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 ...
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 :
Shares of Japanese optical fiber maker Fujikura are up ~171% YTD, outpacing the Nikkei's 22% and lifting its market cap to $33B+ amid the AI data center boom
- Shares in optical fibre maker up 160% since start of 2025 — Founded in 1885, Fujikura started out making silk and insulated wires
Japanese chip material maker Tekscend rose 13% in its Tokyo debut after raising ~$1B in its IPO; Tekscend makes photomasks for moving tiny circuits onto wafers
Yasutaka Tamura / Bloomberg :
Singapore-based used car marketplace Carro raised $60M led by Japan sovereign wealth fund Cool Japan Fund to promote Japanese cars in the Asia-Pacific region
SoftBank shares are up 61% in 2025, making it one of Tokyo's top performers, on the back of AI and chip investments, as some investors question the upside
The Japanese investment giant's shares are up 61% this year, outperforming the benchmark Nikkei Stock Average's 8.5% gain. …
SoftBank reports Q4 net profit up 124% YoY to ~$3.5B, a surprise profit and above a ~$182M loss est., due to improving valuations of Alibaba, T-Mobile, and more
Japanese tech investment group says multiple sites in Texas are being prepared for launch of Stargate AI project
Japanese chipmaker Rapidus has been slow to attract private sector investment, with only around $49M invested so far, compared to $6.23B in state assistance
Nikkei Asia :
Kioxia's shares rose 6%+ on its first day of trading in Tokyo, giving the chipmaker a ~$5.2B market cap; a group led by Bain had paid $18B for Kioxia in 2018
Private equity group finally floats Japanese flash memory provider at a valuation far below what it paid in 2018
Japanese chipmaker Kioxia's dramatic valuation drop from $18B in 2018 to $5.1B in its upcoming IPO is due to its high debt and lower AI exposure than rivals
Kioxia is going for a discount due to its high debt and lower AI exposure than rivals — Japan's last blockbuster initial public offering …