[SoftBank, NEC, Honda, and Sony Group Jointly Establish Japanese AI Foundation Model Development Company] According to Deep Tide TechFlow on April 13, as reported by Kyodo News, SoftBank, NEC, Honda, and Sony Group have jointly established a new company, 'Japan AI Foundation Model Development,' aimed at advancing the development of domestic artificial intelligence foundation models. The company plans to gather approximately 100 AI developers, with the president position to be held by a SoftBank executive. In addition to the four aforementioned companies, Nippon Steel, Kobe Steel, MUFG Bank, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Mizuho Bank are also contributing investments. SoftBank and NEC will handle development, Honda will apply the results in the autonomous driving field, and Preferred Networks is also participating. The company plans to make AI widely accessible to Japanese companies beyond the investing enterprises and will expand into the field of robotics AI. If selected by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), it is expected to receive government support of 1 trillion yen (approximately 430 billion RMB) over five years starting from fiscal year 2026.