Sumitomo Mitsui to develop customer support avatars in AI push

Japan banking group plans $320m investment in generative artificial intelligence

20241116N SMBC

Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group also plans to use AI for assisting in marketing and loan screening.  © Reuters

YUKI NAKAMURA, Nikkei staff writer

TOKYO -- Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group will invest 50 billion yen ($320 million) through March 2029 to develop a generative AI system that will handle a wide range of tasks, including avatars that respond to customer inquiries.

Sumitomo Mitsui is the first of Japan's top three banking groups to set up an investment target dedicated to generative artificial intelligence.

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