Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based artificial intelligence startup founded by former Google researchers David Ha and Llion Jones, announced on Tuesday that it had secured $30 million in a seed financing round led by Lux Capital, with participation from Khosla Ventures.
The startup, aiming to position Tokyo as a prominent AI hub, plans to follow in the footsteps of OpenAI in San Francisco and DeepMind in London, according to Lux Capital partner Grace Isford. Despite not having products in the market yet, Sakana AI aspires to enhance existing AI systems by promoting collaboration among numerous smaller models, deviating from the conventional approach of creating a single monolithic model.
Sakana AI's unique focus also extends to developing AI models specifically tailored for the Asian market. Lux Capital partner Brandon Reeves highlighted the significant differences in functionality between Asian character-based languages and Western languages, emphasizing that Asian languages are under-explored in the realm of large language models.
The founders, David Ha and Llion Jones, both former Google researchers, have embarked on this venture to contribute fundamental improvements to AI technologies. Llion Jones, the fifth author on Google's influential 2017 research paper "Attention Is All You Need," played a key role in introducing the "transformer" deep learning architecture, the basis for widely recognized products like ChatGPT.
Lux Capital, known for specializing in deep technology investments across various industries, including aerospace and biology, expressed confidence in Sakana AI's potential. The startup's strategic focus on fostering collaboration among smaller models and addressing the unique nuances of Asian languages has attracted significant funding, aligning with the broader trend of growing interest in AI ventures.
