Perplexity, the AI search company, announced on July 9 that it has signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with the Futaba Lab Group, SBI Group's DeFimans, NS Solutions, and SMBC Nikko Securities to jointly verify a next-generation execution platform for digital assets[1]. The proof of concept (PoC) aims to optimize trading across traditional financial markets as well as on-chain and off-chain markets, with Perplexity contributing AI-driven trade analysis, hypothesis generation, and agent building.

Five Companies Tackle Fragmented Markets

The MoU brings together five parties: Perplexity; ANDLAW FZCO (UAE), the overseas subsidiary of the Futaba Lab Group; DeFimans, an SBI Group company specializing in blockchain consulting; NS Solutions, which has a track record in building core systems for securities markets; and SMBC Nikko Securities[1].

The initiative addresses a structural challenge: while the tokenization of financial products is moving from the experimental stage toward full-scale social implementation, liquidity, price formation, and execution environments remain fragmented across markets. As crypto asset ETFs, stablecoins, tokenized securities, and other products proliferate, the five companies note that infrastructure for evaluating and executing trading opportunities across multiple markets is still limited[1]. According to the announcement, global stablecoin issuance and circulation has reached 300 billion USD (about 49 trillion yen), and the on-chain RWA (Real World Assets) market excluding stablecoins now exceeds 30 billion USD (about 4.9 trillion yen), underscoring the rapid expansion of these markets[1].

※1 USD = 162 JPY

Four Verification Themes, Including AI

The PoC covers four main themes. The first is data integration, including the acquisition and consolidation of price information spanning multiple markets. The second is strategy design and analysis, such as verifying strategies across spot and derivatives markets and supporting the generation and validation of trading hypotheses based on public information. The third is AI utilization, with plans to use LLM aggregators and build a verification platform with Perplexity Computer. The fourth is technical verification of an execution platform for institutional investors and financial institutions[1].

What sets the initiative apart is its end-to-end scope: rather than staying within a single market or product, the partners will jointly verify everything from strategy design to implementation, validation, and market connectivity. Building on the Futaba Lab Group's execution platform with proven order-processing experience, they aim to realize a next-generation execution platform that spans centralized exchanges and on-chain markets while handling the prices, liquidity, and market characteristics of multiple products, including spot and derivatives[1].

Perplexity Calls Finance an Extremely Important Sector

Dmitry Shevelenko, Chief Business Officer (CBO) at Perplexity, described finance as an extremely important sector for the company, saying Perplexity will provide its AI-powered information aggregation capabilities to help market participants interpret public information more accurately[1]. The move sees the company best known for its AI search and answer engine step into financial infrastructure verification alongside major Japanese securities firms and system integrators, making it a notable example of an AI company expanding into finance.

Going forward, the partners plan to advance technical verification and implementation studies in stages with production environments in mind. Over the medium to long term, they aim to build a cross-market execution platform that looks beyond digital assets to the digitalization of broader financial markets, including ETFs, stablecoins, tokenized securities, FX, and commodities[1].

Summary

Perplexity has launched a joint verification project with the Futaba Lab Group, DeFimans, NS Solutions, and SMBC Nikko Securities on a next-generation execution platform for digital assets. The initiative combines AI-driven analysis and agent building to tackle the fragmentation of increasingly tokenized financial markets. Perplexity's step beyond AI search into financial infrastructure is worth watching as a signal of where major AI companies are heading.

出典:https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000028.000157647.html