Tokyo-based Sakana AI Raises Over $100M in Series A Funding with Nvidia as Major Investor

Sep 4, 2024, 06:20 AM

Tokyo-based AI research and development company, Sakana AI, has successfully closed its Series A funding round, raising over $100 million. The funding round saw participation from prominent investors including NEA, Khosla Ventures, Lux, and Nvidia. Nvidia is set to become a significant shareholder in Sakana AI, marking one of the larger investments the US chipmaker has made in Japan's AI sector. Sakana AI aims to advance AI research, data centers, and the AI community in Japan, focusing on developing cutting-edge foundation models to automate and speed up processes. The company is also committed to the democratization of AI in Japan by creating unique large language models that capture and codify the country's data, culture, and language. Vinod Khosla, founder of Khosla Ventures, and Jensen Huang, founder and CEO of Nvidia, have both expressed their support for Sakana AI's innovative approach to AI development. The concept of Sovereign AI is central to Sakana AI's mission, emphasizing the importance of localized AI models.