Tokyo, July 19, 2016 - NEC Corporation (NEC; TSE: 6701) today announced that it will be branding its lineup of artificial intelligence (hereinafter, "AI") technologies as "NEC the WISE"(*) and globally launching this new brand and its mark as part of NEC's efforts to contribute to the realization of a safe, secure, efficient, and equal society in which people work together with AI to enhance technological advancements.

In recent years, AI technologies have experienced tremendous breakthroughs amidst the explosive growth of data volume resulting from the increased sophistication of analysis engines (i.e., software) and the improved processing capabilities of computers. These technologies are currently attracting attention for their usefulness in complementing human abilities, solving societal issues, and creating a more convenient society.

"We have named our lineup of cutting-edge AI technologies ‘NEC the WISE' to reflect NEC's strong desire to facilitate cooperation between people and AI as we continue to leverage our advanced wisdom to solve the increasingly complex and sophisticated problems confronting society," says Katsumi Emura, Executive Vice President and Chief Technology Officer (CTO). "To accelerate the development and use of state-of-the-art AI technologies supporting advanced fields such as IoT, Big Data, and Security, which are at the core of NEC's Solutions for Society, NEC will be focusing its efforts on providing innovative solutions that contribute to not only the resolution of societal problems but also the transformation and growth of enterprises."

NEC has promoted the development of AI-related technology for nearly half a century in the domains of visualization, analysis, and control and guidance. As a result of these efforts, many of NEC's AI technologies, including speech recognition, image and video recognition, language and semantic understanding, machine learning, prediction and detection, and optimal planning and control, are either unprecedented or ranked No. 1 in the world. (**)

NEC's lineup of cutting-edge AI technologies

NEC's AI technologies are already being utilized for a variety of solutions, including an immigration control system equipped with facial recognition technology boasting the world's highest degree of accuracy(**), a failure sign monitoring system for large-scale plants that can be used to discover imperceptible changes and recognize them as a sign of failure, and a retail ordering system based on highly accurate demand forecasting that uses machine learning technology. These solutions can be applied to the creation of safe and secure environments in the realm of Public Safety, the monitoring of large-scale social infrastructure, and enterprises looking to enhance their marketing abilities and operational efficiency.

"Going forward, AI will make it possible to provide people with suggestions for problems without a clear single answer, such as management decisions and the development of new products. NEC is therefore committed to offering advanced solutions that will help people make decisions from a broader point of view. We will also be proactively leveraging open innovation and utilizing a wide array of AI technologies to maximize the value we provide to our customers," says Katsumi Emura.

Optimization of intellectual and creative activities through collaboration between people and AI

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Note:

• (*)
  NEC the WISE is a portfolio of AI technologies developed by NEC for enriching human intellect and creativity. This portfolio represents our strong determination to harness the wisdom of humans and AI working together to resolve the increasingly complex and intertwined issues society is facing today.
  
  The NEC the WISE mark is a simple, opaque triangular pyramid with a cube in the center. The keen edges and futuristic shape of the pyramid represent our intention to hone our technologies to precision and use them as a cornerstone of future innovations. The cube is the core of wisdom collected as AI technologies.
  
  The orientation of the mark expresses our goal of bringing stability to societies and creating a brighter world for everyone by harmonizing people, society and AI.
• (**) http://www.nec.com/en/global/solutions/biometrics/technologies/nist_proven_accuracy.html

About NEC Corporation
NEC Corporation is a leader in the integration of IT and network technologies that benefit businesses and people around the world. By providing a combination of products and solutions that cross utilize the company's experience and global resources, NEC's advanced technologies meet the complex and ever-changing needs of its customers. NEC brings more than 100 years of expertise in technological innovation to empower people, businesses and society.  For more information, visit NEC at http://www.nec.com.

The NEC Group globally provides "Solutions for Society" that promote the safety, security, efficiency and equality of society. Under the company's corporate message of "Orchestrating a brighter world," NEC aims to help solve a wide range of challenging issues and to create new social value for the changing world of tomorrow. For more information, please visit

http://www.nec.com/en/global/about/vision/message.html

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