OpenAI goes to Japan with ChatGPT and more, opens first office in Asia

OpenAI Japan

Days after Microsoft announced its setting up AI operations in Japan, OpenAI has followed up with the same. In a blog post, the ChatGPT maker said that as it grow its operations internationally, it is expanding into Asia with a new office in Tokyo. “We chose Tokyo as our first Asian office for its global leadership in technology, culture of service, and a community that embraces innovation,” said the company in the blog post.

OpenAI also announced a customer model of GPT-4 for Japan. The company said it is providing local businesses with early access to a GPT-4 custom model specifically optimised for the Japanese language. “This custom model offers improved performance in translating and summarising Japanese text, is cost effective, and operates up to 3x faster than its predecessor,” said OpenAI.

The company further revealed that Tadao Nagasaki will be the new President of OpenAI Japan. Nagasaki will lead the local team in Japan for OpenAI.

“We’re excited to be in Japan which has a rich history of people and technology coming together to do more. We believe AI will accelerate work by empowering people to be more creative and productive, while also delivering broad value to current and new industries that have yet to be imagined,” said Sam Altman, CEO, OpenAI, on the company’s foray in Asia.

OpenAI said that ChatGPT has also helped accelerate the efforts of local governments, such as Yokosuka City, which is leveraging the technology to improve the efficiency of public services in Japan. Over the past year, the city has gradually provided ChatGPT access to almost all city employees, and 80% have reported increases in productivity, claims OpenAI. “We are committed to collaborating with the Japanese government, local businesses, and research institutions to develop safe AI tools that serve Japan’s unique needs and to unlock new opportunities,” added OpenAI.