Preferred Networks received about 10.5 billion yen in investments from Toyota Motor Corporation. Accelerate joint research and development of AI technology in the mobility field

Tokyo, Japan, August 4, 2017 – Preferred Networks, Inc. (PFN, Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, President and CEO: Toru Nishikawa) agreed to receive an additional investment of approximately 10.5 billion yen from Toyota Motor Corporation (Toyota, Headquarters: Toyota  City, Aichi Prefecture, President: Akio Toyoda). PFN will allocate new shares to Toyota. After the allocation, Toyota will be the largest external shareholder of PFN.

PFN and Toyota started the joint research and development in October 2014, and Toyota invested 1.0 billion yen in PFN in December 2015 to strengthen the relationship.

Through the past joint research and development of object recognition technologies and vehicle information analysis, PFN’s world-leading intelligent technologies in machine learning, deep learning, and big data processing have been highly appreciated as essential for Toyota aiming at realizing the next generation of mobility society, including autonomous driving.

With this funding, PFN will enhance the computational environment and accelerate talent acquisition. We will further accelerate joint research and development by strengthening our relationship with Toyota in the field of mobility.

◆ About Preferred Networks, Inc. （https://www.preferred.jp/）

Founded in March 2014 with the aim of business utilization of deep learning technology focused on IoT. PFN advocates Edge Heavy Computing as a way to handle the enormous amount of data generated by devices in a distributed and collaborative manner at the edge of the network and realizes innovation in the three priority business areas of the transportation system, manufacturing industry, and bio/healthcare.

PFN develops and provides Chainer, and open source deep learning framework, and solutions based on the Deep Intelligence in Motion (DIMo) platform that provides state-of-the-art deep learning technology. PFN promotes advanced initiatives by collaborating with world leading organizations, such as Toyota Motor Corporation, Fanuc Corporation, National Cancer  Center.

＊Chainer^® and DIMo^TM are trademarks of Preferred Networks, Inc. in Japan and other countries.