Kong Joins the Financial IT Association (FITA) as a Startup Member

Kong Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and Representative Director: Daiki Ariizumi), a leader in API and AI connectivity technologies, announced that it has joined the Financial IT Association, a specified nonprofit corporation based in Chuo-ku, Tokyo and chaired by Shozo Yamaguchi, as a startup member. The Financial IT Association (FITA) was renamed from its predecessor organization, “Financial IT Takumis,” which was established in February 2011, and began operating under a new structure in January 2024. With cross-industry missions of “developing digital talent” and “democratizing IT,” FITA provides a community that goes beyond organizational boundaries for everyone involved in finance and IT. The association works with financial institutions, partner companies, and related organizations to support talent development and skills transfer. Kong has supported enterprise data utilization and system integration through API and AI connectivity technologies. In recent years, the company has focused particularly on enabling “AI connectivity,” which securely and reliably connects the robust legacy systems used by financial institutions with the latest AI agents. This makes it possible to apply advanced AI while continuing to leverage existing assets. Kong’s decision to join FITA is based on its strong alignment with FITA’s vision of developing digital talent and democratizing IT. The company aims to contribute to the advancement of AI adoption and the acceleration of talent development in the financial industry. Going forward, Kong will participate in FITA’s community activities, strengthen collaboration with financial institutions and related companies, and share practical knowledge and perspectives on data connectivity infrastructure required in the AI era, thereby helping advance AI utilization across the financial industry. Shozo Yamaguchi, Chairperson of the Financial IT Association, stated that as AI advances, data utilization and system integration are becoming more important than ever in the financial industry. He said the participation of a company like Kong, which has a global track record in API and AI connectivity, is expected to bring significant value to the association’s efforts to develop digital talent and share practical knowledge. FITA will continue contributing to DX across the financial industry through collaboration with member companies. Daiki Ariizumi, President and Representative Director of Kong Inc., stated that AI adoption in the financial industry is not merely about introducing technology; what matters is how securely and flexibly data and systems can be connected. Kong will leverage its expertise in API and AI connectivity and deepen collaboration with financial institutions and partner companies through FITA’s activities. The company will contribute both to the realization of data connectivity infrastructure suited to the AI agent era and to the development of talent that supports it. Kong is a leading company in API and AI connectivity technologies, working to build infrastructure that supports the era of agentic AI. Trusted by a wide range of organizations from Fortune 500 companies to startups, Kong provides the integrated API and AI platform “Kong Konnect,” enabling secure connection, management, acceleration, governance, and monetization of intelligence flowing between APIs and AI models.