OpenAI has selected Tokyo as the location for its first office in Asia.

OpenAI has unveiled its first Asian office in Tokyo, marking a significant step in its expansion into the Asian market. The strategic location aims to enhance collaboration with the Japanese government, local enterprises, and research entities to develop AI technologies specifically tailored for Japan's needs.

Sam Altman, CEO of OpenAI, expressed enthusiasm about the new venture, stating, "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."

Tadao Nagasaki has been appointed as the president of OpenAI Japan, tasked with leading the company’s commercial strategies and market engagement initiatives in Japan. He will play a crucial role in forming a local team to handle global affairs, go-to-market strategies, communications, operations, and other essential functions tailored to the Japanese market.

In a move to integrate OpenAI's technologies more closely with local businesses, OpenAI has provided early access to a customized GPT-4 model optimized for the Japanese language. This model enhances performance in translating and summarizing Japanese texts, offering cost efficiency and operating speeds up to three times faster than its predecessors.

For example, the English learning app Speak in Japan has already seen benefits from the new model with faster and more cost-effective tutor explanations in Japanese. This improvement has enhanced the quality and scope of tutor feedback, allowing for broader application use and higher per-user limits.

Major Japanese corporations such as Daikin, Rakuten, and TOYOTA Connected are already utilizing OpenAI's ChatGPT Enterprise to streamline complex operations, enhance data analysis, and improve internal reporting systems.

Furthermore, local governments like Yokosuka City are leveraging this technology to boost public service efficiency. Yokosuka City has notably provided nearly all city employees with access to ChatGPT, with 80% of them reporting increases in productivity.

The Japanese government, a prominent advocate in AI policy and the chair of the Hiroshima AI Process, focuses on developing AI in a manner that respects human dignity, diversity, and inclusion, and promotes sustainable societies. OpenAI plans to contribute to this ecosystem, exploring AI solutions to address local challenges such as rural depopulation and labour shortages.

OpenAI's establishment of its Tokyo office underscores its commitment to its global mission of ensuring artificial general intelligence benefits all of humanity, highlighting the importance of incorporating diverse perspectives in its expansion.