OpenAI opens an office in Tokyo to boost its presence in the Asian market

OpenAI has announced the opening of a new office in Tokyo with the aim of expanding its presence in the Asian market and collaborating closely with the Japanese government, local companies and research institutions to develop artificial intelligence tools adapted to the specific needs of Japan.

The choice of Tokyo as the venue for OpenAI's first Asian foray is due to its global technological leadership, service-oriented culture and innovative community.

“We are excited to establish ourselves in Japan, a country with a rich history of people and technology working together to achieve more,” explained Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI. “We believe that artificial intelligence will accelerate progress by empowering people to be more creative and productive, bringing value to current and new industries we have not yet imagined.”

To lead OpenAI's initiatives in Japan and ensure effective engagement with the local community, Tadao Nagasaki has been appointed as President of OpenAI Japan. Nagasaki will lead commercial and market engagement efforts, as well as the creation of a local team focused on global issues, go-to-market, communications, operations and other functions tailored to Japan.

OpenAI offers local companies early access to a custom GPT-4 model optimized for the Japanese language. This improved model provides superior performance in translating and summarizing Japanese texts, is more cost-effective, and runs up to three times faster than its predecessor.

Generative Artificial Intelligence for military and aerospace applications

One of the leading English learning apps in Japan, Speak, is seeing benefits with faster explanations from tutors in Japanese and a significant reduction in token costs, facilitating an improvement in the quality of tutor feedback and allows greater interaction with users.

The new office in Tokyo positions OpenAI closer to large companies such as Daikin, Rakuten and TOYOTA Connected, which are using ChatGPT Enterprise to optimize business operations, data analysis and internal reporting.

Additionally, local governments, such as the city of Yokosuka, are adopting OpenAI technology to improve the efficiency of public services. The implementation of ChatGPT in Yokosuka has increased productivity by 80% among city employees.

The Japanese government plays a leading role in artificial intelligence policymaking, particularly after leading the Hiroshima AI Process, with the aim of promoting the development of AI in line with human dignity, diversity, inclusion and sustainable societies. . OpenAI is committed to contributing to the local ecosystem and exploring AI solutions for regional social challenges, such as rural depopulation and labor shortages.

OpenAI's expansion to Japan reflects its global mission to ensure that artificial general intelligence benefits all humanity, highlighting the importance of integrating diverse perspectives in technological development.