Rikkei Co., Ltd. Opens Industry-Academia Co-Creation Hub "Rikkei AI Lab" at Ritsumeikan University

Rikkei Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President: Bui Quang Huy, hereinafter "Rikkei") opened an industry-academia co-creation hub, "Rikkei AI Lab," within Ritsumeikan University's Osaka Ibaraki Campus (OIC) on April 3, 2026.

In recent years, while the importance of utilizing AI and data in promoting DX (Digital Transformation) in Japanese companies has increased, the lack of human resources responsible for practical application and the difficulty of transitioning from verification to implementation have become challenges.

Rikkei has been supporting corporate DX promotion through AI development, ERP implementation, and system development. However, we believe that to solve the challenges that have emerged through these efforts, it is essential to build a co-creation platform through industry-academia collaboration, rather than companies acting alone.

On the other hand, Rikkei concluded an "Agreement on Collaboration and Cooperation" with the Ritsumeikan Trust in October 2025, aiming to solve social issues that are becoming apparent on a global scale and to contribute to society by fostering next-generation innovation talent across borders to embody this.

Based on these circumstances, we have now established the "Rikkei AI Lab" hub within Ritsumeikan University. The "Rikkei AI Lab" is a hub that promotes industry-academia co-creation initiatives to realize the following based on the purpose of the agreement:

- Implementation of educational and research projects in the AI field, etc. - Fostering of emergent human resources - Formation of social issue resolution-type projects - Global social contribution with Vietnam and Japan as hubs

In addition, this hub will also function as the core hub of our company's AI strategy under Pham Quang Khang, Vice President and CACO (Chief AI & Consulting Officer), who oversees Rikkei's AI and consulting areas.

Furthermore, four of the six founding members of our company are graduates of Ritsumeikan University, and given the deep relationship with the university, this initiative has special significance for us.

■ About Social Issue Resolution-Type Co-Creation Projects Social issue resolution-type co-creation projects will be implemented as practical projects starting from corporate issues under the framework of industry-academia collaboration and social co-creation promoted by Ritsumeikan University. By fusing Ritsumeikan University's research and educational foundation with Rikkei's practical knowledge and technological capabilities, we aim to not just stay at the research level.