SoftBank Forms AI Healthcare Joint Venture in Japan with Tempus

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SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son announced on Thursday that the Japanese tech giant has established a joint venture in Japan with Chicago-based health tech company Tempus. The partnership, named SB Tempus, aims to develop AI-powered personalized medical services by analyzing data in Japan.

The company plans to start with oncology, as cancer remains the leading cause of death in Japan. Son's father passed away last year due to the disease, which has driven his ambition to improve cancer treatment.

This move highlights Son's broader focus on AI. During a press conference, he outlined his vision for AI applications in various sectors, including medicine. SoftBank's ties with Tempus precede this JV news, as it invested $200 million in Tempus in April, just before Tempus's Nasdaq debut earlier this month.

Tempus, founded by serial entrepreneur and billionaire Eric Lefkofsky in 2015, uses genomic testing and data analysis to help doctors make informed treatment decisions. The company competes with industry peers, including Foundation Medicine and Guardant Health.

SB Tempus will bring Tempus's data-driven medical technology to Japan, providing genomic testing, medical data aggregation and analysis, and AI insights for personalized treatments and therapies. Both companies have made a substantial investment in this venture, with SoftBank and Tempus holding a 50% stake each. SoftBank will inject 30 billion yen, equivalent to around $188 million, into the JV.

SB Tempus will start operations in August and plans to offer three medical services to hospitals using AI to analyze personal medical data within the year. The JV company will collect and analyze patient genetic data from Japanese hospitals and universities, using the data to train AI patterns for patients in Japan. The company will provide hospitals with processed data for clinical use, and the AI offerings will suggest the best treatment for patients.

Son stated that only about 1% of patients in Japan have experience with genomic testing, compared to approximately 30% in the U.S. He aims to reach the same level as the U.S. and expand to other diseases, such as neuropsychology, radiology, and cardiology.

The announcement comes after Son's public appearance last Friday at the group's annual meeting, where he discussed his vision for a world featuring Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI). He also mentioned that SoftBank's past investments were "just a warm-up" for his ambition to create an era of AI.

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