SoftBank Group, the Japanese technology investment firm, has announced a strategic joint venture with Tempus AI, a company specialising in AI-driven medical data analysis and treatment recommendations.

This partnership was revealed by SoftBank’s CEO, Masayoshi Son, during a briefing in Tokyo, marking another significant move in SoftBank’s recent series of AI investments as the company ramps up its investment activities following a period of relative quiet.

Earlier this year, SoftBank invested approximately $200 million in Tempus during its Series G funding round, preceding Tempus’s Nasdaq listing in June. Tempus is renowned for its genomic testing services and AI-powered treatment and clinical trial recommendations in the United States, leveraging a comprehensive database of millions of patient clinical records.

As reported by Reuters, the partnership is hoped to enable these advanced services to be deployed in Japan, making it one of the first non-US healthcare markets with this type of connected health capabilities.

“Working with Tempus, we’ll develop services at pace in Japan. With the database of 7.7 million U.S. patients, we’re at a running start,” Son said about the venture.

The partnership is anticipated to close in July, subject to usual closing conditions, and will involve an investment of 15 billion yen (close to $93 million) from each party.

Google’s support for Tempus AI

Tempus AI has also recently caught the eye of Google, an Alphabet company that is still on a spending spree to acquire and develop artificial intelligence technologies. Google’s support is crucial for Tempus, as the search giant has been a major player in deploying AI over time. This includes standout systems like AlphaGo and foundational innovations such as the transformer architecture used in ChatGPT.

Tempus uses AI technology to develop what it describes as “intelligent diagnostics,” which are diagnostic tests tailored specifically to the patients they apply to. The initiative is designed to improve the efficacy of existing treatments and speed up the development of new therapies.

On June 14, 2024, Tempus conducted its IPO on the Nasdaq stock exchange. The company’s stock fared well, surging as much as 15% during its first day of trading and closing nearly 9 per cent higher. The market capitalisation of Tempus AI reached $6 billion.

Google’s financial involvement with Tempus AI began in June 2020 when Tempus issued a $330 million convertible promissory note to Google as part of a cloud services agreement. Later that year, Tempus provided Google with $80 million of preferred stock to partially satisfy the original note.

Over the period from 2002 to 2023, revenue at Tempus AI grew by 183%. Its adjusted earnings before interest, taxes, depreciation, and amortisation are improving, although it has yet to reach profitability.

The quality of its technology is evident from the current client base. Tempus has worked with approximately 95% of the world’s top 20 publicly traded biopharma companies. In addition to its collaborations with over 200 pharmaceutical companies, Tempus is used in over half of U.S. academic medical centres and connects with over 7,000 physicians.

This partnership between SoftBank and Tempus AI, coupled with Tempus’s market lead and its continuous strategic partnerships with numerous tech giants, establishes it as a significant participant among companies addressing new AI-powered healthcare services.