/PRZWT/In the history of industry, the replacement of old technologies by new ones is not subject to human will. The luckiest thing in life is to discover and adapt to this trend.
This is a viewpoint mentioned by Wu Jun, the author of the book "The Crest of the Wave", when discussing the inevitability of technological substitution. In the harsh business world, some enterprises miss out on The Times by clinging to their genes, while others regain their vitality through transformation. Even those giants that once defined the industry will ultimately have to answer the same question in the face of the new technological wave: How to continue to lead?
When this question was raised to the century-old Panasonic, it gave a clear and firm answer - to embrace the waves positively.
The biggest wave at present is undoubtedly AI. How to anchor new coordinates and navigate through cycles in the AI trend has become a proposition that Panasonic must answer both now and in the future.
After visiting China five times in recent years, Yuki Nanami, the CEO of Panasonic Holdings Co., LTD., once expressed, "Only enterprises that win in the Chinese market can win globally." At present, China is one of the few countries in the global business market that has made large-scale investments in AI technology.
Panasonic once again dares to "innovate every day" in China, and its strategic vision for the AI field is becoming increasingly clear through various attempts.
The opportunity bestowed by The Times - to forge ahead
In the face of the complex and diverse AI market, should a company stand at the forefront of the wave, competing in the underlying large model technology or terminal application capabilities, or join the supply chain and become a behind-the-scenes supporter of industrial development? Panasonic chose to play the role of a "bridge" to connect the two ends.
According to Tetsugo Honma, the global vice president of Panasonic Holdings Co., Ltd. and the general representative of the group in Northeast Asia, the overall sales in the Chinese market increased by 3% in the first half of the fiscal year 2025 (April to September), while profits rose significantly by 24%. Among them, the sales performance of high-performance capacitors, electronic components, electronic materials, and surface mount technology (SMT) machines is particularly outstanding.
The above-mentioned products are the core components and key materials required for AI computing power equipment. IDC's report indicates that the AI computing power market has huge potential and is expected to maintain a high growth rate in the coming years. By 2026, the scale of China's intelligent computing power will reach 1,460.3 EFLOPS, and the market size will reach 33.7 billion US dollars, which is 1.77 times that of 2024. IDC predicts that the compound annual growth rate of China's liquid-cooled server market will reach 46.8% from 2024 to 2029, and the market size will reach 16.2 billion US dollars in 2029.
As a key supplier in the global AI server industry chain, Panasonic offers core component products including conductive polymer capacitors, "MEGTRON" multi-layer substrate materials, high-precision surface mount technology (SMT) machines, as well as servo motors and sensors. In 2024, the sales of capacitors for AI servers doubled, the sales of "MEGTRON" for information and communication infrastructure increased by 70%, and the sales of servo motors, sensors, etc. also achieved growth of over 30%.
The rich product range and stable product performance, among other advantages, are the strengths of Panasonic components. Many well-known domestic enterprises are using Panasonic's related products. To further strengthen its layout in this field, Panasonic is also accelerating its investment.
In September 2023, Panasonic's fourth factory for Electronic Materials (Guangzhou) was put into operation. With an investment of 790 million yuan and a construction area of 33,000 square meters, it mainly focuses on 5G electronic materials. After its operation, the total production capacity has increased by 1.3 times. Panasonic Electronic Materials (Suzhou) New project started construction in October last year, with an investment of 600 million yuan. It will build a 50,000-square-meter intelligent green factory to produce new materials for integrated circuits and meet the demands of cutting-edge fields such as semiconductors. The new Panasonic Electronic Materials (Shanghai) factory, which started construction in September this year, has an investment of 120 million yuan and is expected to double its output value after going into production. The total investment in the three factories amounts to 1.51 billion yuan.
It is relatively rare for Panasonic to build new factories simultaneously in three cities across the country. Tetsuro Honma emphasized.
