Toshiba Corp. today established Toshiba Data Corporation, a company that promises to transforms data into valuable form and returns it to the physical world.

Based on Toshiba Group's security technology and know-how, Toshiba Data aims to build a "data-circulating ecosystem that creates a prosperous future." To achieve this, Toshiba Data will apply advanced digital technology to the analysis of enormous volumes of data collected in the physical world, in such areas as personal purchasing trends, human resources, and health and behavior with, and convert the results into easy usable information and knowledge.

Gunosy Inc. and CUC Inc. are supporting this initiative, and have announced their participation in this ecosystem as partner companies. Toshiba Data is also in negotiations with a number of interested parties, and will continue to discuss with them.

In addition, Toshiba Data will establish an independent committee to carry out checks for privacy protection.

As its first business, Toshiba Data will cultivate a new business model based on Toshiba Tec Corporation’s application “Smart Receipt,” which delivers receipt data to consumer’s smartphones. Through Smart Receipt, consumer’s receipt information from real-world stores are collected and transformed to valuable form, and returned to consumers as coupons.

The size of the Japan’s retail market in 2018 was approximately 145 trillion yen, and transactions in bricks-and-mortar stores of approximately 136 trillion yen, were about 15 times larger than e-commerce transactions of approximately 9 trillion yen; 94% to 6%. Toshiba Data and Toshiba Tec will create a new service by utilizing purchase data from real-world stores with partner companies.

Toshiba Data will also expand its reach into healthcare, human resources and behavioral data to maximize synergies, with utilizing partner companies' services and knowledge. For example, Toshiba Data and CUC will consider creating a health support system for consumers.