NVIDIA-backed Japanese AI company Sakana raises $214 million, with Nomura Holdings and others participating

Japanese artificial intelligence company Sakana AI has raised approximately 30 billion yen (approximately $214 million) in Series A funding, with a company valuation of $1.5 billion. Sakana AI was founded in July 2023 by former Google researchers, just one year after its founding. Investors in this round include financial institutions such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Mizuho Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and Nomura Holdings, as well as well-known companies such as NEC, Itochu Corporation, KDDI, and Fujitsu. Sakana AI has obtained processing time on Japanese supercomputers and is working with multiple organizations to strengthen Japan's AI ecosystem. This echoes NVIDIA's recent plan to support Japan's sovereign AI projects.