On September 18, Japanese AI company Sakana AI raised approximately ¥30 billion (about $214 million) in Series A funding, valuing the company at $1.5 billion. Sakana AI, founded just a year ago in July 2023 by former Google researchers, secured investment from financial institutions including 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 secured processing time on Japan's supercomputers and is partnering with multiple organizations to strengthen Japan's AI ecosystem. This aligns with NVIDIA's recent initiative to support sovereign AI projects in Japan.