JAPAN AI Invests in CONOC and Begins Business Collaboration ~Supporting the Development of AI Agents for the Construction Industry from Both Technical and Implementation Standpoints to Accelerate AX (AI Transformation)~

JAPAN AI Inc. (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Tomoaki Kudo; hereinafter "JAPAN AI") announces that it will invest in CONOC Inc. (Headquarters: Tama-shi, Tokyo; Representative Director: Hajime Yamaguchi; hereinafter "CONOC"), a company promoting DX in the construction industry and working towards business transformation through AI utilization (AX: AI Transformation), and will commence business collaboration for the joint development of AI agent services for the construction industry.

Background of Business Collaboration

JAPAN AI, with its Purpose of "Creating a Sustainable Future Society with AI," has been providing, developing, and supporting the adoption of AI platforms for hundreds of companies.

The Japanese construction industry, despite being a core industry with a market size of 75 trillion yen (*1) and employing 4.77 million people (*2), has only a 20.7% adoption rate for DX in business management (*3) and a 9.4% utilization rate of AI (*4). Many operations, such as estimation, invoicing, progress management, and site daily reports, are still handled manually using paper or analog methods, leading to long-standing issues of heavy workloads for site personnel and person-dependent management.

CONOC has been providing cloud services specialized for the construction industry to address these challenges. Having provided services to over 777 construction businesses and leveraging accumulated operational data and industry knowledge, CONOC is promoting the in-house development of a suite of AI agents specialized for construction tasks, including estimation OCR, daily report generation, and progress optimization. This collaboration aims to further accelerate the realization of this AI agent concept by partnering with JAPAN AI, which has strengths in AI development infrastructure, for collaboration in both technical and implementation aspects.

*1: From the Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism's "Construction Investment Forecast for Reiwa 7 (2025)."

*2: From the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications' "Labor Force Survey" (Average for 2024).

*3: From the Information-technology Promotion Agency (IPA)'s "DX White Paper 2023," Figure 2-7. Calculated by summing the proportions of "Implemented as company-wide strategy," "Implemented at the departmental level," and "Undergoing demonstration/experimentation" for DX implementation in the construction industry.

*4: From the Teikoku Databank's "Survey on the Utilization of Generative AI" (August 2024). Generative AI utilization rate in the construction and real estate industries.

Details of Business Collaboration

Through this partnership, JAPAN AI will support CONOC in transforming its existing cloud services into business systems utilizing AI agents, through the following two services:

(1) Provision of JAPAN AI STUDIO

JAPAN AI STUDIO is a platform that allows for the construction and operation of business systems incorporating AI agents without writing code. Since it enables development of the three elements – screen design, AI agents, and databases – within a single environment, it will realize AI automation in tasks such as estimate management, progress management, and site reporting by combining CONOC's accumulated construction business know-how with JAPAN AI STUDIO's development infrastructure.

(2) Provision of JAPAN AI CONSULTING

Dedicated personnel will provide consistent support from requirement definition for AI implementation to its deployment and on-site adoption. In addition to follow-up on AI utilization, JAPAN AI's technical expertise and implementation resources will accelerate the development plan for new AI agents envisioned by CONOC, jointly promoting the early realization of AI services for the construction industry.

Through this partnership, both companies will jointly promote the establishment of an environment where construction site personnel can automate daily tasks such as document creation, progress management, and site reporting using AI.

Comment from Hajime Yamaguchi, Representative Director of CONOC

I myself have been involved in the construction industry for over 20 years, and as CONOC, we have provided construction-specific cloud services to over 777 clients. However, the labor shortage at construction sites has reached a point where cloud tools alone cannot solve the problem.

That is why we believe AI agents, where AI takes over tasks from humans, are necessary, and we have been developing them in-house.

With this collaboration with JAPAN AI, we believe we can significantly accelerate the speed of realization.

By combining CONOC, which deeply understands the construction site, with JAPAN AI, which has strengths in AI core technology, we will realize an environment where operations can run with "zero input, only confirmation," fundamentally changing the way the construction industry works.

Comment from Tomoaki Kudo, President and CEO of JAPAN AI

CONOC possesses extensive operational data and deep domain knowledge in the construction industry. By combining this with JAPAN AI's technological capabilities, we will jointly promote AX (AI Transformation) in the construction industry.

JAPAN AI aims to contribute to the further spread and development of AI utilization in Japan by tackling deeper industry challenges.

Future Outlook

Both companies plan to build an AI agent layer on top of CONOC's existing SaaS infrastructure and aim for phased service releases within fiscal year 2026. JAPAN AI will provide technical and implementation support, while CONOC will leverage its construction industry expertise and user base to jointly promote increased digitalization and improved operational efficiency across the entire construction industry.

About CONOC

Since its founding in 2010, CONOC has been deeply involved in the construction industry. In June 2021, the company transitioned to the Con-tech business to fully promote DX in the construction industry and currently provides AI-equipped cloud services specialized for the construction industry to over 777 construction businesses. With the corporate statement "Revolutionizing the Norms of the Construction Industry," CONOC is promoting the development of a platform for automating construction tasks using AI agents.

Company Profile

Company Name: CONOC Inc.

Representative: Hajime Yamaguchi, Representative Director

Headquarters: Fuku-man Bldg. 2F, 1-12-12 Sannoge, Tama-shi, Tokyo

Established: March 2010 (Founded January 2004)

Business Activities: AI-equipped cloud services specialized for the construction industry, Con-tech/DX-AX business

URL: https://conoc-dx.co.jp/

About JAPAN AI

JAPAN AI Inc., with its Purpose of "Creating a Sustainable Future Society with AI," develops AI-related products and services, contributing to the further development of various industries.

Company Profile

Company Name: JAPAN AI Inc.

Representative: Tomoaki Kudo, President and CEO

Headquarters: Sumitomo Fudosan Shinjuku Oak Tower 5F/6F, 6-8-1 Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo

Established: April 2023

Business Activities: Research and development of artificial intelligence, consulting services related to artificial intelligence

URL: https://japan-ai.co.jp/