Panasonic is struggling to turn its AI vision into new growth, with the Japanese company delaying the launch of a high-profile app and preparing to shut down a consumer services platform early next year.

The company confirmed this month that Umi, a family-focused AI application unveiled at CES in Las Vegas in January 2025, will not launch as planned.

The delay raises questions over Panasonic’s ability to execute on its push to make AI a core growth driver.

Umi was positioned as a cornerstone of Panasonic’s long-term strategy to lift the share of AI-related businesses to 30% of group revenue by 2035 – triple current levels.

Designed as a personalised “family AI”, the app learns household members’ habits and preferences to offer health and lifestyle suggestions, including diet and exercise advice. The service was expected to use AI technology from US startup Anthropic.

However, speaking at an investor briefing in early December, Panasonic Group CEO Yuki Kusumi (pictured) said a “definitive decision” still needed to be made on Umi, without providing a revised launch timeline.

The app was notably absent from Panasonic’s announced plans for CES 2026, which instead focus on business-to-business technologies such as energy storage systems for data centres.

The uncertainty around Umi follows another setback in Panasonic’s consumer software efforts.

The company will close Yohana, a household support app launched in the United States in 2021, on January 30. Yohana allowed users to outsource everyday tasks such as shopping and travel planning to dedicated staff via a subscription model. The service later expanded to Japan, rolling out nationwide earlier this year.

Panasonic said the closure was based on a “comprehensive assessment of the business environment”.

Both Umi and Yohana have been overseen by Yoky Matsuoka, a former Google executive recruited to bring Silicon Valley-style software development to the traditionally hardware-focused group.

The challenges come as Panasonic undertakes broader structural reforms, including cutting 10,000 jobs and exiting low-margin businesses.