Latest news with #DavidHa
Time of India
12-06-2025
- Business
- Time of India
Hear thee Hear thee, for the Fittest shall be victorious: Sakana.ai, using Darwinian principles, sets a new standard for the AI- driven innovation race.
The concept behind the working of Sakana: Innovative Method and Collaboration: Live Events Strategic partnership and prominent funding: Sakana AI is a startup based in Tokyo, welcomed into the arena as a strong player in the global AI landscape. The startup began in July 2023 by engineers who had previously worked with Google, namely, David Ha, Llion Jones, and Ren Ito. The company has garnered quite a bit of traction with its unique way of working its AI term 'sakana' refers to 'fish' in Japanese. The term was chosen to compare the functioning of the AI model to a school of fish. The startup aims to build AI inspired by nature, influenced by the concept of 'collective intelligence' found in ecosystems. Instead of relying on a single, massive model like how ChatGPT does, Sakana explores another approach wherein the AI system uses swarms of smaller, specialized models that interact, evolve, and learn together like a school of fish that travels, hunts, and eats together. Through this approach, the model could outperform traditional monolithic models by replicating the way intelligence occurs in natural AI's research pivots on developing models based on the use of 'evolutionary optimization,' a method that is directly curated after the theory of evolution formulated by Darwin. The company's goal is to create more efficient and sustainable AI technologies. Which has led to innovative collaborations with industry leaders, like NVIDIA, to advance further in AI-related research and infrastructure in AI unveiled a 'series A funding round,' raising up to $200 million from prominent investors and partners. The round was led by 'New Enterprise Associates, Khosla Ventures, and Lux Capital, with Translink Capital, 500 Global, and NVIDIA participating as well.' The company has also received humble investments from leading banking groups of Japan, such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Group, and Mizuho Financial Group, as well as 'industry leaders such as NEC, SBI, Dai-ichi Life Insurance, ITOCHU, KDDI, Fujitsu, and more.'The company and its AI model's rapid growth in the field portrays the potential of innovation and nature-based approaches in the IT sector. With the right kind of funding, strategic partnerships, and a vow to advance Japan's AI capabilities, Sakana AI is bound to accelerate the dynamic evolution of AI startups in the global arena. ( source
Qatar Tribune
27-05-2025
- Business
- Qatar Tribune
Nvidia-backed startup CEO urges Japan to push defense AI development
Agencies The top executive of a leading Japanese artificial intelligence startup said the Japanese government should focus more on the development of its own AI technology for defense applications in an increasingly deglobalized world. David Ha, the chief executive of Sakana AI KK, backed by investors such as U.S. chip giant Nvidia Corp, said his company sees growth potential in working with the Japanese government in the defense sector since the country's security environment is becoming severe with 'many adversaries around its neighbors.' 'Not many startups in Japan want to work in (the) defense side and (with) governments,' Ha said at a recent press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of presents 'an opportunity for our company to engage with the governments on developing defense-related solutions using AI,' said the CEO at the Tokyo-based startup known as a unicornan unlisted company valued at more than $1 billion. Technology plays a key role in bolstering information technology infrastructure, and AI is a core part of such technology to make information systems and cyber security more secured and efficient, the former researcher at Google LLC said. Since the United States has become more U.S.-centric, there is a potential for AI to become 'a bargaining chip for other countries,' if its services and models are so powerful, Ha said.
