Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, Inc. MUFG, along with its subsidiaries, MUFG Bank, Ltd. and MUFG Innovation Partners Co., Ltd., has announced an investment agreement with Sakana AI K.K. (“Sakana AI”), an artificial intelligence (AI) research and development company. 

With this deal, MUFG has become Sakana AI's largest Japanese corporate investor.

Sakana AI, founded in July 2023 and headquartered in Tokyo, is growing rapidly. Within a year, the company achieved unicorn status with a valuation exceeding $1 billion.

MUFG’s Investment Aligns With Medium-Term Business Plan

In April 2024, the company outlined efforts to expand and refine its growth strategies, drive social and environmental progress, and accelerate transformation and innovation. Through its medium-term business plan, MUFG aims to add products and channels, improve balance sheet profitability and drive growth. With this, it aims to increase return on equity to around 9% in fiscal 2026.

A commitment to advancing AI capabilities and data infrastructure is integral to this plan to enable data-driven management, improve productivity and increase customer value. The latest move by MUFG falls under the theme “Accelerate Transformation & Innovation” pillar, which is one of the three pillars of the medium-term plan. 

As part of the same plan, in August, MUFG and MUFG Bank obtained approval for participation in the energy market from Tokyo Commodity Exchange, Inc. and the Japan Securities Clearing Corporation. In addition, MUFG Bank plans to acquire a 49% stake in eClear Co., Ltd., a subsidiary of enechain Co., Ltd., which operates in Japan’s largest power hedge wholesale trading marketplace, offering services for mitigating counterparty risks in wholesale power spot trading. 

In the same month, MUFG and MUFG Bank announced that they plan to invest in Globe Fintech Innovations, Inc. (“Mynt”), the firm that manages GCash. MUFG will invest $393 million in Mynt to extend its foothold in Asia’s booming digital financial market.

Our View on MUFG’s Latest Investment

MUFG aims to improve its AI strategy by leveraging Sakana AI's advanced technological skills and innovative model development approaches.

This, along with its previous efforts to expand its services and enter new sectors, positions the company to diversify its income sources, helping its financials in the long term.

In the past three months, shares of MUFG on the NYSE have gained 3.5% against the industry’s decline of 5.6%.

Image Source: Zacks Investment Research

At present, MUFG carries a Zacks Rank #2 (Buy).