(Bloomberg) — SoftBank Group Corp. founder Masayoshi Son will outline plans to bring AI-powered healthcare to Japan, making a rare public appearance to showcase his resurgent ambitions in artificial intelligence.
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Son will hold a panel discussion on Thursday with doctors and other medical professionals about ways to leverage AI in his industry, SoftBank said in a statement. The billionaire investor is expected to speak privately about his venture with Tempus AI Inc., an American startup he backed that analyzes medical data.
It’s a rare ad hoc briefing from Son, who had been limiting his public appearances to specific events such as shareholder meetings. Last week, the businessman – looking more energized than he has in years – spoke in grandiose terms about his goal of ushering in an era of “artificial superintelligence” to cement his legacy.
Son, at times visibly emotional, spoke about how he wanted to change the world before leaving it for good. The 66-year-old invoked Steve Jobs, saying their frequent conversations often left him in tears as he realized his achievements paled in comparison to those of the Apple Inc. co-founder.
Son declared that he is ready to return to the investment offensive, ending several quarters of relative inactivity.
Tempus AI is one of several recent bets his company has made in this emerging field. SoftBank invested around $200 million in the company shortly before the startup went public. They signed an agreement to create a 30 billion yen ($188 million) joint venture called Pegasos Corp., to provide services in Japan similar to Tempus’s in the U.S., according to a prospectus filed by the startup.
“It’s arguably the opening round of accelerated investment in AI,” said Kirk Boodry, analyst at Astris Advisory. He estimates that SoftBank will invest an additional $94 million in its Japanese venture.
Its service will include clinical sequencing, organizing patient data and building a “real-world data business in Japan,” according to the document. The initial capitalization of the JV is subject to a number of conditions, including that the parties must agree to a business plan and operating budget, receive an independent assessment of certain technologies licensed from Tempus, and obtain necessary regulatory authorizations in the U.S. and Japan.
SoftBank and Tempus will begin training an AI model based on patient data this year, with the aim of getting their service up and running within one to two years, Nikkei previously reported.
Son has bigger goals in the long term. SoftBank is working on a plan to deploy about $100 billion in AI-related chips in a project called Izanagi, Bloomberg News reported in February.
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