Japan to fund KDDI, four others to build AI supercomputer

TOKYO -- The Japanese government will give five companies, including telecom company KDDI, a total of 72.5 billion yen ($470 million) to fund efforts to develop artificial intelligence amid concerns about overreliance on U.S. technology.

The Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry has selected KDDI, cloud service company Sakura Internet and others, and will fund up to half of their individual investments. Sakura will be the biggest beneficiary, receiving 50.1 billion yen in government aid, followed by for KDDI, which will get 10.2 billion yen.