Noetra began full operations on July 16 with Sony Group, SoftBank, NEC and Honda as core companies in a METI- and NEDO-backed AI project. Photo by Alex Block on Unsplash
Alex Block
Hitachi Ltd. has invested in Noetra Inc., a newly established company focused on developing a Japan-made multimodal foundation model, and will join efforts to develop and deploy domestic artificial intelligence technologies, according to a release issued on July 17, 2026.
Noetra began full-scale operations on July 16. The company was established with Sony Group Corp., SoftBank Corp., NEC Corp. and Honda Motor Co. as core companies. It aims to develop AI robotics and physical AI that can safely use on-site data and industrial technologies, areas the release described as Japanese strengths.
The project is being promoted by Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and NEDO, the country’s national research and development agency, as a cross-industry initiative. NEDO is a government-backed body that supports industrial technology development in Japan.
Hitachi plans to contribute expertise built up across social infrastructure and industrial sectors, including information technology, operational technology, products and AI. It will use knowledge from equipment operations and maintenance, manufacturing sites and other field-based data, as well as control and operational know-how, to support the establishment of a safe and reliable AI foundation for use in Japanese manufacturing and social infrastructure.
In the future, Hitachi plans to use its proprietary field data to train and apply the multimodal foundation model that Noetra is expected to develop and provide. That is intended to further enhance Hitachi’s physical AI-related technologies and HMAX by Hitachi, its next-generation suite of solutions aimed at using AI to transform social infrastructure.
Japan has increased efforts to strengthen domestic technology capabilities in strategic sectors, including semiconductors and AI, amid broader interest in sovereign AI, or AI systems built and operated using domestic data and infrastructure. The release said demand for generative AI and physical AI is expanding across industrial and social infrastructure fields, increasing the importance of safe and reliable AI platforms tailored to local industries and operating environments.
Noetra’s formation brings together companies from electronics, telecommunications, information technology and automotive manufacturing, reflecting a cross-sector approach to building domestic AI models for industrial use.