SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son announced on Thursday that the Japanese tech giant has established a joint venture with Chicago-based health tech company Tempus. Named SB Tempus, this new entity aims to develop AI-powered personalized medical services by analyzing data within Japan, starting with oncology.
Cancer is the leading cause of death in Japan, a fact underscored by Son, whose father passed away last year from the disease. This initiative highlights Son’s broader commitment to advancing AI applications, particularly in the medical industry.
SoftBank’s relationship with Tempus predates this joint venture. In April, SoftBank invested $200 million in Tempus, shortly before its Nasdaq debut earlier this month. Tempus, initially valued at $8.1 billion in 2022, raised nearly $411 million at a valuation exceeding $6 billion via its IPO. However, its market cap currently stands at $4.5 billion.
Founded in 2015 by serial entrepreneur and billionaire Eric Lefkofsky, Tempus specializes in genomic testing and data analysis. Lefkofsky was inspired to create Tempus after noticing the lack of data utilization during his wife’s breast cancer treatment. Tempus competes with industry peers such as Foundation Medicine, which uses big data to analyze tumors, and Guardant Health, a biotech company that sells blood tests for tracking and potentially detecting cancer.
SB Tempus will serve as a conduit for Tempus to introduce its data-driven medical technology to Japan. The company will develop clinical sequencing capabilities, organize patient data, and build a real-world data business in Japan. According to Son, SB Tempus will offer genomic testing, medical data aggregation and analysis (including genomic, clinical, pathology, and imaging data), and AI-driven insights for personalized treatments and therapies.
Both SoftBank and Tempus have made substantial investments in this venture, each holding a 50% stake. SoftBank is set to inject 30 billion yen (approximately $188 million) into SB Tempus. Operations are expected to commence in August, with the company planning to offer AI-analyzed personal medical data services to hospitals by the end of the year.
The JV will collect and analyze patient genetic data from Japanese hospitals and universities, including genomic, pathological, clinical information, and photo images. This data will train AI models tailored to Japanese patients. The processed data will be provided to hospitals for clinical use, with AI suggestions for optimal treatments.
Son highlighted that only about 1% of patients in Japan have experienced genomic testing, compared to around 30% in the U.S. The company aims to elevate Japan to the same level of genomic testing as the U.S. Additionally, the venture plans to expand beyond oncology to other medical fields, such as neuropsychology, radiology, and cardiology.
This announcement follows a public appearance by Son at SoftBank’s annual meeting, where he emphasized AI’s potential to surpass human intelligence by 10,000 times within a decade. He outlined his vision for an era dominated by Artificial Super Intelligence (ASI), asserting that SoftBank’s previous investments were merely a prelude to its ambitious AI plans. Son reiterated that AI will benefit various sectors, including medicine.
In line with its AI ambitions, SoftBank is reportedly interested in investing in Perplexity AI, a U.S.-based AI company, at a valuation of $3 billion. This interest marks a strategic shift for SoftBank, which had adopted a more conservative investment approach following significant losses at its Vision Fund. Now, armed with substantial financial resources, SoftBank is poised to fully invest in AI advancements.
