MUFG invests in Noetra to back Japan's AI model push

Noetra’s models will serve as a development platform for AI robotics and physical AI in Japan.

Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and its subsidiary MUFG Bank are investing into Noetra Corp., an artificial intelligence (AI) research and development company. MUFG did not disclose the amount invested.

Established in January 2026, Noetra’s goal is to create “Japan developed AI foundation models.”

The models are expected to serve as a development platform for AI robotics and physical AI across the Japanese industry. Noetra plans to accelerate the full-scale development of the models.

Noetra’s major shareholders are Sony Group, SoftBank, NEC Corporation, and Honda Motor.

In June 2026, Noetra was selected to lead a publicly solicited project to develop multimodal foundation models, promoted by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry and the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO), according to MUFG.