Sakana AI
eDR89 out of 100, Above median. Effective DR. Open the scores section.Effective DR: 89/100. Above median. Measured by StartupHub.ai. Median 68.Agent27 out of 100, Bottom 25%. Agent Readiness. Open the scores section.Agent Readiness: 27/100. Bottom 25%. Measured by StartupHub.ai. Median 41.Sakana AI is a Tokyo-based startup developing efficient AI models using bio-inspired evolutionary algorithms to create capable, compact foundation models, with a focus on the Japanese market.
About
Sakana AI is a Tokyo-based frontier R&D company founded in 2023. They focus on developing highly efficient AI models, particularly for resource-constrained environments, by leveraging bio-inspired evolutionary algorithms to optimize model architecture and performance. Their goal is to create capable yet compact foundation models and AI solutions tailored for Japan's needs, working with both enterprises and the public sector.
Listed competitors
Mistral AI focuses on open-source, efficient LLMs, while Sakana AI emphasizes bio-inspired evolutionary optimization for compact models, potentially targeting different niches within efficient AI.
“As a strong user of ChatGPT and Claude, Mistral is just as good - and actually often quicker. Sure, each system has its own plus points…” r/BuyFromEU
Adept AI is building AI agents that can use software tools, whereas Sakana AI's primary focus is on the efficiency and architecture of the foundation models themselves.
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Public companies
Sakana AI is partnering with Google to customize Gemini for the Japanese market, but also offers its own LLMs and orchestration models that could compete with Google's offerings in certain enterprise segments.
Competing product: Gemini
Sakana AI's enterprise AI solutions and foundation models could compete with Microsoft's AI offerings on Azure, especially for Japanese businesses seeking localized AI.
Competing product: Microsoft Azure AI
Key facts
- Website
- sakana.ai
- Headquarters
- Tokyo, Japan
- Founded
- 2023
- Employees
- 264
- Total funding
- $349M (Funding Round)
- Business model
- B2B
Funding rounds
| Date | Round | Amount | Post-money | Lead investors |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 24 Mar 2026 | Funding Round | Undisclosed | ||
| 17 Nov 2025 | Series B | $135M | $2.6B | |
| 10 Jul 2024 | Undisclosed round | $19M | NTT Group | |
| 22 Jan 2024 | Series B | $135M | Lux Capital, Nvidia | |
| 21 Dec 2023 | Seed | $30M | NTT Group, Khosla Ventures, Lux Capital | |
| 25 May 2023 | Undisclosed round | $30M | Lux Capital |
Tech stack
Detected on sakana.ai, last scanned 25 Sept 2026. Run your own scan
- Analytics
- Google Analytics 4
- CDN
- Fastly
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Frequently asked
Is Sakana AI trustworthy and reputable?
StartupHub's Data Trust & Reputation score for Sakana AI is 65 out of 100, a generally safe rating, based on site security posture, privacy practices, malware and phishing checks, and public reputation signals.
How much funding has Sakana AI raised?
Sakana AI has raised a total of $349M in funding. The most recent round on record is Funding Round.
How many employees does Sakana AI have?
Sakana AI has approximately 264 people on record.
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Financial Services
Confirmed customers of Sakana AI.
SEC filings, insider activity, nonprofit links and pay benchmarks for Sakana AI:
Company details: from public sources. Funding: no announced round on file. Ownership: not yet claimed by the company. Scores: measured by named tools; each links to its method. Our rules
