Preferred Networks, Inc. (PFN) is a technology company with the mission to make the real world
computable by applying advanced technologies to solve difficult real-world problems. PFN develops
advanced software and hardware technologies in tandem for AI in a vertically integrated approach,covering the entire AI value chain from chips, supercomputers, generative AI foundation models toapplications. Founded in March 2014 in Tokyo, PFN has incorporated its technologies into products
and services for a range of industries including manufacturing, transportation, healthcare,entertainment and education. PFN’s MN-3, a supercomputer powered by its MN-Core™ deep learning
processor, topped the Green500 ranking for energy efficiency three times in 2020 and 2021.

Quick Facts
Headquarters
FoundedBusinessSubsidiaries
Employees
WebsiteOtemachi Building, 1-6-1, Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, Japan
March 26, 2014
Research, development and sales of software, hardware and network technologies
that incorporate deep learning and other advanced technologies
Preferred Networks America, Inc. (U.S. subsidiary), Preferred Robotics, Inc.,
Preferred Computational Chemistry, Inc., Preferred Elements, Inc.
Approx. 300
https://www.preferred.jp

Board of DirectorsToru Nishikawa
Daisuke Okanohara
Shinichi Koizumi
Hiroyuki Morikawa
Kaname Masuda

Chief Executive Officer, Co-Founder
Chief Executive Researcher, Co-FounderOutside Director
Outside Director
Outside Director

Technical Advisors
Pieter Abbeel
Takeo Igarashi
Kenji Fukumizu
Ju Li

Professor at University of California, Berkeley
Professor at Graduate School of Information Science and Technology,
University of Tokyo
Professor at Institute of Mathematical Analysis and Statistical Inference
Professor at Massachusetts Institute of Technology

Investors
Toyota Motor, Fanuc, NTT, ENEOS Holdings, Chugai Pharmaceutical, Hakuhodo DY Holdings, Hitachi, Mitsui& Co., Mizuho Bank, Tokyo Electron

PFN Values
Motivation-driven

Learn or die

Proud, but humble

Boldly do what no one hasdone before

Preferred Networks Company Factsheet (Updated July 1, 2024)

Awards and Recognition
November 2023

#5 and #9 out of 616 teams in Kaggle competition Fast or Slow? Predict AI Model Runtime

October 2023

#4 and #5 out of 2,662 teams in Kaggle competition LLM Science Exam

October 2023

MN-Core™ series of deep learning processors wins Semi-Grand Prix, Advanced
Technology Category, CEATEC Award 2023
#3 out of 954 teams in Kaggle competition Google Research - Identify Contrails to Reduce
Global Warming#2 out of 1,231 teams in Kaggle competition Stable Diffusion - Image to Prompts

August 2023
May 2023
January 2023
November 2022
June 2022
April 2022
November 2021

#2 out of 936 teams in Kaggle competition G2Net Detecting Continuous GravitationalWaves#1 out of 1,220 teams in Kaggle competition for predicting how DNA, RNA & protein
measurements co-vary in single cells
Academic paper on Matlantis™’s core technology PFP was selected as Nature
Communications Editor’s Highlights#1 out of 1,588 teams in Kaggle competition Happywhale for accurate identification ofwhales and dolphins
PFN-developed deep learning supercomputer MN-3 tops the Green500 list of the world’s
most energy-efficient supercomputers for the third time

November 2021

Computer science education app Playgram™ receives Japan e-Learning Award

June 2021

MN-3 tops the Green500 list for the second time

March 2021

#4 out of 1,547 teams in Kaggle competition RANZCL CLiP for accurate evaluation ofcatheter placements on chest X-rays#4 out of 935 teams in Kaggle competition Lyft Motion Prediction for Autonomous Vehicles
MN-3 at #1 in Green500 for the first time

December 2020
June 2020
May 2020
October 2019Best Paper Award at CHI 2020, a conference on human-computer interaction#3 out of 193 teams in the Kaggle competition Open Images 2019 - InstanceSegmentation track; #4 out of 559 teams in Object Detection track
May 2019
Prime Minister’s Award at 5th Nippon Venture Awards
February 2019
Chainer™ wins Nihon Keizai Shimbun Award at Nikkei Superior Products and Services
AwardsNovember 2018 #6 out of 1,499 teams in Kaggle competition Kaggle RSNA Pneumonia Detection
Challenge
Autonomous Tidying-up Robot System wins Semi-Grand Prix, Industries/Markets
October 2018Category, CEATEC Award 2018
September 2018 #2 out of 454 teams in Object Detection Track at Google AI Open Images
May 2018
Best Paper Award on Human-Robot Interaction at IEEE International Conference on
Robotics and Automation 2018
Chainer wins Open Source Data Science Project Award at Open Data Science
May 2018
Conference East 2018
March 2018
PaintsChainer™ wins Excellence Award in Entertainment Division at 21st Japan Media
Arts Festival
July 2017
Emerging Leader Award at 2017 Japan-U.S. Innovation Awards
March 2017
Technology Award at FT ArcelorMittal Boldness in Business Awards 2017
Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI)'s Awards (Partnership of Venture
February 2017Businesses and Large Enterprises), 3rd Nippon Venture Awards
July 2016#2 (score tie with #1) out of 16 teams for pick task, #4 for stow task at Amazon Picking
Challenge

