From its beginnings in Japan, TFT has now expanded abroad.

Dear native English speakers,
I have a question from the text we use in high school.

(a) From its beginnings in Japan, TFT has now expanded abroad.

I guess (a) is different from (b).
(b) Since its beginnings in Japan, TFT has now expanded abroad.

How do they differ in meaning?

Thanks in advance.
Hirashin

No, they're identical.

Oh, really? I didn't know you can use "from" in the present perfect tense.
Do you say these too?
(1a) I have lived here since childhood.
(1b) I have lived here from childhood.
(2a) The big rock has been here since ancient times.
(2b) The big rock has been here from ancient times.
(3a) I have known him since then.
(3b) I have known him from then.

No. Not 1b, 2b, or 3b. "From" can be used if you're talking about something that's continuously been the case and you're explaining the cause of that continuous thing (that's the best I can explain it). "Since" can be used for that too in an identical way, but it also can just mention when a continuous thing started. 1, 2, and 3 are all simplistic time references, so "since" is good, but "from" doesn't work.

Some examples that work:

"From the time Augustus Caesar rose to power, the Roman Empire was a monarchy."
"I have known him from the time we met randomly at a bar."
"Nintendo has been a great force in the American video game market from the release of the Nintendo Entertainment System."

The original (a) and (b) sentences are NOT identical.
In sentence (a), "from" is NOT denoting a starting point in time, but rather a starting condition or starting point in physical space, which is then being contrasted with the present state. It is used to indicate a change in the organization, FROM being only in Japan TO also being in other parts of the world.

Thank you for the help, joadbres.

I'm glad to know that what I taught my students was not wrong.