KDDI and WPP Form a Strategic Partnership in Web3 Business

KDDI Corporation

On March 7, 2023, KDDI entered into a basic agreement with WPP (headquartered in London, UK; CEO: Mark Read), the world's largest marketing communications group, to form a strategic partnership with the aim of building a global business model in the creator economy for the Web3 era.
Under this partnership, the two companies will share KDDI's Web3 technologies and services and IP (content) and WPP's digital creative development capabilities and international network. Together, we will globally launch a metaverse and Web3 service called αU in the first half of FY2023, and build business models in regions outside Japan.

KDDI has been collaborating with a variety of content partners in Japan, including for video, music, books, and games. Since 2020, we have been providing a new type of entertainment with our urban-linked metaverse called Virtual Shibuya. On March 7, 2023, we announced that we will launch αU, our metaverse and Web3 service.
With more than 100,000 employees in 110 locations worldwide, the WPP Group provides cutting-edge marketing services around the world on a mission to build a better future for its customers, employees, communities, and people around the world through the power of creativity, data, and technologies.

Commenting on this partnership, Hiromichi Matsuda, Executive Officer and General Manager of the Corporate Strategy Planning Division and the Business Exploration & Development Division at KDDI, said: "We are very honoured to have signed a strategic partnership with WPP to jointly enhance our Web3 business offering. KDDI has pioneered the metaverse in Japan, represented by our "Virtual Shibuya" work. Due to the borderless nature of the metaverse, we believe we can create world-class services that originate in Japan; our partnership with WPP will help to boost our momentum. Together with WPP―who do not shy away from change―we aim to create services suitable for this new era, and an alliance that can spread its wings globally."

Kyoko Matsushita, WPP CEO for Japan, said: "As Japan's digital ecosystem catches up with the rest of the world, it is critical that content creators are equipped with the latest technology to set them up for success. As the creative transformation company, WPP is delighted to partner with KDDI to develop these best-in-class tools, which will provide our clients' brands with unrivalled content opportunities."

The two companies will share assets, resources, technologies, insight, and other elements acquired through our respective business activities to build a framework for enabling access to IP (content) and αU on a global scale as we develop businesses for the global market.

(Reference)

■WPP

WPP supports client companies in driving creative transformation with the purpose of creating a better future for people, the planet, clients and communities by leveraging the power of creativity. In Japan, 15 group companies, including AKQA, BCW, Geometry Ogilvy, Grey, GroupM, Hogarth, Landor & Fitch, VMLY&R, and Wunderman Thompson, bring their talent, skills, and capabilities together to serve domestic and international companies in the areas of communications, experience, commerce, and technology.
For more information, visit https://www.wpp.com/.

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