Kioxia’s AI Project Wins 2020 Field Innovation Award Silver Prize From Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence
22.6.2021 11:57:00 EEST | Business Wire | Press release
Kioxia Corporation, a world leader in memory solutions, announced today that it was awarded the 2020 Field Innovation Award Silver Prize by the Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence (JSAI) for its TEZUKA 2020 project. TEZUKA 2020 brought AI and humans together in collaboration to create a new manga, or comic book, in the nearly identical artistic style of manga legend Osamu Tezuka.
This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210622005554/en/
Plot development (Graphic: Business Wire)
The Field Innovation Award recognizes individuals and organizations that leverage AI technology to solve real-life issues and advance the state of business and society.
The TEZUKA 2020 project was acclaimed as an innovative use of AI technology to develop a new manga, which involves combining numerous elements of storytelling, including location settings, characters, plot development, dialogues, panel layouts and speech bubbles. Through the AI technology, the project team created prototypes for new plots and characters, all while honoring the unique and highly recognizable Tezuka style. Human artists then used these AI-created prototypes to develop a complete, full-length manga entitled “PHAEDO.”
Kioxia, guided by its mission of uplifting the world with memory, uses AI technology to support creativity as well as to improve production efficiency and quality through memory solutions.
The members of the TEZUKA 2020 project are as follow:
- Hitoshi Matsubara, Professor at the University of Tokyo
- Satoshi Kurihara, Professor at Keio University
- Kazushi Mukaiyama, Professor at Future University Hakodate
- Yoji Kawano, Assistant Professor at Keio University
- Atsushi Nakajima, Digital Transformation Technology R&D Center, Kioxia Corporation
- Atsushi Kunimatsu, SSD Division, Kioxia Corporation
- Masato Ishiwata, Director of Creative Division, Tezuka Productions
- Makoto Tezuka, Director at Tezuka Productions
- Daisuke Tsutsui, Director of Brand & Innovation Division, Wunderman Thompson Tokyo
- Ryohei Orihara, Digital Transformation Technology R&D Center, Kioxia Corporation
Creating plots with AI
To enable AI to learn the essence of Tezuka’s works and artistry, 130 of his creations were deconstructed and split into 13 common plot development phases to be used as data. The AI technology used that data to generate story outlines (Figure 1), generating over 100 plots in total. Thereafter, the project members discussed the storyline options, some of which had highly unexpected twists that people would not likely have imagined, and ultimately selected the plot that became the basis of “PHAEDO.”
Creating characters with AI
This project used an AI technology called Generative Adversarial Networks (GAN), which learned Tezuka’s authentic artistry to generate characters that were extremely close to his style. Some 4,500 facial images were gathered, but only a small number of the images were ideally suited to machine learning due to their orientation and proportions (Figure 2). To enable the AI to learn the characteristics of Tezuka’s illustrated human faces, the project team introduced a process called “transfer learning” to the AI technology, allowing it to accurately learn Tezuka’s manga characters and generate its own characters in his unique style (Figure 3).
About Kioxia
Kioxia is a world leader in memory solutions, dedicated to the development, production and sale of flash memory and solid-state drives (SSDs). In April 2017, its predecessor Toshiba Memory was spun off from Toshiba Corporation, the company that invented NAND flash memory in 1987. Kioxia is committed to uplifting the world with memory by offering products, services and systems that create choice for customers and memory-based value for society. Kioxia's innovative 3D flash memory technology, BiCS FLASH™, is shaping the future of storage in high-density applications, including advanced smartphones, PCs, SSDs, automotive and data centers.
To view this piece of content from cts.businesswire.com, please give your consent at the top of this page.
View source version on businesswire.com: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20210622005554/en/
Contact information
Kota Yamaji
Public Relations
Kioxia Holdings Corporation
81-3-6478-2319
kioxia-hd-pr@kioxia.com
About Business Wire
For more than 50 years, Business Wire has been the global leader in press release distribution and regulatory disclosure.
Subscribe to releases from Business Wire
Subscribe to all the latest releases from Business Wire by registering your e-mail address below. You can unsubscribe at any time.