On the production side, Panasonic has also established an AI-driven full-chain optimization system. For instance, the intelligent logistics circulation system realizes the full-process intelligence of warehousing and logistics through integrated AI dispatching both inside and outside the premises. As a "perception engine", the visual AI solution, by integrating computer vision and artificial intelligence technologies, can achieve automated and intelligent production classification through real-time visual inspection of products on the production line, as well as intelligent decision-making such as full-process quality inspection of products and predictive maintenance of equipment.
Innovate and innovate again - get closer to users
At the other end of the "bridge", Panasonic is closely connected with users, integrating AI capabilities into daily life and production scenarios through smart home appliances, Spaces, services and solutions equipped with AI technology.
At the 8th China International Import Expo, Panasonic, a "full-attendance student" for eight consecutive years, brought the world's first four-cylinder all-heat pump washing, drying and care integrated machine Alpha G5.
Unlike the common washing machines on the market, the Alpha G5 has four washing drums and can perform washing and drying operations simultaneously. It is equipped with an α-Agent intelligent core center composed of 76 intelligent chips, which can precisely match washing and drying parameters through the recognition of clothing materials and stain analysis, achieving high integration and efficient washing and care.
In terms of innovative interactive experience, the α-Chat AI voice assistant is based on a big data AI model. Users can issue full-process washing and care instructions through natural voice commands, simplifying the operation process. Equipped with the first-of-its-kind α-Watch smart control star ring, it can be removed from the body to control the status of the four tubes for washing and care anytime and anywhere.
In Panasonic's products, AI technology does not exist alone in a single product but extends into spatial systems. The "1+N+X Family Smart Connected Space System" it launched aims to link multiple household appliances through one center. Take the kitchen scene as an example. The system can identify the types and preservation status of ingredients based on the ice AI camera, automatically recommend recipes and link with ovens, microwave ovens and other devices to complete cooking. Users only need to say one sentence to activate the required scene, thus "freeing up users' hands".
It is hoped that in the near future, we can connect all household appliances or residential equipment products to provide various new services for a certain family or individual. Tetsuro Honma said that this is Panasonic's future goal in the application of AI.
In fact, for many foreign enterprises, there are certain challenges in directly applying China's large model technology. But Tetsuro Honma believes that Panasonic can make effective use of China's AI technology while protecting its own intellectual property rights.
Based on AI products, Panasonic is also expanding its business scope from living Spaces to public Spaces. The theme of Panasonic's participation in this year's China International Import Expo is "A Better Life Extends from Home to City".
Products related to living Spaces are Panasonic's traditional strength areas, including various categories such as washing and care products, refrigerators, kitchen appliances, and small household appliances. Almost all of consumers' demands for using household appliances in their own homes can be met with corresponding products from Panasonic. Panasonic will connect the products within the living space in the most humanized and convenient way through an organic system.
This systematic service concept is also reflected in Panasonic's continuously increased investment in the elderly care community business. Previously, the "Yada · Panasonic Community" project, which Panasonic cooperated with the domestic Yada Group, was the practical outcome of Panasonic's Wellness Smart (WS for short) business, introducing Panasonic's health and elderly care concepts as well as technological intelligent products. Matsushita was involved in the community's building allocation planning, landscape creation, and space design, etc. Through a one-stop system, various types of projects such as all-age symbiotic health communities, cultural tourism, and leasing have been launched. Currently, there are 41 such projects across the country. In the future, Panasonic plans to continue drawing on the experience it has accumulated in the field of elderly care communities in the past and promote corresponding overall solutions in China.
A good plan cannot do without the support of an excellent technical team. To further enhance its R&D capabilities in the field of AI, especially in the Chinese market, Panasonic has effectively implemented the concept of localization.
On the one hand, as the largest overseas R&D center of the group, Panasonic Software Development (Dalian) Co., Ltd. has 1,050 engineers dedicated to the development of smart home appliances, in-vehicle systems and other fields. Besides providing AI large model solutions for home appliances and space products, its independently developed small language model (SLM) maintains a millisecond-level response speed Achieve stable operation in offline environments and completely solve the privacy and connection issues of smart home appliances.
