SoftBank Group Establishes Joint Venture “SB TEMPUS” with Tempus for Further Advancements of Japan's Healthcare Through the Utilization of Medical Data and AI
(Updated on July 2, 2024) There were some corrections in the press release issued on June 27. The corrections are highlighted in bold.
- Supporting the provision of more personalized healthcare tailored to each patient by collecting siloed and unstructured medical data and analyzing it with AI.
- Planning the provision of precision medicine services, including genetic testing, collection and analysis of medical data, and AI-driven treatment proposals.
- Collaborating with cancer genomic medicine hospitals, and building a network between hospitals.
(TOKYO, Japan) – June 27, 2024 – SoftBank Group Corp. (TSE: 9984, “SBG”) today announced the establishment of a joint venture “SB TEMPUS Corp.” with Tempus AI, Inc., a leader in artificial intelligence and precision medicine (NASDAQ: TEM, “Tempus”). The joint venture agreement was entered into in May 2024 and the joint venture is expected to close, subject to customary closing conditions, as soon as July 2024 at which time each party will invest JPY15.0 billion in the venture. The purpose of the joint venture is to provide precision medicine services in Japan and SB TEMPUS aims for further advancements of healthcare in Japan by utilizing AI. It will apply the expertise and technology that Tempus has accumulated in the United States.
Founded in 2015, Tempus has been advancing precision medicine through the practical application of artificial intelligence in healthcare. Tempus is connected to approximately 50% of oncologists across the United States, and possesses one of the industry's largest libraries of de-identified molecular, clinical and imaging data. Tempus’ AI-enabled platform works to make diagnostics more intelligent in order to support healthcare providers in making more informed decisions and pharmaceutical companies in creating better treatments. Tempus’ stock began trading on the NASDAQ Global Select Market on June 14, 2024.
Current cancer treatments in Japan begin with “standard therapies” based on scientific evidence, including surgery, radiation therapy, and chemotherapy. Collecting and analyzing the siloed and unstructured data, such as molecular, clinical, pathological, and medical imaging data, not only contributes to the advancement of pharmaceutical research, including clinical and drug discovery research, but also leads to the proposal of treatment plans more suited to individual patients. This approach is expected to reduce side effects and enhance the effectiveness of medications, marking a significant step towards personalized medicine.
SB TEMPUS plans to sequentially offer precision medicine services in Japan, including genetic testing, medical data collection and analysis, and AI-driven treatment proposals, leveraging the expertise and technology Tempus has developed through its operations in the United States without access to patient-identified data from the United States. To help as many people suffering from cancer as possible, we will support the provision of better diagnosis and treatment by establishing collaborations with cancer genomic medicine hospitals, as well as Japanese hospitals and medical facilities, pharmaceutical companies, biotech ventures, medical device companies, cancer insurance companies, and testing companies.
The SoftBank Group’s corporate philosophy is “Information Revolution—Happiness for everyone.” Together with Tempus, a leader in personalized medicine utilizing AI, we will promote diagnostic and treatment approaches based on medical data and AI. In close collaboration with the Japanese medical industry, we are committed to contributing to significant advancements in healthcare.
Masayoshi Son, Chairman and CEO of SBG, said: “We are very pleased to establish a joint venture in Japan with Tempus to contribute to the advancement of healthcare. By promoting the advancing personalized medicine using AI, I strongly hope to reduce people's sorrow and increase the happiness of as many people as possible.”
Eric Lefkofsky, Founder and CEO of Tempus, said: “At Tempus, we are dedicated to transforming the landscape of precision medicine through the practical application of artificial intelligence. Partnering with SBG allows us to expand our reach and bring our AI-enabled solutions to the Japanese market. Together, we aim to ensure that patients benefit from personalized, data-driven therapies in an effort to help them live longer and healthier lives."
SB TEMPUS Company Information
| Company name | SB TEMPUS Corp. |
|---|---|
| Representative directors | Hidebumi Kitahara, Ryan Fukushima |
| Directors | Takashi Tsutusui, Kazuhisa Shibayama, Andy Polovin, Jim Rogers |
| Headquarters | Tokyo Portcity Takeshiba Office Tower, 1-7-1, Kaigan, Minato-Ku, Tokyo 105-7537 |
| Capital stock | 30.0 billion yen (including capital reserve) |
| Business domain | Genomic testing, data collection and analysis, and proposals of treatment options using AI (planned) |
| Investment ratio | 50% for SBG, 50% for Tempus (Jointly controlled entity) |
| URL | https://www.sbtempus.com (Japanese only) |
About SoftBank Group
The SoftBank Group invests in breakthrough technology to improve the quality of life for people around the world. The SoftBank Group is comprised of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO: 9984), an investment holding company that includes stakes in AI, smart robotics, IoT, telecommunications, internet services, and clean energy technology providers, as well as a majority stake in Arm Holdings plc, which is building the future of computing; and the SoftBank Vision Funds and SoftBank Latin America Funds, which are investing more than US$160 billion to help extraordinary entrepreneurs transform industries and shape new ones. To learn more, please visit https://group.softbank/en.
About Tempus
Tempus is a technology company that advances precision medicine through the practical application of AI in healthcare. With one of the world's largest multimodal data libraries and an operating system that makes data accessible and actionable, Tempus provides doctors with AI-powered precision medicine solutions. These solutions enable personalized treatment tailored to each patient's condition, and support the discovery, development, and delivery of optimal treatments. Additionally, Tempus offers doctors tools that learn from collecting more data, ensuring that each patient can benefit from the experiences of those treated before them. For more details, please visit https://www.tempus.com.
For the presentation materials and the archived video of the press conference held on June 27, 2024, please check here.
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