Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group has signed a three-year partnership with AI startup Sakana AI valued at up to ¥5 billion ($34 million) to overhaul its internal operations. The deal, announced Monday, represents MUFG’s largest digital transformation initiative to date as Japan’s biggest bank seeks to remain competitive in an increasingly tech-driven financial landscape.
The partnership centers on implementing Sakana’s “The AI Scientist” system, originally designed for automating scientific research, to generate banking documents and support decision-making processes at MUFG. A six-month pilot phase will begin in July, with wider deployment expected in the second year.
Sakana’s co-founder and COO Ren Ito will also serve as AI advisor to MUFG, helping shape the bank’s implementation strategy. This follows MUFG’s investment in Sakana last September, which made the bank the AI firm’s largest Japanese corporate investor.
“This is part of MUFG’s medium-term business plan to enhance its AI capabilities and data infrastructure,” said Hironori Kamezawa, MUFG’s President and Group CEO. The bank aims to increase return on equity to approximately 9% by fiscal 2026 through such digital initiatives.
For Sakana AI, founded in 2023 by former Google AI researchers and valued at over $1 billion, the deal represents a significant commercial validation of its technology beyond research applications.
