Dentsu and Konica Minolta Conclude an Agreement on Joint Research in the “Bio × IT” Domain
To Offer Consulting Services in the Fields of Health, Medical Care, and the Environment

Tokyo (October 17, 2023) - Konica Minolta, Inc. (Konica Minolta) and Dentsu Inc. (Dentsu) today announced that they have concluded a joint research agreement to jointly offer consulting services to customer companies with the aim of promoting innovation in the “Bio × IT” domain and develop businesses, services, and technologies in the fields of health, medical care, and the environment in Japan and around the world. The two companies will also study the feasibility of new technologies mainly in the domains of “bio monozukuri (manufacturing),” “digital bio data UX,” and “neuroscience.”

“Bio manufacturing,” which aims to develop new technologies by using biological materials, is expected to improve medical technologies in combination with information technology (IT) and communication means and to be applied to technologies for reducing the impact on the global environment, such as energy sources not derived from fossil fuels. “Digital bio data UX,” which aims to collect and analyze the digital bio data to be used in combination with communication means, will be used for personalized medical care to offer treatment and preventive measures depending on the constitution of each individual. “Neuroscience,” which aims to optimize learning based on the functions of the brain, is expected to lead to new communication means in combination with IT. With the active development of such new technologies, the environment surrounding corporate technology development has been changing rapidly. In addition to conventional development by in-house R&D divisions, it has become increasingly popular to use new approaches, such as cooperation with startups and co-creation with other companies.

Konica Minolta and Dentsu will jointly work on various fields, including medium- to long-term topics, through the joint research agreement to harness their mutual strengths. The two companies will also build a system for offering integrated support, from the emergence to embodiment of ideas, to customer companies. They will also offer consulting services for innovative technologies in business domains. In this joint research, Konica Minolta will support research on elemental technologies, practical application of technologies, and innovation management mainly by supplying engineering personnel and R&D equipment. Meanwhile, Dentsu will mainly supply creative personnel and leverage the creativity of BX creators^*1 to generate ideas for turning technological “seeds” into socially useful solutions and ensure branding and communication development. Personnel in creative jobs in the business reform domain who have the service design and business design skills, particularly art directors who can create future visions, will participate periodically to offer support. IT-related services and elemental technologies will also be expanded through cooperation with startups. Members of the Technology Strategy and Operations and the Innovation Development Office of Konica Minolta (engineers with master’s and doctoral degrees and business personnel) and creators of Dentsu’s BX Creative Center will participate in projects as needed. About 20 members will work on the joint research in collaboration with brain machine interface (BMI) startups, including about five distinguished brain scientists.

Through the joint research agreement in the “Bio × IT” domain, Konica Minolta and Dentsu aim to promote innovation and contribute to creating new value for customer companies.

*1：BX creators refer to creators who contribute to corporate business reforms through creative skills and utilize such skills as planning, copy writing, art direction, and experience design for designing services and businesses.