SoftBank, NEC, Honda, and Sony have jointly established a new company to develop Nissan's AI.

CoinFeed reported on April 13th that, according to Japan's Kyodo News, a new company has been established, primarily composed of SoftBank, NEC, Honda, and Sony Group, to develop artificial intelligence (AI). The report states that the company will utilize government support to create domestically developed AI foundational models, aiming to provide the developed AI to Japanese companies. The company, named "Japan AI Foundation Model Development," plans to gather approximately 100 AI developers, with a SoftBank executive serving as president. In addition to these four companies, Nippon Steel, Kobe Steel, and three major banks—Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Mizuho Bank—have also invested. SoftBank and NEC will conduct the development, while Honda will apply the results to autonomous driving. AI development company Preferred Networks (Tokyo) is also involved.