Two of Google’s top AI experts, Llion Jones and David Ha, have left the company to set up their own development studio in Tokyo. The new company, called Sakana AI, will focus on developing generative AI models, which can create text, images, and other content.
Jones and Ha are both experts in the field of generative AI. Jones was one of the co-authors of the paper that introduced the transformer, a neural network architecture that is now widely used in generative AI models. Ha is the former head of Google’s AI research arm in Japan.
In a statement, Jones and Ha said that they decided to set up Sakana AI because they believe that Japan is a “fertile ground” for generative AI research. They said that the country has a strong tradition of engineering and a deep understanding of human creativity.
Sakana AI is still in its early stages, but the company has already raised $10 million in funding from Google AI. The company plans to use the funding to hire more engineers and researchers.
The launch of Sakana AI is a sign of the growing interest in generative AI at Google. The field is still in its early stages, but it has the potential to revolutionize the way we create and interact with content.
In addition to Sakana AI, Google is also developing its own generative AI models. These include Imagen, a text-to-image generator, and PaLM, a large language model that can generate text, translate languages, write different kinds of creative content, and answer your questions in an informative way.
The launch of Sakana AI is a sign that Google is committed to the development of generative AI. The company is investing heavily in this field, and it is clear that Google sees generative AI as a key technology for the future.