KDDI to Collaborate with AWS to Bring Generative AI to Society

KDDI Corporation

KDDI will collaborate (hereinafter referred to as "this partnership") with Amazon Web Services Japan (hereinafter referred to as "AWS") to comprehensively support businesses and municipalities using generative AI to accelerate generative AI's introduction to society.
Through this collaboration, KDDI will offer support to businesses and municipalities facing with challenges such as the workforce shortage and operational inefficiency. This support will cover how to apply generative AI developed by start-ups, as well as open-source generative AI, and provide AI solutions fit for specific problems. KDDI will start providing businesses, municipalities and start-ups with support as a one-stop-shop for developing and utilizing competitive generative AI from early October 2023.

Together with AWS Premier Tier Services Partner iret and other KDDI group companies, KDDI will provide infrastructure-design/development/operation/maintenance and a data-utilization platform that leverage AWS services, and conduct agile development of apps etc. Further, KDDI will serve as a matchmaker for businesses, municipalities, and start-ups through KDDI ∞ Labo. Bringing together the rapid development capabilities of start-ups and the KDDI Group's integration prowess, this collaboration will support the customization (fine-tuning) of generative AI models tailored to the respective challenges facing businesses and municipalities.
AWS will provide its latest generative AI services including diverse foundation models, cost-effective computing infrastructure, for customers to build applications, while also supporting start-ups through AWS Activate.

Through this collaboration, KDDI will expand the use and social implementation of generative AI to improve productivity throughout society and invigorate generative AI.

■Background and issues

• As the working population declines due to the low birth rate and Japan's aging society, the workforce shortage has been accelerating, making better productivity a pressing issue.
• In this environment, businesses and municipalities are advancing AI-based digital transformation initiatives to improve productivity. Generative AI in particular holds great potential for improving productivity.
• The environment surrounding generative AI is changing quickly, spawning new technologies every day. If businesses and municipalities want to adopt generative AI with a sense of speed, partnering with start-ups that have new business ideas and cutting-edge expertise is a promising way to do it.
• Meanwhile, for start-ups to develop generative AI for businesses and municipalities in ways optimized for their challenges and in a competitive manner, they need data for customization, efficient development environments, and more opportunities to collaborate with those businesses and municipalities.

■About this collaboration

Under this collaboration, the following support will be provided to businesses, municipalities and start-ups that need to solve certain challenges to revitalize operations and realize DX.

1. Content of support

2. Target organizations

• (1)

  Businesses and municipalities
  Businesses and municipalities with specific challenges that want to promote DX and reform their operations

• (2)

  Start-ups
  Start-ups looking to develop generative AI

3. Starting date of support

Scheduled for early October 2023

4. Inquiries

• (1)

  For businesses or municipalities interested in utilizing generative AI

  Please contact a KDDI corporate sales representative or our corporate customer center.

  <Corporate customer center>
  Call 0077-7007 (toll-free), or 0120-921-919 (toll-free)
  Hours: 9:00 am - 6:00 pm (except Saturdays, Sundays, holidays, and the beginning/end of the year)

• (2)

  For start-ups interested in this initiative

  Please contact us through the ∞Labo inquiry form (in Japanese only)

Going forward, KDDI will continue to collaborate with a range of generative AI providers to offer environments from which customers can choose the generative AI that best fits their needs.