A new alliance has formed between Japanese tech giant Sony and mobile messenger operator Line Corp., as they are considering joining hands to develop new digital devices powered by artificial intelligence.

During the ongoing Mobile World Congress in Barcelona on Monday, Sony Mobile stated that the two firms are exploring collaborative opportunities on new AI assistant technologies and products.

Sony is looking to merge its Sony Agent Technology adopted in its Xperia Smart Products with Line’s AI-based cloud platform to “co-create a new communication experience.”


Sony did not share further details about the upcoming project, but news of the new alliance came with the release of new concept earphones equipped with the Xperia Agent, a virtual butler that responds to voice commands and gestures.

The partnership between a consumer electronics company and a mobile messenger firm represents yet another example of the growing convergence between hardware and software capabilities.

Under the new partnership, market watchers said Sony may try to improve its own line of electronic gadgets with Line’s AI software capabilities, while the electronics maker’s hardware capabilities could be adopted by a new AI assistant speaker in development by Line.

In a move to introduce new services to back its messenger business, Line Corp., together with its parent company Naver, last year formed a new body dedicated to AI technology development last year -- the “Project J.” And its first task is building a new voice-operated AI assistant.

With software becoming more critical to hardware, Naver also received a welcoming gesture from the organizer of the MWC, urging the Korean internet giant to join the annual mobile industry conference in the future.

“Virtually every company in the telecommunications ecosystem is taking part in the MWC,” said Yang Hyun-mi, the chief strategy officer of the GSMA, the organizer of the MWC, in an interview with Yonhap News Agency.

“As the focus of the tech sector increasingly shifts from hardware to software, companies seeking to flaunt and excel globally in software are heading to MWC. As such a company, Naver would find value in taking part in the MWC,” she said.

Naver said it has yet to decide whether it will participate in the MWC in the future.

By Sohn Ji-young (jys@heraldcorp.com)