Microsoft, Amazon, and the University of Washington have partnered with Japan for AI research and expansion, with Microsoft committing billions to develop AI and cloud in Japan. As part of the investment, Microsoft will open its first Microsoft Research Asia lab in Tokyo to digitally upskill around 3 million people in AI. The companies have announced a $110 million initiative to advance AI in collaboration with Japanese partners, with Microsoft investing $2.9 billion in Japan to increase AI infrastructure. Additionally, OpenAI has opened its first Asia office in Tokyo, introducing a new GPT-4 custom model optimized for the Japanese language, aiming to collaborate with Japan's semiconductor industry.