Preferred Networks Company Factsheet (Updated July 1, 2024)

Milestones
May 2024
May 2024
February 2024
December 2023
November 2023
October 2023
August 2023
May 2023
October 2022
October 2022
June 2022
April 2022
March 2022

Begins AI-based autonomous operation of oil-processing unit in ENEOS Kawasaki Refinery
Begins P-FEP calculation service for in-silico drug discovery
PFE begins 10 billion-parameter multimodal foundation model under NEDO support
Begins research for ultra-low-power AI accelerator under NEDO support
Establishes multimodal foundation model subsidiary Preferred Elements
Releases open-source large language model PLaMo-13B
PFN and ENEOS begin continuous autonomous operation of petrochemical plant system
Preferred Robotics launches Kachaka autonomous mobile robot for home
HAPiiBOT, a cleaning robot co-developed by Amano and PFRobotics, goes on sale
Launches GAN-based entertainment mobile app MEMES
Launches deep learning-based 3D scanning service PFN 3D Scan
Launches Crypko™ anime character art generating platform as web service
Preferred Robotics receives total investment of 600 million yen from Asahi Kasei Homes andSumitomo-Mitsui BankNovember 2021 Establishes autonomous mobile robot subsidiary Preferred Robotics (PFRobotics), receives
investment of 2 billion yen from Amano
September 2021 Develops AI drug discovery technology, discovers lead compounds for COVID-19
July 2021
Develops deep learning-based 3D pose estimation technology adopted by SoftBank’s sign
language service
July 2021
PFCC launches Matlantis™ atomistic simulator
June 2021
Establishes a joint venture Preferred Computational Chemistry (PFCC) with ENEOS
March 2021
Announces collaboration with Toei Animation to streamline anime production using
Scenify™ background image production tool
March 2021
Jointly develops autonomous navigation system for construction site robots with Kajima
Corporation, introduced robots to Tokyo area sites
December 2020 Establishes a joint venture YP Switch with Yaruki Switch Group for programming education
September 2020 Establishes a joint venture with Mitsui & Co. to develop and commercialize a deeplearning-based AI solution for subsurface structure analysis.
August 2020
Launches Playgram Typing (beta), a typing practice website for children
July 2020
Launches computer science education business, teams up with Yaruki Switch Group forcourses using programming education app Playgram™
May 2020
MN-3, PFN’s first supercomputer powered by deep learning processor MN-Core™(jointlydeveloped by PFN and Kobe University) begins operationJanuary 2020
Releases v1 of Optuna™ hyperparameter optimization framework for machine learning
November 2019 Launches collaborative project for sebum RNA monitoring technology with Kao Corporation
June 2019
Receives 1 billion yen investment from JXTG Holdings in a capital tie-up
December 2018 Unveils deep learning processor MN-Core™ at Semicon Japan 2018
November 2018 Establishes a joint venture Prefered Medicine, Inc. in the United States with Mitsui & Co.
October 2018
Unveils Autonomous Tidying-Up Robot System at CEATEC Japan 2018, announces entry
to the area of personal robots
August 2018
Receives 700 million yen investment from Chugai PharmaceuticalAugust 2018
Receives 200 million yen investment from Tokyo Electron
December 2017 Receives 500 million yen investment from Hakuhodo DY Holdings, Mitsui & Co., Mizuho
Bank and Hitachi respectively in capital tie-ups
December 2017 Receives additional investment of 500 million yen from Fanuc
August 2017
Receives additional investment of 10.5 billion yen from Toyota MotorJanuary 2017
Releases PaintsChainer™ Beta (later rebranded as Petalica Paint)
November 2016 Begins joint development project for AI-enabled integrated cancer treatment system
July 2016
Establishes a joint venture PFDeNA with DeNA with 15 million yen invested from eachDecember 2015 Receives 1 billion yen investment from Toyota Motor in a capital tie-up
August 2015
Receives 900 million yen investment from Fanuc in a capital tie-up
June 2015
Forms business tie-up with Fanuc
June 2015
Releases Chainer™, open-source deep learning framework
October 2014
Receives 200 million yen investment from NTT in a capital and business tie-up
Preferred Networks Company Factsheet (Updated July 1, 2024)

October 2014
March 2014

Begins joint research with Toyota Motor
Preferred Networks is founded in Tokyo

Preferred Networks Company Factsheet (Updated July 1, 2024)