- Founders: David Ha, Llion Jones, Ren Ito
- Sector: Generative AI
- Location: Tokyo, Japan
The Opportunity
There’s a strong desire within the Japanese business community to leverage AI to enhance productivity and drive the next wave of innovation. The opportunity is clear, but realizing it requires solutions purpose-built for Japan’s unique business environment. Global AI platforms often don’t align with Japanese workflows and decision-making processes, while domestic solutions have historically focused on application layers rather than foundational research and infrastructure.
There’s an exciting opportunity to help Japanese industries realize the productivity gains that AI can deliver. What’s needed is a company that bridges world-class AI research with a deep understanding of Japanese enterprise needs.
The Solution
Sakana AI is building that bridge. Founded in 2023, the company develops sophisticated LLMs by combining multiple models to achieve superior performance and efficiency specifically for Japanese enterprises. Rather than offering off-the-shelf products, Sakana focuses on what they call “Layer 3.5” — the critical space between AI models and real-world enterprise applications.
In practice, this means Sakana AI delivers fully realized AI services, combining deep business insight with advanced AI capabilities to craft services tailored to each customer’s workflow. The result is AI that doesn’t just work in theory, but integrates seamlessly into how Japanese companies actually operate.
The company initially targeted two of Japan’s most demanding sectors: finance and defense. Already, Sakana is deploying solutions at MUFG and Daiwa Securities — Japan’s two largest financial companies — building AI systems that leverage deep domain expertise to engineer solutions tailored to these businesses’ specific workflows. Moving forward, the company plans to expand into manufacturing and other sectors, leveraging the expertise gained from these early customers to deploy high-quality solutions at scale.
Why We’re Backing Sakana AI
Sakana AI is led by globally renowned AI researchers David Ha (CEO) and Llion Jones (CTO), alongside Ren Ito, who brings exceptional business development expertise from his background in diplomacy and as former Head of Europe for Mercari.
David Ha’s journey — from Goldman Sachs derivatives trader to Google AI researcher to Sakana founder — gives him a rare combination of technical depth and an understanding of enterprise decision-making. Llion Jones co-authored the seminal “Attention Is All You Need” paper in 2017, the breakthrough that underpins modern AI. Together, they’ve assembled what is arguably Japan’s strongest team of AI researchers and engineers.
This combination of world-class research talent and sophisticated business execution is precisely what sets Sakana apart. Global AI companies haven’t successfully penetrated Japanese enterprises. Japanese AI companies bring valuable market expertise, and Sakana uniquely combines that local knowledge with world-class AI research capabilities to deliver sophisticated AI solutions built with an understanding of Japanese business requirements.
The company’s momentum reflects this unique positioning. Sakana became Japan’s fastest company to achieve unicorn status. At a time when addressing labor shortages and boosting productivity is a matter of national urgency, Sakana AI is leveraging state-of-the-art AI technology to drive operational efficiency and enhance resilience across Japan’s industrial base.
“Salesforce Ventures has been a dedicated investor in Japan’s tech ecosystem since 2011, and Sakana AI represents the next frontier of innovation,” said John Somorjai, President of Salesforce Ventures. “Their rare blend of world-class research and deep enterprise execution makes them a preeminent force in defining Japan’s AI future. We look forward to supporting Sakana’s journey as they scale alongside Agentforce, delivering a new era of autonomous productivity to Japanese industries.”
Looking Ahead
As AI implementation becomes indispensable across all sectors, we’re honored to support Sakana AI, which we believe is at the forefront of AI innovation in Japan.
We’re proud to participate in this Series B round alongside Factorial Funds, MUFG, Khosla Ventures, and Google, among others. We look forward to watching Sakana AI accelerate AI adoption across Japan, providing solutions that deliver meaningful transformation.
Welcome to Salesforce Ventures, Sakana AI!
