Mubasher: Japan’s electronics giant Sony on Tuesday announced partnership plans with several taxi firms to build and develop a new artificial-intelligence-based (AI) ride-hailing service in Japan.

The tech giant will cooperate with six transportation companies, who together own 10,000 vehicles to establish the service in Tokyo in the spring, Sony stated.

This deal indicates growing correlations between tech and taxi companies in the country despite tight regulations.

Sony’s move came at a time when ride-sharing giant Uber’s CEO Dara Khosrowshahi announced further expansion plans in Japan.

“It is clear to me that we need to come in with partnership in mind and in particular partnership with the taxi industry,” Khosrowshahi said.