Ricoh's Technical Expertise and Rise Consulting Group's Execution Power Unite to Establish 'Ricoh AI Consulting Co., Ltd.', Specializing in AI Implementation

Ricoh Company, Ltd. (President and CEO: Akira Ohyama, hereinafter "Ricoh") and Rise Consulting Group Co., Ltd. (President and CEO: Ryudai Matsuoka, hereinafter "Rise Consulting Group"), a consulting firm focused on AI and digital technologies, have jointly established a new venture, Ricoh AI Consulting Co., Ltd., to support the realization of AX (AI Transformation) (Note 1) aimed at solving corporate management challenges.

The new joint venture will integrate Ricoh Group's customer base, customer engagement capabilities, AI foundational technologies, and AI solution delivery strengths with Rise Consulting Group's proven consulting expertise in strategy formulation, implementation, and utilization within the AI and digital domains. This combined strength will provide end-to-end support for optimal AI adoption and successful integration within client organizations.

Background of Establishment

In recent years, while many companies have advanced initiatives to leverage generative AI, challenges such as "uncertainty about which operations to apply it to" and "difficulty sustaining AI after implementation" have become apparent. To effectively link AI with actual business transformation and tangible results, it is increasingly important to provide continuous support from conceptualization through implementation and stabilization.

Ricoh has been developing and providing AI technologies and solutions, and in 2025 announced "Hi.DEEN" (Note 2), an AI technology platform designed to utilize tacit knowledge and unstructured data accumulated within enterprises. Meanwhile, Rise Consulting Group has built strengths in providing end-to-end support—from strategic planning to implementation and operational integration—along with deep, hands-on consulting that works closely with client teams on the ground.

Recognizing that combining their respective strengths would enable them to reliably translate AI value into actual business outcomes and deliver more effective AX support, the two companies decided to establish this joint venture. This will strengthen their ability to provide comprehensive, hands-on support that helps companies not only implement generative AI but also master its use.

Initiatives and Services Offered

Ricoh AI Consulting Co., Ltd. will begin by helping clients clarify their management and operational challenges, then support them in developing value-creation scenarios and future visions using AI.

Beyond mere PoC (proof of concept), the company will support clients in designing KPIs linked to results, transforming business processes, and building AI utilization platforms, providing ongoing support through implementation, stabilization, and continuous improvement. In the full-scale deployment phase, it will leverage Ricoh Group's AI technologies and solutions to support clients from implementation through operation, stabilization, and expansion.

Through these efforts, the company aims to enhance clients' productivity and competitiveness, while also enabling new value creation and business transformation.

Future Outlook

By combining Ricoh's AI technologies and solutions with Rise Consulting Group's strategic planning and implementation support capabilities, the joint venture will provide tailored AX advancement support aligned with each client's unique challenges.

Going forward, the company plans to accumulate AI application models and insights across various industries and operations, and deliver them as highly reproducible services, contributing to enhanced corporate competitiveness and sustainable growth.

Overview of the Joint Venture

Company Name: Ricoh AI Consulting Co., Ltd.

Headquarters: 1-3-6 Nakamagome, Ota-ku, Tokyo

Representative: President and CEO Yoshiaki Umetsu

Business Activities: Consulting services supporting clients from AI strategy conception through implementation and stabilization

Capital: 100 million JPY

Ownership Ratio: Ricoh 80%, Rise Consulting Group 20%

Operations Start: July 2026 (planned)

URL: https://ai-consulting.ricoh.com/

Message from Yoshiaki Umetsu, President and CEO of Ricoh AI Consulting Co., Ltd.

With the rapid evolution of generative AI, corporate AI adoption is now at a pivotal turning point. The core of AI use is swiftly shifting from primarily "chat-based idea generation" to "autonomous task execution" by AI agents.

AI application areas are expanding explosively—from advanced design support based on RAG (Retrieval-Augmented Generation), specification-driven development via coding agents, to robotics deployment in physical environments. As a result, the complexity and difficulty of corporate AX initiatives have dramatically increased.

This new company was established specifically to address the highly challenging phases of "implementation and stabilization." By fusing Ricoh's advanced AI technological capabilities with Rise Consulting Group's powerful consulting and execution strengths, we will move beyond mere conceptualization and validation. Our mission is to achieve real-world "AI implementation and stabilization" that reliably functions in actual business operations and contributes to our clients' sustainable value creation.

(Note 1) AX (AI Transformation)

A strategic approach to transforming business processes and business models with AI at its core, aiming to enhance corporate value. With the widespread adoption of AI, AX is now recognized as the next stage beyond DX (Digital Transformation).

(Note 2) Hi.DEEN

An AI technology platform developed by Ricoh to transform "tacit knowledge" and "unstructured data" dormant within enterprises into a competitive "secret sauce." It addresses societal challenges such as population decline, labor shortages, and enabling diverse talent to thrive.

Ricoh's AI Development

Ricoh began AI development in the 1980s and, starting in 2015, advanced deep learning AI based on image recognition technologies, applying them to manufacturing areas such as visual inspection and vibration monitoring. Since 2021, leveraging natural language processing technologies, Ricoh has offered "AI for Work," which analyzes office documents and customer voices (VOC) from call centers to improve operational efficiency and customer service.

In 2022, Ricoh began early research and development on large language models (LLMs), announcing its proprietary LLM in March 2023. The company is advancing AI development that uses AI to visualize tacit knowledge embedded in documents, images, and operational data accumulated within enterprises, linking it directly to business outcomes. By combining its proprietary document understanding technology with LLMs/LMMs, Ricoh achieves high-precision analysis of text and diagrams, transforming them into practical knowledge for real-world use. Furthermore, by emphasizing on-premises deployment and security, Ricoh provides a safe and trustworthy environment for AI adoption.

Additionally, Ricoh actively applies AI within its own operations, incorporating these insights into its services. A key strength is that employees themselves build and use AI agents, actively advancing sophisticated work practices. By combining this practical knowledge with deep implementation expertise gained from working closely with client operations, Ricoh ensures AI moves beyond conceptual stages to continuously create and deliver value.

Related News

Ricoh and Rise Consulting Group Reach Basic Agreement to Establish Joint Venture Supporting AX Realization

https://jp.ricoh.com/release/2026/0303_1

About Ricoh Group

Operating in approximately 200 countries and regions worldwide, Ricoh Group leverages advanced technologies including AI and its long-standing strengths in the printing domain to deliver services and solutions that support business transformation in the workplace. Through its commercial and industrial printing businesses and new solutions based on inkjet technology, Ricoh supports customers in creating value (Group consolidated sales for the fiscal year ending March 2026: 2.6083 trillion JPY).

"Joy in Work" — For over 90 years since its founding, we have stood alongside our customers in their "work," and as a leading company, we will continue to envision the future of work, support the expression of uniquely human creativity through workplace transformation, and contribute to building a sustainable society.

For more information, visit:

https://jp.ricoh.com/

About Rise Consulting Group

Rise Consulting Group is a consulting firm with the mission of "PRODUCE NEXT," dedicated to "executing strategy" and "driving results," and committed to helping clients co-create a "happier future."

Using a problem-solving approach characterized by four pillars—"Hands-on Style," "Scopeless," "More than Reports," and "Professionals"—the firm provides comprehensive support across a wide range of areas, including AX, DX, new business development, M&A, operational reform, and PMO, serving leading companies across various industries in Japan.

• Company Name: Rise Consulting Group Co., Ltd.

• Headquarters: 34th Floor, Izumi Garden Tower, 1-6-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo

• Representative: President and CEO Ryudai Matsuoka

• Corporate Website: https://www.rise-cg.co.jp/