Event for IT Engineers "ProTechOne 2026" Challenges Metaverse Space!

PE-BANK Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo / President and CEO: Mikiyoshi Takada), a group company of MCEA Holdings Inc. (Minato-ku, Tokyo / President and CEO: Takeyoshi Saito), which proposes new ways of working for IT engineers, held "ProTechOne 2026" for IT engineers nationwide on June 13, 2026 (Sat).

This event, now in its fifth year since being renewed to target all IT engineers, featured presentations by experts in various fields on the theme of skills, careers, and work styles in the AI era, attracting a total of 1,107 participants.

2026 Event Theme

This year's theme is "IT Engineers Connected in the Metaverse and the World Beyond." While interest in the metaverse in Japan has temporarily subsided, its utilization is advancing overseas, particularly in industrial sectors.

Based on this gap in domestic and international trends, we challenged ourselves to hold an event in the metaverse to create new customer touchpoints, looking towards mid-to-long-term possibilities.

Opening Remarks: Mikiyoshi Takada, President and CEO, PE-BANK

At the outset, Mikiyoshi Takada, President and CEO of PE-BANK, took the stage and spoke about how the widespread adoption of AI is significantly changing the roles required of engineers, expressing hope that the event would provide hints for future career development and skill enhancement. He also highlighted that this year's event, held in a metaverse space, emphasized the experience of participants connecting with each other.

Event Report

Presentation: Freelancers Replaced by AI, Leaders Guiding Teams by Manipulating AI.

"AI-DLC" and Intent Management That Determine Destiny

Speaker: Shingo Yoshida (COO, Generative Agents Inc.)

Mr. Yoshida pointed out that with the evolution of coding agents like Claude Code, it will become difficult to differentiate oneself solely by the ability to write code. He explained that "intent management," which defines "what, why, and how to build" and maximizes the overall team performance using AI, will become important. He also introduced "AI-DLC," where AI leads development, emphasizing the need to rebuild team development rules, including reviews, testing, and documentation, not just individual efficiency. He stated that freelance engineers will need to evolve from AI users to change-makers who lead organizational transformation.

Presentation: The Future Career and Work Style of Engineers

─ Options Revealed from the Frontlines of AI, DX, New Business, and Human Resource Development

Speaker: Hiroyuki Furumiya (President and CEO, Evangelist, BeeS Inc.)

Mr. Furumiya pointed out that with the evolution of AI, it has become difficult to achieve stability simply by acquiring "skills that won't disappear." He then introduced the importance of having a mechanism for continuous learning, thinking, outputting, and taking action. Hints were shared for engineers to develop a business perspective and advance organizations as independent individuals, including offensive and defensive strategies for DX, OODA-type decision-making, and communication that emphasizes consultation.

7th National Student AI Athlete Championship Singularity Battle Quest 2026 Opening Ceremony

Midway through the event, a live broadcast of the Singularity Battle Quest 2026 opening ceremony was shown from the ProTechOne2026 special venue (within Shibuya Solasta Conference).

At the opening ceremony, Mikiyoshi Takada, President and CEO of PE-BANK, took the stage and expressed his expectations for students to take on new challenges without fear of failure in an era where AI is permeating society. Following messages of support from partner companies and related parties, the competition content was introduced: "GAQ," which produces music videos with generative AI, and "RQ," which teaches robots to play tag. This marked the start of a competition where the next generation will compete in creativity and technology.

Presentation: Become an AI Agent Builder - How to Raise Your Own AI Agent Starting with Claude Code

Speaker: Kimihiko Nishimi (CEO, Generative Agents Inc.)

Mr. Nishimi explained the importance of moving beyond simply "using" AI as a convenient tool to "nurturing" it according to one's own tasks. He described AI agents as "intelligent systems that interact with their environment to complete tasks towards a goal" and introduced Claude Code, a coding agent, as usable as a personalized agent by extending its memory and external tool integration. Through a demo connecting Discord and Claude Code, which responded while referencing schedules, memos, and web information, he demonstrated the importance of "nurturing" AI to fit one's work and life, not just using it.

Presentation: Data Center Innovation Supported by AMD EPYC, and the Expansion of Local AI Brought by AMD Ryzen AI

Speaker: Masato Sekine (Sales Engineering Manager, Commercial Sales Division, AMD Japan Inc.)

Mr. Sekine explained that the expansion of AI utilization is significantly changing the performance requirements for data centers and PCs. He introduced the server CPU "AMD EPYC," which is being adopted in a wide range of fields, including virtualization platforms, HPC in manufacturing, and AI servers, due to its high processing performance and power efficiency. He also touched upon the data center GPU "AMD Instinct" and the client PC "AMD Ryzen AI," indicating the potential for AI processing to expand not only to the cloud but also to local environments. He stated that in the future, the selection of IT infrastructure will be important, considering not only computational performance but also power efficiency and operational costs.