Latest releases from Business Wire
Suzano Reports 36% Increase in Third Quarter Net Revenue Following Consolidation of Arbex6.11.2026 01:23:00 EET | Press release
Suzano (B3: SUZB3 / NYSE: SUZ) , the world’s largest pulp producer, announces its results for the third quarter of 2026 (3Q26), which for the first time include Arbex, the joint venture between Suzano and Kimberly-Clark established in July this year. Driven primarily by the consolidation of Arbex’s contribution, Suzano reported net revenue of BRL16.5 billion, an increase of 36% on the same period last year and a new quarterly record in the company’s 102-year history. Adjusted EBITDA totaled R$5.7 billion in 3Q26, up 9% on the same basis of comparison. Operating cash generation reached R$3.8 billion, an increase of 12%. Net income totaled R$2.1 billion. As announced following the completion of the transaction with Kimberly-Clark, Suzano holds a 51% equity interest in Arbex and will therefore fully consolidate the joint venture’s financial statements from this quarter onwards.1 “This quarter marks the beginning of a new phase for Suzano. With Arbex, we are now a broader business, both ge
iQmetrix Unveils Built-In Intelligence for Every Role in Telecom Commerce at Its 2026 Telecom Industry Address5.11.2026 23:39:00 EET | Press release
iQmetrix, the global provider of Intelligent Commerce Operating Systems for telecom, last week shared highlights from its 2026 Telecom Industry Address and Product Announcements, held virtually on Oct. 28 in two sessions, one for North American audiences and one for European audiences. The address was built around one theme: intelligence. Telecom commerce is moving from systems that record the business to systems that act on it, and the announcements put that intelligence in the hands of every role, from the sales associate at the counter, to the finance manager in the back office, to the corporate view leading the channel experience. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261105003162/en/ "Right now telecom providers are competing in a race to the bottom on price that no one wins. The way out is intelligence. Not AI bolted onto a fragmented tech stack, but intelligence built into how commerce runs. Information plus
Compass Pathways Announces New Employee Inducement Grants Under Nasdaq Listing Rule 5635(c)(4)5.11.2026 23:30:00 EET | Press release
Compass Pathways plc (Nasdaq: CMPS), a biotechnology company dedicated to unlocking urgently needed new treatment options in mental health care, announced today that Compass granted equity awards under the Compass Pathways plc 2026 Inducement Plan to nine newly hired non-executive employees. The equity awards were granted on November 2, 2026, and consisted of options to purchase an aggregate of 59,275 shares and restricted share units or, in the case of employees in the United Kingdom nominal cost options, covering an aggregate of 28,200 shares. These options have an exercise price per share equal to $8.41, the closing price of the Company’s American Depositary Shares on the Nasdaq Global Select Market on the grant date, and will vest over a four-year period with 25% vesting on the first anniversary of the date of the grant and the remaining 75% vesting in equal monthly installments over the three-year period thereafter, subject to each employee’s continued employment. The restricted s
Graco QUANTM i230 Brings Electrification to High-Flow Fluid-Transfer Applications5.11.2026 23:16:00 EET | Press release
Graco Inc. is helping manufacturers electrify high-flow fluid-transfer applications with the global launch of the 3-inch QUANTM® i230, bringing efficient electric drive technology to demanding processes that have traditionally relied on pneumatic pumps. Paint, coatings and ceramics manufacturers depend on diaphragm pumps for their flexibility, reliability and ability to handle challenging materials. But pneumatic pumps also depend on compressed air — an energy-intensive plant resource whose available capacity can fluctuate as demand changes across a facility. The QUANTM i230 gives manufacturers another option for qualified high-flow applications. By combining familiar diaphragm pump capabilities with electric operation, the pump helps manufacturers move more material, reduce transfer bottlenecks and lower energy consumption by up to 80% compared to pneumatic pumps, while maintaining operating flexibility. “High-flow processes in industries like paint, coatings and ceramics have continu
ThetaRay Named World’s Best Software Provider for AML and Sanctions Screening in the 2026 Euromoney Transaction Banking Awards5.11.2026 20:30:00 EET | Press release
ThetaRay, a global leader in AI-native financial crime compliance infrastructure, has been named The World’s Best Software Provider for AML and Sanctions Screening at the 2026 Euromoney Transaction Banking Awards. Evaluated by Euromoney’s editorial and research team, ThetaRay was recognized for technology excellence, verifiable performance, and advancing the modern transaction banking value chain. This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20261105714764/en/ The recognition reinforces ThetaRay’s standing as foundational compliance infrastructure for global institutions, closely following Chartis Research ranking ThetaRay #8 globally in the Financial Crime and Compliance50 (FCC50) 2026 report and naming the company a Category Winner for Explainable AI. “Our customers operate on the front lines against illicit networks exploiting the speed and scale of modern payment rails, which means defensive technology must meet and outp
In our pressroom you can read all our latest releases, find our press contacts, images, documents and other relevant information about us.
Visit our pressroom