Establishment of Endowment-Based Research Organization 'AI Innovation Research Center'

The University of Tokyo (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; President: Teruo Fujii; hereinafter 'the University of Tokyo') and TOPPAN Holdings Corporation (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director, President & COO: Satoshi Ohyabashi; hereinafter 'TOPPAN Holdings') have agreed to establish the 'AI Innovation Research Center' (Center Director: Yutaka Matsuo) on July 1, 2026, based on a donation from TOPPAN Holdings to the University of Tokyo, to promote research and development of AI technologies from fundamental research to applied technologies for societal implementation.

The 'AI Innovation Research Center' will be established as an endowment-type research organization, utilizing the investment returns from donations made by TOPPAN Holdings to the University of Tokyo's endowment fund as its operational funding source, thereby enabling sustained and stable research activities.

At the 'AI Innovation Research Center,' the University of Tokyo will further strengthen its cutting-edge AI-related technologies and R&D capabilities, while leveraging practical knowledge and data accumulated by private enterprises across various business domains to promote societal implementation. This initiative aims to contribute to enhancing Japan's industrial competitiveness and realizing a well-being society where AI enriches people's lives.

University of Tokyo President Teruo Fujii (left) and TOPPAN Holdings Representative Director, President & COO Satoshi Ohyabashi (right)

Background

In recent years, the rapid advancement of generative AI and agent AI is significantly transforming industrial structures. To address increasingly complex and severe social challenges, accelerating the societal implementation of AI technologies has become essential—an urgent issue that will determine Japan's international competitiveness.

Under these circumstances, the TOPPAN Group and the University of Tokyo established the Industry-Academia Collaboration Course 'The Science and Practice of Holistic Supply Chain Optimization' (Course Director: Professor Yutaka Matsuo) in October 2024. Through this course, they have advanced joint research on AI technologies that contribute to supply-demand optimization by utilizing corporate sales performance, promotional data, product information, and diverse data that may indirectly affect operations.

Now, the University of Tokyo and TOPPAN Holdings have agreed to further develop their collaboration by establishing the 'AI Innovation Research Center.'

The University of Tokyo aims to establish a new university model that expands autonomous and sustainable creative activities in service of global public good, and is advancing various reforms. As part of this effort, it has launched the fundraising campaign 'UTokyo NEXT150' in preparation for its 150th anniversary in 2027. The TOPPAN Group, in alignment with this vision, has made a donation toward the establishment of this center.

Established at the University of Tokyo as an endowment-based research hub funded by this donation, the center will build a permanent research foundation—entirely different from traditional time-limited projects—analyze diverse social challenges, and redefine them from a data-driven perspective. Through interdisciplinary AI research, it will advance AI technologies and promote research toward building an information technology infrastructure for next-generation society. Furthermore, it aims to develop new technological foundations to facilitate the broad application of AI across industries, enabling the societal implementation of its research outcomes.

Research Focus

The center will broadly approach research areas related to AI applications, tackling unexplored and unsolved challenges across diverse domains. It aims to collect practical AI system solutions as case studies and systematize them into methodologies for designing and implementing AI systems, thereby elevating them into broadly applicable frameworks across engineering fields. Additionally, through collaboration with industry, it will implement engineering solutions in practice, contributing to the smooth functioning of socioeconomic activities and accelerating industrial transformation.

Through these research activities, the center is expected to contribute to advancing the industrial implementation of cutting-edge AI and enhancing cross-sector productivity in rapidly evolving fields such as robotics and mobility, healthcare requiring high-level decision-making, supply chain management, and the development and design of new materials. Furthermore, by positioning the iterative process of theory and practice as a talent development platform, the center aims to cultivate next-generation leaders who will drive transformation in the AI era across various fields, thereby promoting widespread AI-driven innovation and contributing to the construction of a safe, secure, and prosperous future society.

Practical Examples in Engineering Fields

Future Outlook

Starting in FY2026 with the center's establishment, the 'AI Innovation Research Center' will prepare data infrastructure for selected research areas and design security frameworks for real-world validation. From FY2027 onward, it will progressively deepen research through real-world validation and impact assessment, while expanding research domains by strengthening collaboration with related fields. By consistently advancing efforts from data infrastructure development to societal implementation, the center aims to conduct real-world demonstrations and product development across multiple industries, including logistics, manufacturing, and healthcare. It will promote initiatives to expand the value of AI throughout society by building an ecosystem where research knowledge and practical expertise circulate.

Overview of the 'AI Innovation Research Center'

Name: AI Innovation Research Center

Opening Date: July 1, 2026

Center Director: Professor Yutaka Matsuo, Graduate School of Engineering, The University of Tokyo

Main Research Focus: Collect practical AI system solutions as case studies, systematize them into methodologies, and elevate them into broadly applicable frameworks to promote AI utilization in Japan's engineering fields. Throughout this process, collaborate with industry to implement engineering solutions and contribute to further AI advancement.

Comment from Professor Yutaka Matsuo, Center Director of the AI Innovation Research Center

The emergence of generative AI has profoundly changed the nature of our intellectual activities. In engineering fields, design and production processes themselves are beginning to change. However, while these changes are occurring in individual cases, they have not yet been systematically organized as knowledge. I believe the most urgent need now is to accumulate insights into what works and why, and to structure them for future application.

At this center, we will tackle real-world problems in collaboration with industry and implement engineering solutions based on AI. We aim to systematize these experiences and apply them broadly across fields such as robotics, supply chains, and materials design.

About Endowment-Based Research Organizations

The University of Tokyo is expanding its university-endowed fund (endowment) to achieve flexible and agile financial operations. An endowment is a mechanism that invests donated funds and uses the investment returns to continuously secure funding for research organizations. As a management approach to create permanent funding sources for operational activities, the University of Tokyo is promoting endowment-based management.

'Endowment-based research organizations' are research entities established under this framework. By utilizing endowment investment returns, new research organizations can be flexibly established, enabling sustained and stable research activities.

* The content of this press release is current as of the date of publication. Subsequent developments may occur.