Headwaters Develops New Generative AI-OCR System for Dai-ichi Life, Achieving 20% Better Accuracy and 50% Cost Reduction
Headwaters has developed a cloud-based AI-OCR system for Dai-ichi Life Insurance using Microsoft Azure. Operational since April 24, 2026, the system leverages generative AI to boost accuracy by 20% and halves running costs through cloud-based scalability.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: April 29, 2026 at 00:40
- 🔍 Collected: April 28, 2026 at 16:02
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 28, 2026 at 16:38 (36 min after Collected)
AI solution provider Headwaters Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Yosuke Shinoda; hereinafter 'Headwaters') has designed and developed a new AI-OCR system in conjunction with the renewal of Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company's (hereinafter 'Dai-ichi Life') AI-OCR infrastructure.
Dai-ichi Life began operating the new AI-OCR system on April 24, 2026. By utilizing generative AI technology, the accuracy of form recognition and character recognition for identity verification documents such as driver's licenses has improved by approximately 20% compared to the previous system. Furthermore, the transition to the cloud has enabled flexible and efficient operations tailored to processing volume, reducing running costs to approximately one-half.
Background
Since July 2020, Dai-ichi Life has been promoting business automation using AI-OCR for insurance claim payments and various contract procedures. However, the existing on-premises AI-OCR infrastructure was reaching its hardware maintenance end-of-service (EOS), requiring a renewal focused on sustainable operational efficiency and future scalability. Given this background, the decision was made to refresh the infrastructure using cloud services.
Overview of the New AI-OCR System
Dai-ichi Life's new AI-OCR system replaces the previous on-premises AI-OCR infrastructure with a cloud foundation centered on 'Azure OpenAI' and 'Azure Document Intelligence' on Microsoft Azure. Through this renewal, Dai-ichi Life aims to further improve business quality and ensure stable and sustainable service delivery.
Headwaters' Support
In collaboration with Dai-ichi Life Technology Cross Co., Ltd., Headwaters worked on the design and development of the entire AI-OCR infrastructure. They designed system configurations and workflows suited for practical operations based on business requirements, driving the infrastructure renewal for the new AI-OCR system.
In areas utilizing Microsoft technology, they designed a system configuration on a cloud platform centered on Azure OpenAI and Azure Document Intelligence that balances processing stability with operational efficiency. During the migration from an on-premises environment focused on physical servers to a cloud environment, they ensured continuity with existing operations and developed a foundation that remains consistently usable in practice.
Furthermore, in designing the AI-OCR system, they maximized the use of generative AI and Azure AI Services while incorporating a 'Human in the Loop' (*1) interface to appropriately integrate human confirmation and judgment.
This creates an End-to-End linked OCR workflow suitable for practical use, from form recognition to character recognition, verification, and result reflection, achieving high recognition accuracy while handling massive volumes and high-speed processing.
Notably, this initiative is characterized by more than just the introduction of individual technical elements; it involves integrating them into the overall flow of business processes to implement a consistently usable foundation. Another defining element of this project is that such a complex configuration was steadily built and brought to production release within a limited period of one year.
(*1) Human in the Loop
Refers to a design where humans intervene when judgment is required, even while AI performs automated processing. This approach aligns with the 'AI Operator Guidelines,' which emphasize human-centricity, safety, transparency, and accountability.
Future Outlook
Headwaters will leverage the knowledge gained from this AI-OCR infrastructure renewal for Dai-ichi Life to promote AI implementation tailored to business characteristics in the future.
In areas where accuracy, operability, and scalability are required, demand for practical operational foundations combining cloud and AI is expected to increase further. In this environment, initiatives to refresh infrastructure while maintaining existing operations and implementing AI into business flows are seen to have broad potential in the financial industry, including life insurance, non-life insurance, banking, and securities.
By accumulating implementation experience in these fields, Headwaters aims to enhance customer business sophistication and create continuous value.
Trademarks
Microsoft, Azure, Azure OpenAI, and Azure Document Intelligence are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Other company names and products mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies.
Dai-ichi Life began operating the new AI-OCR system on April 24, 2026. By utilizing generative AI technology, the accuracy of form recognition and character recognition for identity verification documents such as driver's licenses has improved by approximately 20% compared to the previous system. Furthermore, the transition to the cloud has enabled flexible and efficient operations tailored to processing volume, reducing running costs to approximately one-half.
Background
Since July 2020, Dai-ichi Life has been promoting business automation using AI-OCR for insurance claim payments and various contract procedures. However, the existing on-premises AI-OCR infrastructure was reaching its hardware maintenance end-of-service (EOS), requiring a renewal focused on sustainable operational efficiency and future scalability. Given this background, the decision was made to refresh the infrastructure using cloud services.
Overview of the New AI-OCR System
Dai-ichi Life's new AI-OCR system replaces the previous on-premises AI-OCR infrastructure with a cloud foundation centered on 'Azure OpenAI' and 'Azure Document Intelligence' on Microsoft Azure. Through this renewal, Dai-ichi Life aims to further improve business quality and ensure stable and sustainable service delivery.
Headwaters' Support
In collaboration with Dai-ichi Life Technology Cross Co., Ltd., Headwaters worked on the design and development of the entire AI-OCR infrastructure. They designed system configurations and workflows suited for practical operations based on business requirements, driving the infrastructure renewal for the new AI-OCR system.
In areas utilizing Microsoft technology, they designed a system configuration on a cloud platform centered on Azure OpenAI and Azure Document Intelligence that balances processing stability with operational efficiency. During the migration from an on-premises environment focused on physical servers to a cloud environment, they ensured continuity with existing operations and developed a foundation that remains consistently usable in practice.
Furthermore, in designing the AI-OCR system, they maximized the use of generative AI and Azure AI Services while incorporating a 'Human in the Loop' (*1) interface to appropriately integrate human confirmation and judgment.
This creates an End-to-End linked OCR workflow suitable for practical use, from form recognition to character recognition, verification, and result reflection, achieving high recognition accuracy while handling massive volumes and high-speed processing.
Notably, this initiative is characterized by more than just the introduction of individual technical elements; it involves integrating them into the overall flow of business processes to implement a consistently usable foundation. Another defining element of this project is that such a complex configuration was steadily built and brought to production release within a limited period of one year.
(*1) Human in the Loop
Refers to a design where humans intervene when judgment is required, even while AI performs automated processing. This approach aligns with the 'AI Operator Guidelines,' which emphasize human-centricity, safety, transparency, and accountability.
Future Outlook
Headwaters will leverage the knowledge gained from this AI-OCR infrastructure renewal for Dai-ichi Life to promote AI implementation tailored to business characteristics in the future.
In areas where accuracy, operability, and scalability are required, demand for practical operational foundations combining cloud and AI is expected to increase further. In this environment, initiatives to refresh infrastructure while maintaining existing operations and implementing AI into business flows are seen to have broad potential in the financial industry, including life insurance, non-life insurance, banking, and securities.
By accumulating implementation experience in these fields, Headwaters aims to enhance customer business sophistication and create continuous value.
Trademarks
Microsoft, Azure, Azure OpenAI, and Azure Document Intelligence are registered trademarks or trademarks of Microsoft Corporation in the United States and other countries. Other company names and products mentioned are trademarks of their respective companies.