Citi invests in Japan’s Sakana AI

Citi says the investment will help Sakana AI in its international expansion.

Citi’s Markets Strategic Investment unit has invested in Sakana AI, a Japan-based artificial intelligence (AI) research and development company.

This marks Citi’s first investment in Japan, according to a press release on 26 February 2026.

Sakana AI is developing new foundation models and enterprise-grade AI solutions using nature-inspired intelligence, Citi said. It has a track record of working with financial institutions to develop highly specialised AI models for financial domains.

Citi expects its investment to help Sakana AI further accelerate its international expansion.