Panasonic Decides to Invest in FastLabel, an AI Data Platform Developer and Provider, through the Panasonic Kurashi Visionary Fund

Panasonic Corporation (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Masahiro Shinada; hereinafter referred to as Panasonic) announced that it has decided to invest in FastLabel Inc. (Head office: Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Takeshi Suzuki; hereinafter referred to as FastLabel), an AI data platform developer and provider, through a corporate venture capital fund, commonly known as the Panasonic Kurashi Visionary Fund, jointly managed by Panasonic and SBI Investment Co., Ltd.

AI, a transformative technology for both social life and business, is being implemented across various fields, and its demand is expected to continue growing in the future. At the same time, the market for annotation (data tagging), which is essential for building AI models, is forecast to expand in line with the rapid growth in demand for AI, reaching USD 1,363 million (about JPY 200 billion) in 2030.
(Source: Astute Analytica March 7, 2022 Report)

FastLabel provides fast and highly accurate annotation services by developing and delivering proprietary annotation platforms that support the Japanese language. The company also provides a platform for annotation, data management, and machine learning operations (MLOps) to support the entire project of developing in-house AI models. FastLabel’s outsourcing services and products have been adopted by Panasonic and other leading companies in Japan, enabling the company to continue to achieve business growth that surpasses the industry average.

As technological innovation is expected to advance through the introduction of AI in all aspects of people’s lives, the creation and management of data for AI (annotation and AI development platforms) will be essential for increasing productivity in AI development. By investing in FastLabel, Panasonic will strive to further enhance AI development and services, creating innovative products and solutions that support people’s lifestyles.

With a mission to contribute to the wellbeing of people, society, and the planet, Panasonic aims to be the best partner in supporting people’s lives with human-centric technology and innovation. The company will continue to strengthen its open innovation initiatives through strong partnerships by investing in promising startups both in Japan and abroad that excel in areas closely related to people’s lives, such as energy, food infrastructure, spatial infrastructure, and lifestyle.

■Comments from Kunio Gohara, General Manager of the Corporate Venture Capital Office, Panasonic Corporation

As AI becomes integrated into all industries, we believe that developing superior AI will significantly contribute to delivering new value to our customers and expanding growth opportunities for our business in the future. Therefore, we expect that the partnership with FastLabel, which provides high-quality annotation services for images and various other data, as well as a platform supporting everything from annotation to model development and operation, will bring tremendous value to Panasonic.

■Comments from Takeshi Suzuki, Representative Director and CEO of FastLabel Inc.

We are deeply honored that Panasonic Corporation has decided to invest in us. With a focus on the importance of data in AI development, FastLabel has provided services and platforms to help companies build highly accurate AI models faster. We hope to play a role in the AI infrastructure and collaborate with Panasonic to make people’s lives richer and more comfortable. We will continue to make every effort to help both companies grow and create new value.

■FastLabel Inc. overview

Company name: FastLabel Inc.

Representative: Takeshi Suzuki

Address: #201 5-5-27, Kitashinagawa, Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo

Establishment: January 2020

Business: Streamlining the creation, analysis, and management of training data for artificial intelligence, and providing the FastLabel AI data platform to improve data accuracy.

Additionally, outsourcing tasks on the above platform and annotation tasks.

URL: https://fastlabel.ai/

About Panasonic Corporation

Panasonic Corporation offers products and services for a variety of living environments, ranging from homes to stores to offices and cities. There are five businesses at the core of Panasonic Corporation: Living Appliances and Solutions Company, Heating & Ventilation A/C Company, Cold Chain Solutions Company, Electric Works Company and China and Northeast Asia Company. The operating company reported consolidated net sales of 3,494.4 billion yen for the year ended March 31, 2024. Panasonic Corporation is committed to fulfilling the mission of Life Tech & Ideas: For the wellbeing of people, society and the planet, and embraces the vision of becoming the best partner of your life with human-centric technology and innovation. Learn more about Panasonic: https://www.panasonic.com/global/about/