ITOCHU Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Keita Ishii, President & COO; hereinafter “ITOCHU”) announced today that ITOCHU and ITOCHU Techno‑Solutions Corporation (headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo; Tatsushi Shingu, President & CEO; hereinafter “CTC”) have reached an agreement on a business alliance with MAMEZO Co., Ltd. (headquartered in Shinjuku-ku; Tetsuya Nakahara, President & CEO; hereinafter “MAMEZO”), a company that excels in the field of physical AI,^*1 in which artificial intelligence (AI) is used to control autonomous robots and machinery. The three companies aim to achieve the social implementation of physical AI and create new value leveraging their individual customer bases and technological capabilities.

To enhance cooperation with MAMEZO, ITOCHU has already concluded a capital alliance agreement with Roodhalsgans 3 Co., Ltd.,^*2 the parent company that fully owns MAMEZO, and it has also completed its subscription of a portion of the preferred shares issued by the company.

In recent years, operations in production, logistics, infrastructure maintenance and inspection, and mobility have been facing the challenges of responding to the labor shortage and increasing productivity. In this context, investments in the automation of processes and increasing their technological sophistication are increasing, and the world is developing expectations regarding physical AI, a field in which AI-driven recognition and judgment processes are combined with operations executed by robots. However, a system needs to be constructed to cover the entire process from design to implementation and operate in an end-to-end support in light of the realities on the front lines.

MAMEZO is a technology company working to achieve the social implementation of AI and robotics based on its advanced expertise in software and hardware. MAMEZO possesses advantages in the area of end-to-end support from planning and conceptualization to implementation and operation, and it helps businesses implement reforms in a wide range of areas, including factory automation, robot development, and digital transformation (DX). In recent years, they have been working to implement physical AI systems combining AI, IoT and robotics and contribute to the creation of new value on the front lines of production, logistics and other industries.

ITOCHU supports its client companies in their digital transformations, having established a foundation for its business in the field of IT and other digital technologies centered on CTC, which possesses a wealth of expertise in the creation of IT infrastructure and the development and operation of systems. ITOCHU has established a track record of collaboration with MAMEZO through CTC, mainly in the conceptualization and design of core and other systems.
Through this alliance, ITOCHU and CTC will enhance its structure for comprehensive supporting customers engaged in production, logistics, infrastructure and other fields from conceptualization of a system to its construction, implementation and operation. The three companies will work together to jointly propose, demonstrate and implement solutions in the physical AI field combining MAMEZO's high-level robotics development capabilities, CTC's capabilities in the field of IT infrastructure construction and system development and operation and ITOCHU's broad customer base.

Going forward, ITOCHU will enhance the IT solutions business, including physical AI business, to contribute to the realization of a sustainable digital society based on a market-oriented perspective to solving the issues faced by the market and our customers.