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Ren Ito is Co-Founder and Chairman of Sakana AI, a Tokyo-based AI company developing foundation models and AI systems. Sakana recently introduced Fugu, an orchestration system that coordinates multiple frontier AI models to achieve frontier-model-level performance without relying on any single model provider, demonstrating a new approach to building resilient and interoperable AI systems.
Founded in 2023, Sakana AI became Japan’s fastest unicorn within a year. The company is backed by leading technology companies, including Nvidia and Google, and serves some of the world’s largest financial institutions as well as Japanese government agencies.
Prior to Sakana AI, Ren led the global expansion of Mercari, Japan’s first unicorn startup. He served as CEO of Mercari Europe and played a key role in the company’s IPO.
Earlier in his career, Ren spent 15 years as a Japanese diplomat. He worked on the U.S.–Japan alliance, participated in negotiations for the EU–Japan Economic Partnership Agreement, and represented Japan on the Board of the World Bank. He continues to contribute to discussions on AI governance, technology, and geopolitics as a member of Japan’s Growth Strategy Council, the Prime Minister’s advisory body on AI and semiconductors, and as a Senior Fellow at NYU School of Law.
Ren holds an LL.B. from the University of Tokyo, an LL.M. from NYU School of Law, and an M.A. from Stanford University. He is admitted to the New York Bar.
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