dip Launches Development of AI Agent Business

PRESS RELEASE



April 14, 2023
dip Corporation

From ‘Search’ to ‘Interactive Dialogue’
Deploying Generative AI to Generate New Possibilities for Job Creation
dip Launches Development of AI Agent Business Based on
Collaborative Research with Matsuo Lab, under
the Advisership of Mr. Kazuto Ataka
dip Corporation is pleased to announce that it will launch the development of an AI agent business (the
“Business”), a new initiative deploying generative AI technology. It has also established dip Technology Institute
(the “Institute”) to enable early commercialization of the business. Under the advisership of Mr. Kazuto Ataka,
a leading figure in data strategy, we will engage in collaborative research with Matsuo Institute, Inc., a company
that applies the results of studies by the University of Tokyo’s Matsuo Lab, a lab specializing in AI strategy. By
working to solve various problems in the labor market with two of Japan’s leading figures in data technology,
we aim to realize a society in which everyone can experience the joy and happiness of work.




Seeking new possibilities in job
creation through the use of
generative AI


dip Launches Development of an
AI Agent Business

The Japanese labor market currently faces numerous issues such as serious labor shortages due to an
aging and shrinking population as well as low labor efficiency owing to a delay in the adoption of digital
technologies. As a result, the role of the personnel services industry has been increasing each year.
dip, which operates one of Japan’s largest job information websites Baitoru, among others, has invested in
more than 20 startups since 2016 through ‘AI Now’,*1 one of Japan’s largest websites dedicated to AI, ‘AI.
Accelerator’, an AI startup support program, and the CVC ‘DIP Labor Force solution Fund’. It has been working
to solve the problems of the labor market through the use of cutting-edge technology by embarking on the DX
business in 2019, and launching the KOBOT series, which is a SaaS service adopted by more than 10,000
companies to date. In 2021 it also obtained certification as a certified DX business operator as defined by the
Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry. dip will now deploy generative AI and launch the development of an
AI agent business to realize ‘the job search of the future’, which will greatly broaden the possibilities of job
creation.
Due to technological innovations such as generative AI, job hunting is expected to evolve from the
conventional method of searching and choosing from a vast number of job postings to a new method of finding
the right job through interactive dialogue, which should significantly enhance hiring rates. dip will contribute to
creating opportunities to find the right job interactively by increasing matching accuracy through high-quality
data such as our own job information gathered by recruitment consultants across Japan as well as job seekers’
apparent and latent needs.
Background
Despite the improvement in the efficiency of the recruiting process brought about by online job information
services, the hiring rate of those who visited job information websites is not sufficiently high. While job agency
services, in which applicants and jobs are matched by humans in order to improve the accuracy of matching,
have been in growing demand as a high-class recruitment service, their utilization rate remains around
20%.*2*3 It is natural for job agency services to focus on high income range users, as the services require labor
costs and their revenue is determined by multiplying the successful applicant’s annual income by the
commission rate. We believe that those most in need of our job agency services are ‘people with problems in
the job search’, we have been considering the development of a service in which AI replaces job agency
operations as a solution to this problem.*4 With the AI agent business, we will update the revenue structure of
job agency services through the use of generative AI technologies, such as ChatGPT, which have the potential
to replace much of the work currently performed by humans, so that we can realize a society in which everyone
can use job agency services easily and experience the joy and happiness of work.
*1 https://ainow.ai/
*2 “Labor Force Survey” by the Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications and the “Aggregate Results of Business Reports for the
Employment Placement Business” by the Ministry of Health, Labor and Welfare
*3 “Human Resources Business 2022” by Yano Research Institute Ltd.
*4 The act of recommending a portion of jobs on a job site while all jobs can still be searched is not considered to constitute "employment
placement" under the guidelines. This service will be operated in accordance with the relevant laws and regulations by utilizing the
"gray zone elimination system" of the Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Act and confirming whether or not it constitutes
"employment placement" under the Employment Security Law.

▼ Outline of AI agent business
The AI agent business is a new business that dip, which operates one of Japan’s largest job information
websites Baitoru, has launched as an initiative to expand the possibilities of job creation through the use and
practical application of generative AI technology. Through this business, we aim to transform job hunting
methods from the conventional method of ‘searching and choosing from a vast number of job postings’ to a
new method of ‘finding the right job through interactive dialogue’, thereby significantly improving hiring rates.
Unlike conventional chatbots, which generate responses based on programmed rules and logic, the new
technology uses natural language processing to generate more natural responses. Interactive dialogue also
enables us to understand the potential needs of each individual and to offer timely support, such as
encouraging them to take appropriate action at times. Therefore, it has the potential to achieve the most
appropriate matching equal to or better than matches brokered by human recruiting agents. However,
matching accuracy must improve in order for this technology to be used by a broad range of job seekers. It is
therefore important to apply the latest and most reliable information and data from employers. Through this
business, we will contribute to creating opportunities for job seekers to find the best workplace by enhancing
matching accuracy through the use of the latest and most accurate job information gathered by our
approximately 2,000 recruitment consultants across Japan. In addition to that data, we will listen to what each
job seeker says and how they behave to create the best individual match possible. We aim to commercialize
the business within a year.

