STARTUPS

An interview article featuring Sakana AI CEO David Ha and COO Ren Ito has been published in the business magazine Zaikai. https://www.zaikai.jp/articles/detail/6206 They discuss the "AI × Industry" strategy, which focuses on implementing AI across various Japanese industries including the financial sector, and the vision of the two co-founders as they challenge the world as a Japan-based AI company. David:
"I believe it's important to become a company that becomes a topic of conversation globally, where people around the world say 'Does Japan really have such an interesting company?' and appears in global discussions. We are gathering talented researchers, engineers, and other skilled personnel from both domestically and internationally here in Japan. We're recruiting world-class talent that can compete globally and conducting business here in Japan. We're also challenging ourselves to bring a global breeze to Japan's ecosystem." Ren Ito:
"Finance alone or AI alone is insufficient. It truly must be a multiplication of 'finance × AI'. The concept of treating such AI as 'soft power' is important. Whether the AI created by Japan will be something that countries around the world want to 'use'. Right now, in this age of AI, the question 'which country's technology do we choose?' is being asked anew. It hasn't been decided yet between the US and China alone. What matters is whether Japan can propose AI that is tailored to each individual country." The article also touches on why David, a former Google researcher, and Ito, a former diplomat, both decided to launch an AI startup in Japan. Please read the full article. [Translated from EN to English]

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