SMBC and Fujitsu to partner on AI-driven forecasting services

Sumitomo Mitsui Banking is tapping Fujitsu's artificial intelligence models to bolster its advisory services for customers grappling with rising wages and materials costs. The banking arm of Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group is in talks to provide corporate client data to Fujitsu to run through the IT company's multimodal machine learning tools to make business forecasts, according to people familiar with the matter. The AI-inferred demand predictions would help some of the bank's biggest customers make key decisions from staffing to procurement to capital spending and financing, the people said, asking not to be named discussing nonpublic information. The two companies will soon sign a basic agreement, they said. The move would be a rare instance of a Japanese bank allowing another company access to sensitive customer data, such as store-by-store visitor and sales numbers.