Japan Firms Launch Major AI Dataset Project Under GENIAC Initiative

Tokyo, Japan—SoftBank Corp., Macromill Inc., Valright Advisory Inc., and Japan Total Telemarketing Inc. have initiated a project to develop datasets to advance generative AI.

The project operates under the Generative AI Accelerator Challenge (GENIAC) program, administered by Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization.

The initiative intends to construct a dataset comprising one million question-and-answer dialogues from 30,000 survey participants.

The project will continue through October 2025.

The consortium will examine methods for dataset construction, management, and distribution.

The scope includes data collection through role-play surveys, implementation of security and privacy protocols, verification of dataset effectiveness with GENIAC participants, and development of operational guidelines.

The project addresses the scarcity of high-quality data for generative AI development in Japan.

The participating companies aim to establish dataset construction and management protocols that can benefit various enterprises engaged in AI development.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and NEDO selected the consortium for this project in October 2024.

The collaboration combines expertise from each participating company: SoftBank's technological infrastructure, Macromill's data collection capabilities, Valright Advisory's consulting services, and Japan Total Telemarketing's operational management.

AIST Solutions will provide support through its ABCI 3.0 computing infrastructure, which commenced operations in January 2025.

The initiative seeks to strengthen Japan's position in generative AI development through systematic dataset construction and management.