan AI joint venture plan has been reported to be delayed, with new developments expected to be announced in November.

Insiders revealed that SoftBank (SFTBY.US) plans to cooperate with OpenAI to establish a joint venture aimed at providing artificial intelligence services to enterprise clients in Japan, but the progress of this plan is severely delayed. Insiders said that the joint venture was originally scheduled to be established this summer, but the preparatory work is progressing slower than expected, and the latest updates on the progress are expected to be announced in November. SoftBank said that the relevant preparations were proceeding, but refused to disclose specific details. OpenAI has not yet responded to requests for comments. In February of this year, SoftBank Group CEO Masayoshi Son and OpenAI CEO Sam Altman announced the establishment of the joint venture company SB OpenAI Japan. SoftBank stated that this joint venture company will be jointly owned by OpenAI, SoftBank, and its domestic telecommunications division. At the shareholder meeting in June, SoftBank's telecommunications division CEO Junichi Miyakawa stated that the goal was to establish the joint venture by the end of July. He also said that specific products that the company plans to launch are currently under discussion. After experiencing a period of contraction due to a series of failed technology investments, Masayoshi Son once again made large investments to support OpenAI and other companies related to artificial intelligence. SoftBank Group CFO Yoshimitsu Goto stated last month that the $500 billion "Interstellar Gateway" project has been postponed due to long-term negotiations with various parties and decisions regarding the location. The "Interstellar Gateway" project is a joint data center project led by OpenAI, SoftBank Group, and Oracle Corporation. The project was announced to be launched in January 2025 by the Trump administration, with plans to invest $500 billion over four years.