SoftBank Corp is 40% owned by its parent. Credit: Karol Ciesluk via Shutterstock.

SoftBank Corp, the telecommunications unit of Japan’s SoftBank Group Corp (SoftBank), has announced that it is joining the fray to build a version of ChatGPT, reported Bloomberg.

In an earnings call, SoftBank Corp CEO Junichi Miyakawa said the company established a new entity in March.

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With a team of 1,000 people, the new unit is focused on developing a Japanese-language version of ChatGPT, an artificial intelligence (AI) chatbot launched by Microsoft-backed OpenAI.

According to Miyakawa, SoftBank CEO Masayoshi Son recently addressed a group of engineers and discussed the potential of ChatGPT. Son has long hailed AI as a transformative force in how we utilise technology.

“We are dead positive on ChatGPT,” he said. “Most of our meetings these days touch on topics related to ChatGPT. The ChatGPT party has started.”

SoftBank Corp, which is 40% owned by its parent, is the latest to join scores of companies rushing to ride the AI wave.

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Last week, a media report said that Chinese online brokerage firm Tiger Brokers is piloting an AI-powered bot for bond and stock trading.

Indian IT major Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) has also said that it is developing a ChatGPT-style platform for enterprise coding.

The announcement comes as Japan Prime Minister Fumio Kishida directed a newly formed AI panel to investigate the economic opportunities and risks associated with AI.

He also stated that as the chair of the Group of Seven democracies, he plans to take the lead on creating international regulations for AI. The G-7 summit will take place in Hiroshima starting on 19 May.