LINE Yahoo Strengthens Hiring of Young Engineers to Accelerate AI Development including AI Agent 'Agent i'

LINE Yahoo Corporation (hereinafter, LINE Yahoo) will strengthen recruitment of young engineers to accelerate development in AI areas including the AI agent 'Agent i'. As part of this, it will start a special recruitment for software engineers targeting new graduates and second new graduates who can join in April or October 2027. This is the first time LINE Yahoo has conducted recruitment targeting second new graduates.

'Agent i' is an AI agent that integrates the previously provided 'AI Assistant' of 'Yahoo! JAPAN' and 'LINE AI' of 'LINE', launched under the concept 'AI by your side, for everyone.' It can be accessed with one tap from both 'LINE' and 'Yahoo! JAPAN' services, and through dialogue with 'Agent i' from daily-use services, users can receive answers to various questions and suggestions. Going forward, the company plans to gradually expand the scope and functions.

LINE Yahoo has also started initiatives to generate many prototypes in a short period, such as the employee-recruited 'AI Agent Prototyping Task Force*2', to further accelerate AI development.

This time, LINE Yahoo, which is advancing new product development in the AI area, will hire young engineers who can take on challenges in AI and large-scale service development, leveraging the company's service group with one of the largest user bases in Japan.

*1 LINE Yahoo launches new AI agent brand 'Agent i' today (April 20, 2026) *2 LINE Yahoo expands development task force for enhancing 'Agent i' functions (June 5, 2026)

100 Million User Touchpoints and Challenge Opportunities in AI

LINE Yahoo operates services used in various aspects of daily life, including 'LINE' and 'Yahoo! JAPAN'. The young engineers being recruited can challenge themselves to improve user experience and create new product value within the service group that has one of the largest user bases in Japan.

'Agent i' aims to appropriately utilize unique data obtained from over 100 LINE Yahoo services to provide diverse options and new discovery opportunities. In the future, it also plans to offer functions that support task management and execution, expanding its scope and capabilities as an AI agent that stays close to users.

Against this service infrastructure, LINE Yahoo engineers can engage in designing and developing new user experiences using AI technology, as well as implementing and improving on large-scale services used daily.

Expanding Challenges for Young Employees in AI

LINE Yahoo is creating an environment where employees can challenge themselves across departments and job types to create new products in the AI agent area.

In particular, the 'AI Agent Prototyping Task Force' has introduced an open recruitment system where employees can volunteer to participate, regardless of their department or existing duties. In the first round, prototypes were developed in diverse areas such as 'Schedule Coordination', where AI supports scheduling on 'LINE', and 'Finance', which instantly visualizes stock price movements, covering lifestyle, weather, finance, automobiles, real estate, and recruitment.

These prototypes were reviewed including hands-on verification by management, and the 'Schedule Coordination' project was selected as the first place. In that project, a team centered around members in their fourth year as new graduates challenged to create new user experiences using the AI agent. Currently, development and verification toward actual service implementation are underway.

Through such efforts, LINE Yahoo supports challenges to deliver new value to users, regardless of tenure or department.

Special Recruitment of Software Engineers for New Graduates and Second New Graduates Joining in April/October 2027

This recruitment targets new graduates and second new graduates who can join in April or October 2027 for software engineer positions.

The recruitment emphasizes hiring talent who can excel in growth areas including AI, rather than simply expanding headcount. In selection, the company values a solid technical foundation necessary for product development in the AI era, along with the ability to continuously absorb new technologies and an attitude of delivering value to users. Compensation is determined individually based on skills, experience at the time of joining, and evaluation in the selection process, with no uniform upper limit. Even for new graduates or second new graduates, those with high skills or potential will be offered compensation commensurate with their abilities, without being bound by a uniform cap.

After joining, assignments will be determined based on the individual's aspirations, aptitudes, and business/organizational conditions, and they may be involved in AI areas including the AI agent 'Agent i' or development of various services offered by LINE Yahoo.

LINE Yahoo provides an environment where even young employees can take on challenges, including development aimed at actual service implementation beyond PoC, large-scale development based on one of Japan's largest user bases, and 0-to-1 development involving unprecedented requirements definition and prototyping. The company is also creating an environment where top-level engineers can tackle important themes regardless of tenure.

LINE Yahoo operates under the mission 'WOW Our Users!' and promotes service creation that delivers experiences beyond users' imagination. The company will continue to accelerate product development and human resource development in the AI area, contributing to a richer and more convenient life through the power of the Internet.

Recruitment Overview

Target: New graduates and second new graduates who can join in April or October 2027

Course: Software Engineer

Assignment: Determined based on individual aspirations, aptitudes, and business/organizational conditions

Anticipated Areas: AI areas including the AI agent 'Agent i', large-scale service development, etc.

Application Method: Apply from the recruitment page

Recruitment Page: https://www.lycorp.co.jp/ja/recruit/additional-27/