April 30, 2025 – TOKYO – Preferred Networks, Inc. (PFN) has raised an additional 5 billion yen in equity financing through third-party allocation of shares and debt financing from a financial institution in the latest extension round following the initial funding in December 2024. The extension round follows the initial funding in December 2024, bringing the total amount raised to date to 24 billion yen.

PFN intends to invest the amount raised in development and provision of competitive AI technologies while leveraging its strength in the vertical integration of AI semiconductors, computing infrastructure, generative AI foundation models and AI solutions. For details about the intended use of the capital raised, please see the press release dated December 23, 2024: PFN Raises Total of 19 Billion Yen in Latest Round.

Investors in the extension round (in alphabetical order)

Kodansha Ltd.
Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation
Sekisui House Investment Limited Partnership
Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited
TBS Innovation Partners Fund III
Toei Animation Co., Ltd.
etc.

Loaning financial institution

Mizuho Bank, Ltd.

The investment from Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank was made as part of the bank’s impact equity investment initiative.

Yoshinobu Noma, President of Kodansha Ltd. said:

“Since the founding, Kodansha has delivered a variety of content to the world while balancing interesting and beneficial storytelling. Today, we are advancing digital transformation in content production in parallel with global expansion. It is truly reassuring to have joined forces under a capital and business tie-up with Preferred Networks, Japan’s representative cutting-edge technology company. We look forward to combining Preferred Networks’s advanced technologies with Kodansha’s editorial capacity and ideas to expand horizons of our content, thereby inspiring people around the world through our storytelling.”

Susumu Okuda, Executive Officer at TBS Holdings said:

“With our belief that remarkable evolution of AI technologies can bring major changes to the future of entertainment, we have invested in Preferred Networks, Japan’s leading company in the AI space, through TBS Innovation Partners. By cross-breeding Preferred Networks’s world-class AI technologies and our long-proven expertise in content creation, we will strive to create unprecedented, innovative visual expressions and bring efficiency to video production processes.”

Kiichiro Yamada, Senior Director at Toei Animation Co., Ltd. said:

“At Toei Animation, we expect that Preferred Networks’s strengths in technology, development and organization will play a key role in Japan’s future. We believe that the combination of their strengths and our long-proven anime production expertise will create strong synergies. Going forward, we will strive to achieve sustainable growth with Preferred Networks and contribute to the overall development of Japan’s anime industry.”

Takehiko Sakaue, Executive Officer at Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited said:

“As symbolized by Preferred Networks’s quote “Life is not worthwhile without doing exciting things,” the world-class AI company from Japan is fervently committed to solving our society’s problems with their technological expertise and ability to get things done. We support their “if there is no precedent, then make one” spirit and “make the real world computable” vision as outlined by the CEO Mr. Nishikawa along with the company’s managers and engineers. We believe Preferred Networks’s efforts will demonstrate Japan’s technological expertise to the world, and become a driving force that opens up the future. We wholeheartedly support the company in bringing innovations that will change the world!”

Koichi Otsuka, Director and Managing Executive Officer at Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking said:

“We are highly impressed by Preferred Networks’s ability to confront society’s most complex challenges head-on. It is the company’s perspectives and passion that drive them to step bravely into unexplored ground unbound by precedents and conventions – and that’s what we believe will shape the foundation of our future. Positioned at the core of Japan’s AI innovation space, Preferred Networks has the ability to provide generative AI solutions and also develop AI semiconductors that power them. We will continue supporting PFN’s venture into such uncharted territories.”