December 23, 2024 – TOKYO – Preferred Networks, Inc. (PFN), Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) and Internet Initiative Japan Inc. (IIJ) today announced that the three companies will establish their joint venture Preferred Computing Infrastructure, Inc. (PFCI) in January 2025. Scheduled to begin operations in early 2026, PFCI will primarily provide, operate and support customers of Preferred Computing Platform™ (PFCP™), an AI cloud computing service powered by PFN’s low-power AI processor in the MN-Core™ series.

AI technologies, especially generative AI, are being rapidly adopted across various domains and expected to continue evolving as basic infrastructure for society and industries. Development and implementation of such AI technologies require a vast amount of computing power that can be continuously and stably expanded as the demand grows. The biggest issues resulting from the growing computing power, however, are the increasing power consumption and heat. This makes it critical for sustainable development of AI to drastically improve computing performance per watt and densification of arithmetic devices in datacenter infrastructure.

The new joint venture PFCI will build a highly efficient computing infrastructure powered by the energy-efficient MN-Core series and stably provide computing power to meet the rapidly growing demand for AI through its AI cloud computing service PFCP.

At PFCI, PFN will develop the MN-Core series and provide technical support while MC will leverage its network for business strategies and marketing. PFCI will build the computing infrastructure in the NRT12 datacenter operated by MC group company MC Digital Realty, Inc., where the joint venture will implement IIJ’s technological expertise for the maintenance and operation to ensure robust and stable service quality.

Outline of New Joint Venture

Company name: Preferred Computing Infrastructure, Inc. (PFCI)
Address: Otemachi Building, 1-6-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Established: January 2025
Representative: Yusuke Doi, CEO
Paid-in capital: 300 million yen
Ownership: PFN (51%), MC (39%), IIJ (10%)
Business: Development of highly efficient computing infrastructure including servers equipped with low-power AI semiconductors designed and developed by PFN, and provision, operation with customer support of Preferred Computing Platform (PFCP), the AI cloud computing service based on the infrastructure.

About Preferred Networks

Preferred Networks, Inc. (PFN) develops advanced software and hardware technologies in a vertically integrated approach, covering the entire AI value chain from chips, supercomputers, generative AI foundation models to solutions and products. Founded in March 2014 in Tokyo, PFN has applied its technologies to a range of industries including manufacturing, transportation, healthcare, entertainment and education. PFN’s MN-3, a supercomputer powered by its MN-Core™ AI processor, topped the Green500 ranking as the world’s most energy-efficient three times in 2020 and 2021. In October 2024, PFN launched Preferred Computing Platform™ (PFCP™), an AI cloud computing service powered by the MN-Core 2 processor. Since December 2024, PFN has also been providing PLaMo™, a large language model fully developed from scratch by PFN Group focused on high Japanese-language performance. https://www.preferred.jp

About Mitsubishi Corporation

MC develops diversified businesses in a wide range of industries through its eight groups: Environmental Energy, Materials Solution, Mineral Resources, Urban Development & Infrastructure, Mobility, Food Industry, S.L.C. (Smart-Life Creation), and Power Solution. https://www.mitsubishicorp.com/

About IIJ

Founded in 1992, IIJ is one of Japan’s leading Internet-access and comprehensive network solutions providers. IIJ and its group companies provide total network solutions that mainly cater to high-end corporate customers. IIJ’s services include high-quality Internet connectivity services, systems integration, cloud computing services, security services and mobile services. Moreover, IIJ has built one of the largest Internet backbone networks in Japan that is connected to the United States, the United Kingdom and Asia. IIJ was listed on the Prime Market of the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2022. For more information about IIJ, visit the IIJ Web site at https://www.iij.ad.jp/en/.