Kyodo News
24-05-2025
- Business
- Kyodo News
Nvidia-backed startup CEO urges Japan to push Defense AI development
KYODO NEWS - 17 hours ago - 12:31 | All, Japan The top executive of a leading Japanese artificial intelligence startup said the Japanese government should focus more on the development of its own AI technology for defense applications in an increasingly deglobalized world. David Ha, the chief executive of Sakana AI K.K., backed by investors such as U.S. chip giant Nvidia Corp., said his company sees growth potential in working with the Japanese government in the defense sector since the country's security environment is becoming severe with "many adversaries around its neighbors." "Not many startups in Japan want to work in (the) defense side and (with) governments," Ha said at a recent press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. It presents "an opportunity for our company to engage with the governments on developing defense-related solutions using AI," said the CEO at the Tokyo-based startup known as a unicorn -- an unlisted company valued at more than $1 billion. Technology plays a key role in bolstering information technology infrastructure, and AI is a core part of such technology to make information systems and cyber security more secured and efficient, the former researcher at Google LLC said. Since the United States has become more U.S.-centric, there is a potential for AI to become "a bargaining chip for other countries," if its services and models are so powerful, Ha said. Japan's Defense Ministry has been exploring greater use of AI in the defense sector, outlining its basic policy last year on fields such as detection and identification of military targets, command and control, and logistic support. But the policy stated there are limits to AI, particularly in situations without precedents, as AI learns from past data, and concerns over credibility and misuse remain as well. Sakana AI, established by Ha and two other co-founders in 2023, was awarded in March at a competition for defense innovation co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit and Japan's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, by presenting a system to predict pandemics and a system to detect AI-generated images. The name "Sakana" means "fish" in Japanese. The company's logo reflects its concept of using collective intelligence made of many small intelligences for their AI development by drawing inspiration from nature, like how small fish form a huge group. Related coverage: Chinese startup shows off applications of race-winning humanoid robot China startup unveils AI-powered humanoid robot priced at $27,500 Japanese university unveils AI program for medical student training
The Mainichi
24-05-2025
- Business
- The Mainichi
Nvidia-backed startup CEO urges Japan to push Defense AI development
TOKYO (Kyodo) -- The top executive of a leading Japanese artificial intelligence startup said the Japanese government should focus more on the development of its own AI technology for defense applications in an increasingly deglobalized world. David Ha, the chief executive of Sakana AI K.K., backed by investors such as U.S. chip giant Nvidia Corp., said his company sees growth potential in working with the Japanese government in the defense sector since the country's security environment is becoming severe with "many adversaries around its neighbors." "Not many startups in Japan want to work in (the) defense side and (with) governments," Ha said at a recent press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. It presents "an opportunity for our company to engage with the governments on developing defense-related solutions using AI," said the CEO at the Tokyo-based startup known as a unicorn -- an unlisted company valued at more than $1 billion. Technology plays a key role in bolstering information technology infrastructure, and AI is a core part of such technology to make information systems and cyber security more secured and efficient, the former researcher at Google LLC said. Since the United States has become more U.S.-centric, there is a potential for AI to become "a bargaining chip for other countries," if its services and models are so powerful, Ha said. Japan's Defense Ministry has been exploring greater use of AI in the defense sector, outlining its basic policy last year on fields such as detection and identification of military targets, command and control, and logistic support. But the policy stated there are limits to AI, particularly in situations without precedents, as AI learns from past data, and concerns over credibility and misuse remain as well. Sakana AI, established by Ha and two other co-founders in 2023, was awarded in March at a competition for defense innovation co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit and Japan's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, by presenting a system to predict pandemics and a system to detect AI-generated images. The name "Sakana" means "fish" in Japanese. The company's logo reflects its concept of using collective intelligence made of many small intelligences for their AI development by drawing inspiration from nature, like how small fish form a huge group.
Kyodo News
24-05-2025
- Business
- Kyodo News
Nvidia-backed startup CEO urges Japan to push Defense AI development
KYODO NEWS - 4 minutes ago - 12:31 | All, Japan The top executive of a leading Japanese artificial intelligence startup said the Japanese government should focus more on the development of its own AI technology for defense applications in an increasingly deglobalized world. David Ha, the chief executive of Sakana AI K.K., backed by investors such as U.S. chip giant Nvidia Corp., said his company sees growth potential in working with the Japanese government in the defense sector since the country's security environment is becoming severe with "many adversaries around its neighbors." "Not many startups in Japan want to work in (the) defense side and (with) governments," Ha said at a recent press conference at the Foreign Correspondents' Club of Japan. It presents "an opportunity for our company to engage with the governments on developing defense-related solutions using AI," said the CEO at the Tokyo-based startup known as a unicorn -- an unlisted company valued at more than $1 billion. Technology plays a key role in bolstering information technology infrastructure, and AI is a core part of such technology to make information systems and cyber security more secured and efficient, the former researcher at Google LLC said. Since the United States has become more U.S.-centric, there is a potential for AI to become "a bargaining chip for other countries," if its services and models are so powerful, Ha said. Japan's Defense Ministry has been exploring greater use of AI in the defense sector, outlining its basic policy last year on fields such as detection and identification of military targets, command and control, and logistic support. But the policy stated there are limits to AI, particularly in situations without precedents, as AI learns from past data, and concerns over credibility and misuse remain as well. Sakana AI, established by Ha and two other co-founders in 2023, was awarded in March at a competition for defense innovation co-sponsored by the U.S. Department of Defense's Defense Innovation Unit and Japan's Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, by presenting a system to predict pandemics and a system to detect AI-generated images. The name "Sakana" means "fish" in Japanese. The company's logo reflects its concept of using collective intelligence made of many small intelligences for their AI development by drawing inspiration from nature, like how small fish form a huge group. Related coverage: Chinese startup shows off applications of race-winning humanoid robot China startup unveils AI-powered humanoid robot priced at $27,500 Japanese university unveils AI program for medical student training