Presentation: Introduction to Physical AI - What Engineers Need to Know Now

Speaker: Naoto Kato (CEO, Cluster Inc.)

Mr. Kato introduced the current trend of the metaverse expanding from the entertainment domain to industrial DX and digital twins. He explained that against the backdrop of labor shortages and rising material costs, the use of 3D space and simulation technology is advancing in fields such as construction, manufacturing, disaster prevention, and education. Furthermore, he defined Physical AI as "AI that recognizes, acts, and interacts with the physical world" and stated that digital twins will become an important bridge connecting AI and the physical world as a means to compensate for the lack of real-world data.

Presentation: How Cutting-Edge Technology Changes Individual Careers

─ The Process of Expanding Activity Areas from Freelance to the XR and Vision Pro Era

Speaker: Aimi Sekiguchi (VR Artist)

Ms. Sekiguchi spoke about the potential of cutting-edge technologies such as XR, AI glasses, and AI agents to expand expression, work styles, and individual careers. She shared how she has expanded her work opportunities by continuously disseminating VR art both domestically and internationally. She conveyed that in an era of rapid technological advancement, it is important to continue publishing without being overly concerned with perfection, and to create one's own unique story while honing one's passions and sensibilities.

PE-BANK's corporate philosophy is to "improve the social status of IT freelancers." We connect companies needing IT talent nationwide with IT engineers, providing not only project introductions but also support in terms of work and career.

"ProTechOne 2026," held this time, served as a platform for IT freelancers and other engineers to engage with the latest technologies including AI and industry trends, connect with participants who share similar concerns, and consider their future careers and work styles, as part of our career support initiatives.

Going forward, we will continue to provide opportunities for individual IT engineers to face technological changes and expand their potential, support the diverse work styles of IT freelancers and the resolution of companies' IT challenges, and contribute to Japan's development through IT.

What is ProTechOne?

ProTechOne is an event where IT engineers "learn and discuss" industry trends that they should be aware of. This event started in 2014, initially held as the Pro Engineer Forum for IT freelance engineers (pro-engineers) belonging to PE-BANK Inc., offering "learning" and "insights" on various themes. Since 2022, it has been renewed to target all IT engineers, supporting their growth to thrive long-term in the IT industry. In 2026, it was held in a metaverse space (using cluster).

【Event Overview】

Event Name: ProTechOne 2026

Date: June 13, 2026 (Sat)

Venue: Online (Metaverse Space)

Organizer: PE-BANK Inc.

【PE-BANK Inc. Overview】

PE-BANK Inc. was founded as a cooperative association in 1989. With the mission of "Creating a society where the social status of IT freelancers is further enhanced," we have been connecting companies and engineers for over 30 years as the longest-standing company in the IT freelance engineer agency business in Japan. PE-BANK's symbol mark, inspired by cherries, expresses PE-BANK's mission "Talent companies seek, jobs engineers seek" and the good relations and good partnership among the three parties.

Company Name: PE-BANK Inc.

Representative: Mikiyoshi Takada, President and CEO Head Office Location: Grace Building Izumi-Sengoku-mae, 2-15-8 Takanawa, Minato-ku, Tokyo Date of Establishment: May 1, 1989 (as a cooperative association) Capital: 312,950,000 yen Business Activities: IT freelance engineer agency business

IT engineer dispatch business / introduction business

Seminars for IT engineers / Welfare services

Corporate Site: https://pe-bank.co.jp

Pe-BANK Freelance: https://pe-bank.jp (Service site for IT freelancers)

Pe-BANK Career: https://career.pe-bank.jp (Service site exclusively for IT human resource dispatch and introduction)

Pe-BANK College: https://pebank-college.jp (IT human resource training service for corporations)

Support Plus: https://splus.pe-bank.jp (Webinar and welfare service site for IT engineers)

【MCEA Holdings Inc. Overview】

Under the philosophy of "Maximizing the potential of people and business," the MCEA Holdings Group consists of three companies: PE-BANK Inc., which operates an IT freelance engineer agency business; Asuno System Inc., an IT service company whose core business is system development; and MCEA Holdings Inc., which supports group formation and promotes management. Based on the spirit of coexistence and co-prosperity, which originated from the "Metropolitan Computer Engineers Cooperative Association" founded in May 1989 by 15 IT freelancers, we will continue to strive to be a valuable company that is sought after by everyone.

Company Name: MCEA Holdings Inc.

Representative: Takeyoshi Saito, President and CEO Head Office Location: Grace Building Izumi-Sengoku-mae, 2-15-8 Takanawa, Minato-ku, Tokyo Date of Establishment: September 1, 2015 Capital: 100,000,000 yen

Homepage: https://mcea-hld.jp/