Japanese Firms Launch JV for Physical AI Development

Japanese technology companies SoftBank Group Corp., Sony Group Corp., NEC Corp., and Honda Motor Co. announced on Sunday the formation of a new joint venture aimed at developing a large-scale artificial intelligence model tailored for physical applications in robots, autonomous vehicles, and industrial machinery. The initiative, involving major industrial and financial investors, seeks to bolster Japan's domestic AI capabilities and reduce reliance on foreign technology providers.

Each of the four lead companies holds a stake exceeding 10 percent in the venture, named Japan AI Foundation Model Development. Additional investors include Nippon Steel Corp., Kobe Steel Ltd., Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp., and Mizuho Bank, underscoring broad support from Japan's industrial and financial sectors. The company plans to hire approximately 100 AI engineers and will be led by a senior executive from SoftBank.

Development of the trillion-parameter AI model will be spearheaded by SoftBank and NEC, with Honda set to integrate it into autonomous driving systems and Sony contributing expertise in robotics and hardware. Tokyo-based AI developer Preferred Networks...