Investment firm SoftBank is reportedly betting big on artificial intelligence (AI) through a joint venture with Symbotic.
AI is making headlines with the launch of chatbots such as OpenAI’s ChatGPT and Google’s Bard. And as venture capitalist interest grows in AI, the Japanese investment company SoftBank want some of the action.
SoftBank Plans an AI-Powered Warehouse
According to Bloomberg, SoftBank is partnering with a robotic warehouse company, Symbotic, to go all in on AI. SoftBank and Symbotic plan to establish a joint venture, GreenBox Systems LLC, worth $100 million, with the former owning a 65% stake and the latter owning the remaining stake.
The joint venture would focus on building AI-powered warehouses. Also, Bloomberg’s sources said that SoftBank would buy Symbotic’s AI systems for around $7.5 billion.
Japan as a nation is also trying to strengthen its position in the AI race. In July, BeInCrypto reported that the Japanese Investment Corporation offered a $6.4 billion buyout deal to a photoresist producer with a 30% global share.
Read our detailed guide to the 9 best AI trading bots
Crypto vs. AI Funding
While crypto funding is drying up in 2023, artificial intelligence technology continues to attract investors. After a slow second half in 2022, the first half 2023 saw a huge spike in AI investment.
The screenshot below shows that venture capitalists placed bets worth $20.3 billion in Q1 2023 and $20.2 billion in Q2 2023. Meanwhile, crypto funding continues a downtrend in 2023 compared to the previous year.
Moreover, according to Crunchbase, the AI sector has attracted around one-fifth of the global venture funding in 2023.
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