Macnica Networks enters into distributorship agreement with H2O.ai, provider of the Driverless AI automatic machine learning platform

News

November 8, 2018
Macnica Networks Corp.

- Automating and accelerating model-building operations in machine learning to promote the use of AI in business -

We are pleased to announce that Macnica Networks Corp., which provides network devices and security solutions (headquarters: 1-5-5 Shin-Yokohama, Kohoku-ku, Yokohama, Japan; President: Jun Ikeda; hereinafter "Macnica Networks") and the US company H2O.ai (head office: 2307 Leghorn Street, Mountain View, California, 94043 US; CEO & Co-Founder: SriSatish Ambati) have concluded a distributorship agreement in Japan.

Product name	Driverless AI
Form of product provision	Yearly subscription license
Distribution commencement date	November 8, 2018

Many companies and organizations are now seriously engaging in the utilization of big data and the adoption of AI into their businesses. Machine learning, which is receiving particular attention for its applications in business settings, is producing major results in various areas such as sales forecasting, prediction of customer churn and prediction of production facility fault, and its scope of application is rapidly expanding. The roles of data scientists and other highly skilled experts are said to be essential to achieving the implementation of AI into business. However, the reality is that most companies find it hard to secure the data science personnel so essential to the field of AI. The shortage of data science personnel has become a major problem, as it impedes the utilization of AI technology for resolving the business issues of companies and organizations.

To solve this problem and help the use of AI in business, Macnica Networks recently entered a primary distributor agreement with H2O.ai, and will begin offering H2O.ai's Driverless AI platform.
Based on the various data within a company's possession, Driverless AI automates and accelerates the model-building operations normally carried out by data scientists as part of machine learning. This removes the need for high-level data science skills and enables the automatic generation of advanced models equal in level to those produced by the world's top data scientists.
Incorporating the knowledge and experience of some of the world's top data scientists into the software, Driverless AI enables rapid generation of highly accurate models through GPU-accelerated computing and automation of the feature engineering that influences a model's accuracy.
Also, with regard to machine learning interpretability (MLI; the capability of visualizing the reasons behind a model's decisions) and considering applications in business settings, visualizing the factors that have influence a prediction result helps to ensure accountability to stakeholders both inside and outside a company. In addition to these benefits, Macnica Networks is continually adding new functions to address the business issues faced by clients, such as the handling of time-series data and natural language processing (NLP).

As H2O.ai's primary distributor, Macnica Networks will actively work to expand the market for Driverless AI in Japan. By providing the state-of-the-art technology and knowledge of H2O.ai, we are contributing to the resolution of business issues through use of AI and are working to help increase the global competitiveness of our clients.

Remarks from H2O.ai CEO and Founder Srisatish Ambati:

"At H2O.ai we are focused on putting AI into the hands of as many companies and organizations as possible to positively impact outcomes. As we build our global ecosystem of partners, we look forward to working with Macnica Networks to drive the expanded adoption of AI and machine learning in Japan with H2O Driverless AI."

[Functions of Driverless AI]

1Automatic visualization of data

2Automatic feature engineering

3Machine learning interpretability (MLI; visualization of the reasons behind a model’s decisions)

4Automatic documentation (generation of model result reports)

5Automatic scoring pipelines (generation of execution modules for Python and Java environments)

6Time-series data management

[Features of Driverless AI]

1Incorporation of AI knowledge and expertise from top data scientists into the software

2Accelerated model-building through use of GPU

3Active user community

Solution Overview

Screen Sample

H2O.ai: Company Outline

H2O.ai is a market leader in open-source AI platforms. Its open-source software is used by several hundred thousand data scientists in over 14,000 organizations around the world, including approximately half of the Fortune 500 companies. Utilizing the vast amount of feedback and knowledge on machine learning obtained from this active open-source community, H2O.ai is rapidly advancing the development of Driverless AI. H2O.ai also employs 5 Kaggle Grand Masters*, of which there are only 122 in the entire world. By incorporating the knowledge and expertise of these Kaggle Grand Masters into its software, the company is achieving the automation of rapid, highly accurate machine learning process flow.

Company name	H2O.ai, Inc
Established	2012
Location of headquarters	Mountain View, California, US
Representative	SriSatish Ambati
Website	https://www.h2o.ai/

*The company names and product names used herein are registered trademarks or trademarks of the respective company.