Mitsubishi Electric’s ME Innovation Fund Invests in AI-assisted PLM Systems Startup “Things”

Mitsubishi Electric Corporation (TOKYO: 6503) announced today that its ME Innovation Fund has invested in Things, Inc., a Japan-based startup that develops and provides AI-assisted product lifecycle management (PLM) systems for manufacturing, specializing in comprehensive document management from product planning to development to disposal. This is the twelfth investment that the fund has made to date.

Through this investment, Mitsubishi Electric aims to integrate its extensive manufacturing and control expertise with Things’ generative AI technology to accelerate the development of digital transformation (DX) solutions that address various manufacturing challenges.

In recent years, Japan’s manufacturing industry has faced labor shortages, the aging of skilled technicians and other challenges that are inhibiting skills transfer. In response, DX initiatives such as the implementation of PLM and other digital systems have advanced rapidly, but have encountered issues regarding development time, cost, usability and scalability.

Things introduced its “PRISM” PLM system in May 2023 to leverage generative AI to improve the structure and usage of information in manufacturing. PRISM offers significant cost and scalability advantages for enhancing user interfaces and experiences, and for effectively implementing proofs of concept (PoCs) across a wide range of companies.

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