Artificial intelligenceString of partnerships aimed at gathering valuable industrial and retail dataSoftBank Corp. CEO Junichi Miyakawa said the investment in Seven & i will help his company support a new form of retail with AI and robots. (Photo by Hikaru Yagi)YUSUKE YAGIAugust 5, 2026 01:45 JSTTOKYO -- SoftBank Corp. is moving to harness vast troves of data from Japan's industrial and retail sectors, including through a recently announced investment in 7-Eleven operator Seven & i Holdings, as it looks to build an artificial intelligence economic sphere.