30 Japanese Industry Giants Plan to Invest in SoftBank AI Joint Venture

According to a report by Nikkei Asia, about 30 leading Japanese companies from various industries such as chemicals, robotics, automotive, and electronics are considering investing in a newly established artificial intelligence (AI) joint venture under SoftBank. The goal of this joint venture is to promote the development of AI in Japan and enhance its competitiveness in the global AI field.

The companies involved in this plan include well-known companies such as Asahi Glass, Fanuc, and Fujitsu. This AI joint venture was established by SoftBank Group's mobile division in April of this year, aiming to develop "physical AI" capable of autonomously controlling machines and robots by integrating data from various manufacturing sectors, in response to the strong lead that the United States and China have in AI technology.

It is expected that around 10 companies will make investment decisions in June. These companies will make small investments of several million yen each. SoftBank, NEC, Honda Motor, and Sony Group will become core shareholders, each holding more than 10% of the shares. Meanwhile, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Japan Steel Works, and Kobe Steel have also made small investments of certain amounts.

The joint venture plans to develop one of Japan's largest AI models by 2027, aiming to become the most powerful AI model in the country with approximately 10 trillion parameters. Parameters are important numerical values used by AI models for information processing. It is expected that by 2029, the model will be able to process various types of information, such as images and audio, becoming a multimodal AI system. Additionally, by the early 2030s, this AI system will be able to integrate and process real-world information, such as data on weight, temperature, location, and distance.

The goal of the joint venture is to open up this AI model to investors and other relevant parties, encouraging the development of AI models tailored to specific industries and companies, and promoting the construction of service infrastructure.

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