Microsoft Charts $10 Billion of Outlays in AI-Eager Japan

Microsoft Corp. unveiled a four-year, $10 billion investment package for Japan, a major pillar of its Asia-wide artificial intelligence push.

The early OpenAI backer will develop cloud and AI infrastructure alongside Sakura Internet Inc. and telecom operator SoftBank Corp., with the two Japanese entities supplying graphics processing units and other computing resources. Sakura Internet’s stock jumped 20% on the news Friday, while shares of SoftBank, the telecom arm of investment group SoftBank Group Corp., rose 1.6%.