On the other hand, Panasonic Information Systems (Shanghai) Co., Ltd. not only provides solutions for Panasonic but also offers various services to over a hundred other enterprises, covering areas such as intelligent manufacturing and smart office. In the fiscal year 2024, the company's revenue reached 400 million yuan.
Panasonic regards talent as the core driving force for the implementation of its AI strategy. It integrates large models such as DeepSeek and Alibaba Tongyi Qianwen into its internal system, covering the daily working scenarios of its employees. In the future, Panasonic plans to gradually expand from the basic AI applications in its functional business to more key business areas, achieving in-depth application and comprehensive empowerment in core business scenarios.
"In China, for the world" - From home to city
Panasonic, a century-old company, has been in China for 47 years. When Panasonic first entered the Chinese market, the proportion of its business in China to its overall revenue was less than 2%. At that time, the Chinese market played more of an assembly plant role for Panasonic.
But nowadays, China is continuously absorbing and developing new technologies, and its business in China has gradually expanded to account for 24% of Panasonic's overall business volume. Panasonic has gradually cultivated a team of up to 3,000 suppliers and localized R&D personnel here.
It is worth mentioning that Panasonic's Panasonic Global Procurement (China) Co., Ltd. in Shanghai, whose original main task was to supply components purchased from abroad to Chinese enterprises, has now achieved a "major reversal". It now purchases components, materials, modules, and production equipment from 3,000 suppliers in China and provides them to Panasonic's sister enterprises around the world.
I am a witness to the glorious process of China's reform and opening up, and also a witness to the growth of Panasonic's business in China. Tetsuro Honma said that many innovative products developed by Panasonic China have already started to be supplied to the global market, and this scale will continue to expand next year.
In Tetsuro Honma's view, the China International Import Expo is an important platform and window for Panasonic to showcase itself and enhance communication with Chinese business people. It is a "global strategic exhibition". Therefore, Panasonic has been actively responding with the concerted efforts of the entire group over the years.
As a "full-attendance student" of the China International Import Expo, over the past eight years, Panasonic has continuously leveraged the "spillover effect" of the expo to achieve the transformation of "exhibits into products, products into bestsellers, and ideas into reality". While serving the demands of Chinese consumers, Panasonic has also relied on its "China for Global" strategy to feed back the innovative achievements of the Chinese market to the global market.
This year, Panasonic made its appearance at booth B3-01 in the 5.1H Consumer Goods Zone of the China International Import Expo, with a total exhibition area of 903 square meters. It mainly integrates three key business sectors, depicting a beautiful life picture from "home to city". The Living Space exhibition area showcases customized living solutions and built-in home appliances around the full life cycle needs of Chinese families, interprets the practical path of a "good house", and also brings a series of new products such as the brand-new Himalaya built-in kitchen appliances. The public space exhibition area mainly showcases Panasonic's new energy vehicle software and hardware for mobile travel, rail transit platform door solutions, as well as equipment, services and solutions for the intelligent manufacturing field. It also highlighted the exhibition area of smart home appliances equipped with AI and the Panasonic Design exhibition area.
Panasonic's exhibition themes and contents every year closely follow the development and changes of Chinese society and the trends of consumers. This year, its strategic focus is on AI.
According to Panasonic, the design concept of the Panasonic booth is "Finder", which is like observing the world in various areas through the viewfinder of a camera. Panasonic hopes to gain a deeper understanding of China and also intends to enable the outside world to better understand the Chinese market through Panasonic.
Tetsuro Honma himself also plays an important "bridge" role in business and trade exchanges between China and Japan. His other position is the president of the Japan Chamber of Commerce in China. Previously, he continuously promoted to foreign enterprises, including Japanese ones, how to take advantage of the China International Import Expo to establish a foothold in China.
Panasonic is clearly one of the most proactive companies among many large Japanese enterprises in embracing the Chinese market and AI. This is the century-old enterprise's proactive response to the tide of The Times, and it is also a contemporary inheritance of Konosuke Matsushita's business philosophy. For a long time to come, Panasonic will continue to write a new model for the intelligent and global transformation of manufacturing.
