Sakana AI sees opportunities for more strategic investors in Japan as rising tensions between the US and China prompt the country to bolster its own artificial intelligence ecosystem.
According to David Ha, co-founder and CEO of Sakana, growing geopolitical risks are driving interest in the Tokyo startup, which recently announced a $100 million-plus funding round that also includes Nvidia.
“We think a strong economy like Japan wants to develop its own AI ecosystem, and we want to be part of that,” Ha said in an interview with Bloomberg TV on Monday. However, he added that the recent round of funding gives the company “more than enough ammunition” to develop its technology.
Sakana’s focus on many small models working together, rather than one big fundamental model, is drawing outsized interest in resource-poor Japan. The island nation, which relies almost entirely on energy imports, is looking for more energy-efficient ways to catch up with AI.
The group will collaborate with Nvidia on research and AI infrastructure in Japan, including data centers, Ha said.
Japan has been extremely welcoming to the company, which employs about 20 people. The company’s co-founders include Ha, who helped set up the Google Brain research team in Tokyo, and Llion Jones, one of the authors of a key paper that launched the current AI wave.
