Toyota Systems Corporation, with the cooperation of IBM Japan, Ltd., developed the “Legacy Code Lab” in October 2025 to ensure that core systems are used in the medium and long term.

As organizations continue to use their existing core systems, the aging of specialists in core system development and legacy languages, such as COBOL and PL/I, generates a need to develop and secure the next generation of personnel, as well as pass on skills.

Toyota Systems has been striving to tackle challenges since 2024 using IBM Japan’s “AI Solutions for IT Transformation.”

As a part of this effort, Toyota Systems created “TG4X (Toyota Systems GenAI for DX),” which uses generative AI to enable next-generation talent to develop while maintaining the same level of development productivity and quality as previously.

In addition, the company has built a new development methodology, which is now being used to develop current core systems.

Toyota Systems’ next move in transformation was to build the Legacy Code Lab as part of this co-creation.

The Legacy Code Lab launched as a virtual organization in October of this year. It combines core system specialists, AI engineers, and next-generation talent from Toyota Systems and IBM Japan. The two corporations are thinking about opening a physical development center by 2026.

TG4X will continue to evolve by proactively incorporating advances in generative AI and emerging technologies. By engaging in this evolution, next-generation talent members will not only design systems in legacy languages but will also learn how to use modern technologies like generative AI.

By bringing in specialists who are well-versed in core system development as advisers, we will pass on the system development experience we have gained thus far, as well as the expertise and know-how of core system development unique to our organization, to the next generation of talent.

In the future, the Legacy Code Lab hopes to expand its service outside the Toyota Group to include local and foreign businesses facing similar difficulties. TG4X also plans to support a wider variety of languages ​​and processes.

During the lab’s busy season, the company intends to collaborate with IBM Japan’s regional DX centers to create a system that can respond to changing development demands. Through these efforts, Toyota Systems hopes to achieve digital transformation (DX) by co-creating new types of system development utilizing generative AI jointly with IBM Japan.