Mitsubishi Electric (TYO:6503) and Sony Group's (TYO:6758) Sony Semiconductor Solutions agreed to form a joint venture to develop AI-powered vision sensors for factory automation.

The venture, Advanced Vision Solutions, will be 60% owned by Mitsubishi Electric and 40% by Sony Semiconductor. Financial terms of the joint venture were not disclosed.

Operations are set to begin in October 2026, pending regulatory approvals.

The new company will be based in Yokohama and led by Tamiki Kobayashi as representative.

The tie-up combines Sony Semiconductor's image sensors and edge AI technology with Mitsubishi Electric's factory automation systems, targeting manufacturers seeking to cut labor needs.

The companies said the venture is designed to track manufacturing-site conditions, product quality, equipment performance and maintenance data that had previously been hard to capture and put to use.

Mitsubishi Electric plans to integrate the vision data with Serendie, its digital platform for factory automation, launched in May 2024.

In January 2025, Mitsubishi Electric completed its Serendie Street Yokohama project, opening a co-creation area for collaborating on digital-transformation projects.

"By realizing advanced autonomous control through physical AI and other applications, we aim to provide new value to customers and address social challenges such as labor shortages," said Takayuki Tsuzuki, Group President, Factory Automation Systems at Mitsubishi Electric.