Spark Plus

Emerging from the University of Tokyo's Matsuo Lab, Spark Plus is a professional group focused on driving Digital Transformation (DX) in Japan, with a particular emphasis on the manufacturing sector. The company was founded on February 13, 2024, by Junpei Honda, who serves as the CEO. The founding team includes fellow University of Tokyo members Takuma Fujio, Takuhiro Akimoto, and Ai Kuroda, who lead the LLM, Computer Vision, and DX divisions, respectively. The firm leverages advanced AI technologies, including Large Language Models (LLM) and Computer Vision (CV), to provide both AI solutions and management consulting services.

Spark Plus offers several core services. Its corporate DX solutions involve identifying business challenges and implementing AI from design to development and operation. The LLM solutions focus on creating systems that utilize a company's internal documents and knowledge, developing proprietary LLMs that can handle various data formats, including charts and figures, with on-premise options for enhanced security. The Computer Vision (CV) solutions apply AI image processing to improve manufacturing processes, such as quality control and defect detection, using both still images and video. The company's business model is centered on collaborating with client companies on joint projects to solve specific industrial issues. For instance, they have worked on projects to streamline inspection processes in manufacturing.

Recognized as a "Matsuo Lab startup," Spark Plus is part of an ecosystem that aims to implement the latest technology in society through industry-academia collaboration. The company has received support from the AWS Activate program, a startup assistance initiative by Amazon Web Services, which provides technical resources to further develop its AI services. The company's mission is to be a catalyst for industrial growth in Japan. Professor Yutaka Matsuo of the University of Tokyo serves as a technical advisor to the company.

Keywords: AI solutions, digital transformation, manufacturing DX, computer vision, large language models, AI consulting, Matsuo Lab, University of Tokyo startup, industrial AI, knowledge management systems, operational efficiency, AI development, image processing technology, defect detection, quality control, joint R&D, on-premise LLM, corporate DX, AI implementation, business process optimization