A selective look at companies building in Japan, South Korea and Taiwan. China is covered separately. Each note pairs a current move with what it could change.
Building frontier AI in Japan through nature-inspired intelligence.
The research lab is shipping products now. New Fugu models combine other models’ strengths, testing whether smarter coordination can challenge ever-bigger AI systems.
With 677,000 battery subscribers, its next test is making the swapping network self-sustaining—electric transport that works even when riders can’t charge at home.
Purpose-built inference silicon and systems for enterprise and sovereign AI.
Its inference chips are moving into Japanese data centers. The next test is giving AI operators a practical alternative to power-hungry GPU infrastructure.
Inference hardware and software designed for practical data-center power limits.
OpenAI’s 120-billion-parameter model has run on its chip. The bigger test is serving real AI demand without letting power consumption dictate the economics.
AI for legal teams to review, draft and manage contracts using attorney-built standards and company playbooks.
Contract review was the starting point. LegalOn’s new agents now chase missing details and draft agreements, attacking the busywork that keeps deals waiting.
Cosign
