SoftBank Group founder Masayoshi Son announced a significant development on Thursday: a new joint venture with Chicago-based health tech company Tempus. This collaboration aims to deliver AI-powered personalized medical services in Japan under the name SB Tempus. The initiative will begin by focusing on oncology, a field particularly significant to Son, whose father passed away from cancer last year.
Cancer remains the leading cause of death in Japan, highlighting the urgency and potential impact of SB Tempus. Son’s announcement emphasized the broader focus on AI within SoftBank’s strategy, now being specifically applied to the medical industry.
SoftBank’s connection with Tempus is not new. Earlier this year, SoftBank invested $200 million in Tempus, just before the company went public on Nasdaq. Despite a peak valuation of $8.1 billion in 2022, Tempus’s market cap has decreased to $4.5 billion post-IPO. Tempus, founded in 2015 by Eric Lefkofsky after observing a lack of data-driven approaches in his wife’s breast cancer treatment, competes with companies like Foundation Medicine and Guardant Health in genomic testing and data analysis.
SB Tempus: A New Venture
SB Tempus will serve as the vehicle to bring Tempus’s data-driven medical technology to Japan. The company will establish clinical sequencing capabilities, organize patient data, and develop a real-world data business in Japan. Son detailed that SB Tempus would offer genomic testing, medical data aggregation and analysis, and AI insights for personalized treatments.
Both SoftBank and Tempus have made substantial investments in SB Tempus, each holding a 50% stake. SoftBank will inject 30 billion yen (approximately $188 million) into the venture. SB Tempus is set to commence operations in August, with plans to offer three AI-powered medical services to hospitals by the end of the year.
The joint venture will collect and analyze genetic data from Japanese hospitals and universities. This data, including genomic, pathological, clinical information, and photo images, will train AI models to better understand patient needs. Processed data will then be provided to hospitals to assist in clinical decision-making, offering personalized treatment suggestions.
Bridging the Genomic Testing Gap
Son pointed out the disparity in genomic testing between Japan and the U.S., with only about 1% of Japanese patients having undergone such tests compared to 30% in the U.S. SB Tempus aims to close this gap, aspiring to bring Japan up to par with U.S. standards in genomic testing.
Beyond cancer, SB Tempus plans to extend its focus to other medical fields such as neuropsychology, radiology, and cardiology. This announcement follows a recent public appearance by Son at SoftBank’s annual meeting, where he predicted that AI would surpass human intelligence by 10,000 times in a decade. He highlighted medicine as a key area where AI could have profound benefits.
After a series of losses in its Vision Fund, SoftBank had adopted a more conservative investment strategy. However, Son’s latest moves suggest a renewed commitment to aggressive investment in AI. Reports indicate that SoftBank is considering an investment in Perplexity AI at a $3 billion valuation through Vision Fund 2, reflecting its broader AI ambitions.
The formation of SB Tempus marks a significant step in SoftBank’s AI-driven healthcare strategy. By combining Tempus’s expertise in data analysis with SoftBank’s financial backing, the joint venture aims to revolutionize personalized medical care in Japan, starting with oncology and potentially expanding to other critical areas of medicine.
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