▼ Outline of dip Technology Institute
The Institute will engage in industry-academia collaborative research with Matsuo Institute, Inc., a company
that applies the results of studies by Matsuo Lab of the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Engineering.
We will present the research and prototypes within the Institute, and those evaluated as suitable for social
implementation will be implemented in our products.

Examples of planned industry-academia collaboration themes:
・Replacement of job agency services by interactive agents
・Replacement of job ad manuscript preparation by automatic text generation

Organization:
・Adviser: Professor Kazuto Ataka of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University
・Director: Kei Shinto, Corporate Officer and Head of Service Development Group, dip Corporation

Comments and profile of Mr. Yutaka Matsuo
A technology called the large language model is undergoing rapid progress in the field
of artificial intelligence. Following the launch of various models by big tech firms,
including ChatGPT, I have no doubt that this technology will have an impact on a broad
spectrum of society. The field of human resources will also change dramatically with the
new technology. It is very significant to be among the first to work with this technology in
the field. I am looking forward for the development of dip Technology Institute through
our collaborative research.

Profile:
Graduated from the Department of Information and Communication Engineering, Faculty of Engineering of the
University of Tokyo in 1997. Received a Ph.D. degree from the Graduate School of Engineering of the
University of Tokyo in 2002. Became researcher at the National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and
Technology in 2002. Following a stint as Visiting Scholar at Stanford University starting in August 2005, he
became Associate Professor at the Institute of Engineering Innovation, Center for Knowledge Structuring, and
the Department of Technology Management for Innovation of the Graduate School of Engineering, the
University of Tokyo in 2007. He was appointed Co-Representative and Project Associate Professor of the
endowed course on global consumption intelligence, the Department of Technology Management for
Innovation of the Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo in 2014. He has been serving as
Professor at the Research into Artifacts, Center for Engineering, the Department of Technology Management
for Innovation of the Graduate School of Engineering, the University of Tokyo. He specializes in artificial
intelligence, deep learning, and web mining. He received the Best Paper Award (2002), the 20th Anniversary
Project Award (2006), the Field Innovation Award (2011), and the Distinguished Service Award (2013) from
The Japanese Society for Artificial Intelligence (JSAI). At JSAI, he served as Student Editor and Editor before
being appointed Associate Editor-in-Chief in 2010 and Editor-in-Chief and Board Member in 2012. He was
Chair of the ELSI Committee from 2014 to 2018. He has been serving as President of Japan Deep Learning
Association since 2017 and External Board Director of the SoftBank Group since 2019.

Profile of Mr. Kazuto Ataka
Professor of the Faculty of Environment and Information Studies, Keio University; Senior
Strategist at Z Holdings Corporation
After working for McKinsey & Company, Inc., he joined Yahoo Japan Corporation in
2008. At McKinsey & Company he worked in the development of a broad range of
merchandise and businesses and in brand re-establishment as a core member of the
Asia-Pacific Region of the Marketing Research Group. He was appointed CSO of Yahoo
Japan in 2012 and Senior Strategist at ZHD in 2022. He has been teaching at Keio
University’s SFC since 2016 and has been serving as Professor of the Faculty of
Environment and Information Studies (concurrent post) since autumn 2018. He has been serving as a Director
and the Chair of the Skill Definition Committee of The Japan Data Scientist Society since spring 2013. He is
also Representative of A Worthy Tomorrow, a Specialist Committee Member of the Council for Science,
Technology and Innovation (CSTI) and Chair of the Cabinet Office’s Digitalization for DRM (Future Vision
Team), and is involved in many public reviews by the national government and the Keidanren on science &
technology and data×AI. He received a Ph.D. degree in neuroscience from Yale University. His books include
Shin Nihon (2020. NewsPicks Publishing) and Issue Driven (2020. Eiji Press).


Overview of dip
dip operates a personnel recruiting services business and a DX business based on its vision of becoming a
‘Labor force solution company’ that works to solve various problems in the labor market with the aim of
realizing a society in which everyone can experience the joy and happiness of work. Under a corporate
philosophy of ‘Here at dip, we want to tap into dreams, ideas and passion to create a better society’, we will
contribute to realizing a sustainable society through our business activities.

Company name: dip Corporation
Representative: Hideki Tomita, Representative Director, President and CEO
Headquarters: Roppongi Grand Tower 31F, 3-2-1 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo
Phone: +81-3-5114-1177 (Main)
Established: March 1997
Capital: 1,085 million yen (As of February 28, 2023)
Number of employees: 2,925 (Full-time employees as of April 1, 2023; excluding contract, part-time and
temporary employees)
Business activities: Operation of job information websites such as Baitoru, Baitoru NEXT, Baitoru PRO
and Hatarako.net, and nurse career change support service Nurse de Hatarako;
development and provision of DX service KOBOT; and others
Stock listing: Tokyo Stock Exchange (Prime Market)
Net sales: 49.3 billion yen (Fiscal year ended February 28, 2023)
Corporate website URL: https://www.dip-net.co.jp/en

[Contact]
PR Team, dip Corporation Phone: +81-3-6628-4070 E-mail：info@dip-net.co.jp