TOKYO -- In a clandestine room located in a basement of an office building in Tokyo's Otemachi business district, the future of artificial intelligence is being conceived and shaped.

Daisuke Okanohara, left, and Toru Nishikawa of Preferred Networks in the company’s lab in Tokyo. The duo are drawing comparisons with the two men who founded Sony. (Photo by Maho Obata)
After Mercari's successful IPO, Preferred Networks aims high with new technology