Mizuho Financial Group, Inc. (MHFG; President & Group CEO: Yasuhiro Sato) and WiL LLC (CEO: Gen Isayama) are pleased to announce the start of discussions regarding the establishment of a joint venture focused on new business creation.
As FinTech continues to gain traction in the industry, we are looking to combine Mizuho's broad customer base and financial services expertise with WiL's US and Japanese startup network and business incubation functions in order to create new business and services through the utilization of FinTech and the IoT.
MHFG and WiL will establish a joint taskforce and work towards the goal of establishing the joint venture by the summer of 2017. This joint venture will focus on commercial applications of technologies such as artificial intelligence, big data, and blockchain, as well as the creation of new business models to enable industries to thrive in an age of disruptive technology.
In addition to MHFG and WiL, a number of industry leaders are in discussions to sign on as shareholders of the joint venture, including Itochu Corporation, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc., and The Dai–ichi Life Insurance Company, Ltd. We will work together with these shareholders to further develop innovative technological advances within their fields of business.
A separate announcement will be made with more detailed information after the decision to establish a joint venture has been finalized.
Mizuho is committed to pursuing the incorporation of new, innovative technologies into our business in order to provide customers with consistently better services.