Sumitomo Corporation is forming a business partnership with SCSK and Sakana AI to establish a framework for supporting AI adoption by companies in Japan and overseas. Sakana AI will develop AI models, SCSK will handle data preparation and integration with existing systems, and Sumitomo Corporation will promote customer referrals and the use of AI in the social infrastructure sector.
Sumitomo Corporation, SCSK and AI developer Sakana AI have announced a business partnership and outlined plans to jointly support the adoption of Japanese-developed generative AI. The partners will leverage the Sumitomo Corporation Group’s customer network of 100,000 companies to support AI adoption by businesses ranging from large corporations to small and medium-sized enterprises.
Sakana AI will be responsible for developing and designing AI models and developing applications, while SCSK will prepare customer data and integrate the systems with customers’ existing systems. Sumitomo Corporation, meanwhile, will refer customers in Japan and overseas and pursue the use of AI in social infrastructure fields, including urban development, as part of its own business.
Sakana AI was established in July 2023 and has attracted attention as Japan’s fastest unicorn to date, with its valuation exceeding $1 billion within a year of its founding. Its founder is David Ha, who was born in Hong Kong and raised in Canada and has research experience at Google Brain.
The partnership is reportedly rooted in an organization jointly founded and funded by Ha and Llion Jones, who, like Ha, previously worked at Google.