- The following is content from the press release -
Promote childcare DX to penetrate baby tech
First Ascent Corporation (Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Tomoyuki Hattori; hereinafter referred to as "the Company") announces that it will issue new shares through a third-party allotment to Unicharm Corporation (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Takahisa Takahara) to expand its childcare support services to help babies grow up healthy and happy. (Head Office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Takahisa Takahara) to expand its child-rearing support services and accelerate the realization of a child-rearing environment for the healthy development of babies.
MHI is a baby tech company that promotes DX (Digital Transformation) in child-rearing under the slogan of "changing child-rearing through technology. In recognition of our research and development based on child-rearing big data that we have cultivated, we have entered into a capital and business alliance with Unicharm Corporation, a leading company in the baby diaper industry that owns the Moony and Mamy Poko brands.
With this business and capital alliance, we will accelerate the development of new child-rearing support services, expand sales of "ainenne", a smart bed light that assists with bedtime routines, and enhance and improve our child-rearing recording application "Papatto Ikko @ Baby Notebook".
Unicharm Corporation Representative Director, President and Chief Executive Officer Takahisa Takahara Comments
By building a strong partnership with First Ascent, which is engaged in the development of an AI that supports childcare based on the science of babies' "five senses" such as "crying" and "sleep," we aim to create an emotional experience for customers in the field of childcare by discovering a "sixth sense" that goes beyond the five senses. First Ascent is developing an AI to support childcare, and we have invested in the company with the aim of creating an emotional experience for customers by discovering a "sixth sense" that goes beyond the five senses.
We define "DX (Digital Transformation)" as the development of products that fulfill consumers' "dreams" through the use of digital technology. We are pushing forward with this transformation. In order to accelerate this transformation, we need the knowledge of various partners, both internal and external. Collaboration with First Ascent, with its deep knowledge and innovative technology in the baby tech field, will be a major boost to the DX = digital transformation of our baby care business, and will also contribute to the expansion of First Ascent's business. We hope that the collaboration with First Ascent, which has a new and innovative technology, will be a great boost to our DX = Digital Transformation in our baby care business.
About AINENNE
Taking a cue from the fact that humans regulate their daily rhythms through exposure to the morning sun, "ainenne" was developed to provide light stimulation to babies who cannot voluntarily expose themselves to the morning sun, thereby helping them to regulate their daily rhythms.
Main functions include an alarm function using LED light, wake-up time recommendation function based on AI analysis, white noise playback function, cry analysis function, bed light function, and linkage function with the "Papatto Ikkoiku @ Baby Notebook" childcare record application.
Awards: CES2021 Innovation Awards
Currently crowdfunding on Makuake
https://www.makuake.com/project/ainenne
About Papattekoiku@Baby Handbook
Papatto Ikko @ Baby Notebook," a childcare record application launched in 2013, has been used by more than 600,000 people to date. The data collected has been used in joint research with the National Center for Child Health and Development (NCCHD), and AI has been developed based on the research know-how to provide functions for Papatto Ikko.
Main functions include childcare record function, cry analysis function, summary function, family collaboration function, etc.
Awards: 8th Kids Design Award, BabyTech Awards Japan 2019 Grand Prize in the Health Management Category, 8th Healthy Life Expectancy Extension! Award, Minister of Health, Labor and Welfare Award, Excellence Award, Corporate Category
http://papaikuji.info/
About Unicharm Corporation
Location: Sumitomo Fudosan Mita Twin Building West Tower, 3-5-27 Mita, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Business activities: Sales of baby care products, feminine care products, health care products, cosmetic puffs, house hold products, pet care products, industrial materials, food wrapping materials, etc.
Web site:http://www.unicharm.co.jp/
About First Ascent Inc.
Location: Sagami Building 2F, 7-13-6 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo
Business activities: Development of "Papatto Ikkoiku@Akachan Notebook," a childcare record application; development of "ainenne," a smart bed light to support sleeping, and provision of childcare support services.
Web site:https://first-ascent.jp/
