Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and Preferred Networks Form Strategic Partnership for Joint Development of Domestic AI Technology in Mission-Critical Fields

Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. (MHI) and Preferred Networks, Inc. (PFN) have entered into a business alliance agreement to jointly develop cutting-edge AI technology for the intelligence and autonomization of mission-critical machinery and systems in social infrastructure and national security. In these fields, there is an urgent need to respond to complex, rapidly changing challenges. To maintain and improve the safety and resilience of critical systems, the implementation of advanced AI capable of autonomous judgment is essential. MHI possesses extensive expertise in hardware design, system construction, and control technologies, driven by its 'Innovative Total Optimization (ITO)' management policy. Meanwhile, PFN holds unique, vertically integrated technical capabilities across the AI value chain, including AI semiconductors, computing infrastructure, and generative AI foundation models. Recognizing the difficulty of this innovation, both companies decided that a long-term collaborative framework is necessary to accelerate social implementation. Through this partnership, they will integrate MHI's hardware and control technologies with PFN's domestic AI stack to develop autonomous AI for high-reliability environments. The technology will be embedded into MHI's product portfolio to enable intelligent operations, predictive maintenance, and rapid crisis management. Furthermore, the companies aim to conclude a capital alliance agreement within fiscal year 2026 to accelerate R&D investment and commercialization.