OpenAI has appointed a former Amazon executive to lead its enterprise expansion in Japan. The company is setting up an office in Tokyo and introducing a custom GPT-4 model tailored for the Japanese market. With 2 million weekly active users in the country and notable enterprise clients like Daikin Industries, Rakuten Group, and a Toyota Motor Corp. affiliate, OpenAI is aiming to strengthen its presence in the world’s fourth-largest economy.
Tadao Nagasaki, the newly-appointed Japan president for OpenAI, stated the importance of building relationships with Japanese companies through continuous dialogue. The Tokyo office, the company’s third overseas location, is expected to grow to a team of 10 to 20 employees this year. OpenAI is leveraging the increasing demand for ChatGPT’s business version, which offers enhanced privacy features such as data encryption and a commitment not to utilize customer data for technology development purposes.
Despite facing competition from rivals like Anthropic and Cohere, as well as its investor Microsoft, OpenAI remains optimistic about the growth potential in Japan’s AI market. With significant investments from tech giants like Microsoft and the establishment of startups like Sakana AI by former Google researchers, Japan is emerging as a key player in the AI sector. Collaborations between companies like Microsoft and SoftBank Corp. on generative AI, and OpenAI’s partnership with Rakuten, further underscore the country’s technological leadership.
OpenAI’s Chief Operating Officer, Brad Lightcap, expressed enthusiasm about Japan’s technological advancements and emphasized the country’s pivotal role in shaping the future of AI. The company is strategically positioning itself to capitalize on this momentum by engaging with local enterprises and offering innovative AI solutions tailored to the Japanese market.
