TAI raises 12.7億円 in Series C first close led by Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital

TAI's latest funding builds on a series of milestones it has reported over the past year. In June 2026, the company signed a strategic partnership agreement with Malaysian semiconductor firm Oppstar, a move that aligns with policy-level cooperation between Japan and Malaysia. The following month, TAI completed evaluation of its StingRay test chip, clearing the way for a mass-production project for its Manta Ray AI chip. These steps come as TAI has been accumulating deployment experience in the railway sector, including with JR Kyushu and other rail operators, as well as with local governments facing labor shortages.

The company's pitch rests on combining two businesses: edge AI solutions and custom AI chips. TAI argues that in edge environments with strict constraints on power, heat dissipation, and enclosure size, general-purpose AI computing platforms often fail to meet deployment conditions. By feeding field data and application know-how from its AI solutions into chip design, TAI aims to optimize both hardware and software together. The new funds are earmarked for building production and supply chains for the Manta Ray chip, expanding physical AI solutions, and hiring engineers in AI algorithms, chip design, and embedded software.

Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital's comment noted this is its fourth additional investment in TAI since 2021, citing the company's vertical integration of hardware and software and its chip development addressing heat generation issues. Mizuho Bank highlighted TAI's selection for a Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry co-creation project as significant for supply chain restructuring in the AI era. TAI's president, Hirotaka Nakahara, said the company remains focused on delivering university-originated technology as practical solutions to social issues, and aims to establish international production and supply systems with partners including those in Malaysia.