# KDDI Plans 30 Billion Yen Physical AI Push With 1,000 Robots by Fiscal 2030

> KDDI will invest 30 billion yen in physical AI and deploy more than 1,000 autonomous robots in retail, logistics and manufacturing by fiscal 2030.

- Published: 2026-10-27T21:01:38+00:00
- Section: Expansion
- Author: News Desk
- URL: https://newsforagent.com/news/2026-10-27/kddi-physical-ai-robots-investment
- Source: [Newsonjapan](https://newsonjapan.com/article/151158.php)

## Key takeaways

- KDDI plans to invest 30 billion yen in physical AI research and development by fiscal 2030.
- KDDI aims to supply more than 1,000 robots to retail, logistics and manufacturing operations.
- KDDI and Elyza launched Elyza Robotics, a company covering physical AI development and deployment.

[KDDI](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000j9z/kddi) said on October 28 that it will invest 30 billion yen in physical artificial intelligence by fiscal 2030 and deploy more than 1,000 autonomous robots across retail, logistics and manufacturing facilities. [Newsonjapan](https://newsonjapan.com/article/151158.php) reported the plan, which targets Japan's labor shortage.

## KDDI's Elyza Robotics Venture and Sakai Data Center

KDDI has set up a new company dedicated to physical AI, covering research and development through to practical introduction of robotic systems at commercial and industrial sites. [Telecompaper](https://www.telecompaper.com/news/kddi-launches-elyza-robotics-with-jpy-30-bln-investment-in-physical-ai--1586888) named the venture Elyza Robotics and said it combines expertise from Elyza, KDDI Research and other KDDI Group businesses.

KDDI President Hiroji Matsuda said the company plans to invest 30 billion yen in research and development, assemble a team of 300 specialists and supply more than 1,000 robots to retail, logistics and manufacturing operations by fiscal 2030. At a demonstration, a humanoid robot responded to a verbal request for a product by walking to a shelf, identifying a package of cookies and grasping it with its fingers.

Yuya Soneoka, president of ELYZA Robotics, said: "One of the key features is that the robot can perform an entire sequence of tasks." KDDI launched one of Japan's largest AI-specialized data centers in Sakai, Osaka Prefecture, in January. Matsuda said: "We will operate in Sakai and learn in Sakai."

## KDDI's Scale and Investment Plans

KDDI is Japan's second-largest mobile operator, serving 72 million subscribers across its au, UQ mobile and povo brands, according to akta.pro [company records](https://akta.pro/company-data). The same records show KDDI announced its three-year "Power-to-Connect 2028" strategy on May 12, 2026, committing 1.2 trillion yen to a nationwide low-latency network and AI computing infrastructure spanning land, sea and air.

## Earlier KDDI Physical AI Trials

KDDI, Morgenrot and TOHKnet launched a distributed data center demonstration using retail robots in September 2026 to address power and GPU shortages, The Fast Mode reported. The demo connected KDDI's Osaka Sakai and Tama Network Centers via APN, testing distributed training and remote inference.

In October 2026, KDDI began a distributed physical AI proof-of-concept using remote data center compute and power with partners Morgan Loth and Tokunet, connecting Tokyo's Tamam Network Center and Osaka's Sakai Data Center via APN, according to Nate.

## KDDI's November Avatar Platform Launch

KDDI will launch its AI avatar platform, KDDI Avatar Canvas, on November 2 for corporate customers, Telecompaper reported. The platform, built with AVITA, handles initial customer enquiries via avatars and transfers complex consultations to human operators.

## Companies in this story

- [KDDI company profile](https://akta.pro/company-profiles/0000j9z/kddi) · website: https://www.kddi.com

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