Japan tech giants form AI unit

SoftBank, NEC, Sony Group and Honda Motor have set up a new company in Japan to build a homegrown artificial intelligence foundation model for domestic business use, according to multiple Japanese reports published on April 13. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) (asahi.com) The new firm was established on April 12, and a SoftBank executive has taken the president’s post, the Yomiuri Shimbun and Asahi Shimbun reported. SoftBank and NEC are expected to lead model development, while Sony and Honda plan to apply the system in cars, robots, games and semiconductors. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) (asahi.com) A foundation model is the base software that can be adapted for many tasks, like a common engine used across different products. The reports said this one is meant for Japanese companies first, rather than for consumer chatbots. (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp) (japantoday.com) The project lands as Tokyo has been trying to build more domestic artificial intelligence capacity instead of relying only on United States or Chinese platforms. Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization launched the Generative AI Accelerator Challenge, or GENIAC, in February 2024 to help companies secure computing power for foundation models. (meti.go.jp 1) (meti.go.jp 2) That support has focused on the expensive basics of artificial intelligence development: graphics processing units, data centers and training data. In October 2024, NEDO and the ministry said they had selected 20 development themes for computing-resource support under GENIAC’s second phase. (nedo.go.jp) The new consortium is also aimed at industrial uses that play to Japan’s strengths in manufacturing. Decrypt and SiliconANGLE, citing Japanese reporting, said the group is targeting “physical artificial intelligence,” meaning models that can help control machines such as robots, factory equipment and vehicles. (decrypt.co) (siliconangle.com) NEC already operates one of Japan’s largest corporate artificial intelligence supercomputers, which it has used for multimodal models that handle text, images and speech. SoftBank has also been building industry-specific models, including a Large Telecom Model announced on March 17. (nec.com) (softbank.jp) The reports did not say when the new company will release its first model or how much the four founders have invested so far. For now, the clearest next step is whether the venture secures Japanese government backing and turns that industrial alliance into a working domestic model. (asahi.com) (japannews.yomiuri.co.jp)