Google invests an undisclosed sum in Sakana AI, valued at $2.6B in November 2025, to boost Gemini's presence in Japan; Sakana AI gains access to Google's LLMs
Google joined Japanese startup Sakana AI's roster of backers in a move that bolsters chatbot Gemini's presence in a country eager …
Japanese NAND flash maker Kioxia's stock is up ~800% over the past 12 months, as AI demand and constrained NAND flash supply boost the chipmaker's pricing power
Japanese NAND flash memory maker Kioxia is up 500%+ in 2025 so far, outperforming all other MSCI World Index members, after its Tokyo IPO debut in December 2024
Artificial intelligence's insatiable appetite for data storage has delivered Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia Holdings Corp …
SoftBank Group was among the Japanese tech stocks that fell on December 18, as Wall Street's AI infrastructure spending worries crossed into the Asian markets
Lim Hui Jie / CNBC :
Japanese memory chipmaker Kioxia's stock falls 14%+ after a Bain Capital-backed entity sold $2.1B worth of shares at a discount, stoking AI valuation concerns
Bloomberg :
Japanese chipmaker Rapidus plans to start building a second plant in Hokkaido in fiscal 2027, aiming to make advanced 1.4nm chips as early as 2029
research and development on node to begin next year
General Atlantic purchases a $96M minority stake in Japanese HR software unicorn SmartHR, marking the PE firm's first growth equity investment in Japan
General Atlantic completed its first growth equity investment in Japan and plans to do more, citing an increase in entrepreneurship …
Tokyo-based Sakana AI raised a ~$135M Series B from MUFG, Khosla, Macquarie, NEA, Lux, and others at a ~$2.6B valuation, becoming Japan's most valuable unicorn
At present, we are seeing a record amount of capital pouring … eWeek : Sakana AI Becomes Japan's Most Valuable Unicorn Maija Palmer / Global Corporate Venturing : ‘Big in Japan’ is not enough — where ...
Apple and Japanese fashion house Issey Miyake launch the $150+ iPhone Pocket, a 3D-knitted fabric accessory, in Apple's first fashion deal since Hermès' in 2015
It's no secret that Steve Jobs's favorite fashion designer was Issey Miyake. The former Apple CEO adopted …
Japanese fintech JPYC launches a yen-pegged stablecoin, the country's first, and its issuance platform JPYC EX, targeting $65.4B in circulation in three years
Timmy Shen / The Block :