OpenAI opens its first Asia office in Japan

16.04.2024

OpenAI has inaugurated its inaugural Asian headquarters in Tokyo, Japan, as part of the ChatGPT developer’s endeavor to broaden its global footprint.

“We are thrilled to establish a presence in Japan, a country renowned for the convergence of people and technology driving progress,” stated CEO Sam Altman on Sunday. “We foresee AI enhancing productivity and creativity, thus delivering extensive benefits across existing and emerging industries.”

In conjunction with this move, Tadao Nagasaki has been appointed as the new president of OpenAI Japan, responsible for spearheading commercial and market engagement initiatives.

Tokyo was selected for its prominence in global technology, service-oriented culture, and its community’s embrace of innovation.

“As an initial step in our enduring commitment to the region, we are offering local businesses early access to a custom GPT-4 model optimized for Japanese language processing,” the statement noted.

“This tailored model boasts enhanced performance in Japanese text translation and summarization, is cost-efficient, and operates up to three times faster than its predecessor,” it further elaborated.

According to the announcement, Japanese companies such as Daikin and Toyota, along with local government bodies, are leveraging ChatGPT to enhance operational efficiency.

Altman reportedly discussed plans for a Japanese office during his meeting with Prime Minister Fumio Kishida last year.