Chief Executive Officer, Preferred Networks, Inc.
Toru Nishikawa is the co-founder and Chief Executive Officer of Preferred Networks, Inc. (PFN), a Tokyo-based startup that develops real-world applications of deep learning, robotics and other latest technologies in three priority areas – transportation, manufacturing and bio-healthcare – and also in personal robots, plant optimization, materials discovery, sports analytics and entertainment. Prior to founding PFN in 2014, he led software development for information search, natural language processing and machine learning at Preferred Infrastructure, Inc., PFN’s predecessor that he co-founded with his college friends in 2006 while he was a graduate student. Nishikawa obtained a Master’s degree from the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Information Science and Technology in 2007. An avid programmer since childhood, he achieved the 19th place at the 30th International Collegiate Programming Contest (ACM-ICPC) in 2006. Nishikawa received the 2013 Software Japan Award from the Information Processing Society of Japan.