SoftBank-backed SB Energy aims to raise $500 million from Japan for U.S. IPO The proceeds from SB Energy's public listing in Japan will be used to develop and build data centers and power plants. SB Energy, a data center firm backed by SoftBank Group, is aiming to raise as much as $500 million in the Japanese portion of its planned initial public offering (IPO) in the U.S., following other major deals tapping the country's deep pools of capital. The company will start taking investor orders as soon as this month, according to a local regulatory filing Tuesday. The proceeds will be used for developing and constructing infrastructure including data centers and power plants. SB Energy, whose strategic investors include OpenAI and Nvidia, filed for an IPO in the U.S. this month. Mizuho Financial Group, Daiwa Securities Group, PayPay Securities, Rakuten Securities and SBI Holdings will act as the selling agents for Mizuho's U.S. arm, according to the filing.

Kioxia said to consider raising $10 billion in U.S. listing Kioxia is seeking to gain more liquidity in the U.S. by listing American depositary receipts. Kioxia is considering raising at least $10 billion by listing American depositary receipts, people familiar with the matter said, potentially joining other artificial intelligence-related companies seeking to tap strong investor demand. Kioxia has been speaking with lenders including Bank of America, Goldman Sachs Group and JPMorgan Chase on an offering that may take place next year, the people said, asking not to be identified because the matter is private. The Tokyo-based memory-storage maker is seeking to gain more liquidity in the U.S. with the listing after it repurchased billions of dollars' worth of shares in Japan, the people said. Selling ADRs may also allow Kioxia to join a semiconductor-focused stock index, they said. Considerations are preliminary, and details such as the size of the share sale and the bank lineup may change, the people said.

The company will partner with Japanese taxi firms Go and Nihon Kotsu to start a fully autonomous service in Tokyo in 2027. Alphabet's Waymo plans to bring its robotaxis to Japan next year as the U.S. market leader continues its global expansion. Waymo will partner with Japanese taxi firms Go and Nihon Kotsu to start a fully autonomous service in Tokyo in 2027, it said Tuesday. The companies expect to start with a small fleet and then expand gradually to 100 vehicles. Shares of Go, which manages Japan's top taxi-booking app, rose as much as 9.7% on Tuesday. The stock is up more than 40% since its initial public offering in June.

Daisuke Abe, an executive officer at Weathernews, explains about an AI weather forecasting model in the city of Chiba in July. Artificial intelligence is gaining ground in weather forecasting. Weather forecasts have traditionally relied on numerical weather prediction, in which supercomputers process observational data and simulate atmospheric conditions on the basis of the laws of physics. In recent years, however, AI-based weather models have emerged. These systems analyze vast amounts of historical data to predict future weather patterns. Meteorological agencies and private-sector companies around the world are now developing proprietary AI forecasting models.

Yoshihisa Kainuma, chairman of Minebea Mitsumi, says the company plans to focus on ballooning orders for its ball bearings, used inside AI server fans and humanoid joints. Minebea Mitsumi, one of Japan's biggest corporate dealmakers, is hitting pause on acquisitions to focus on its output of ball bearings, motors and actuators for AI hardware to chase lucrative returns from the emerging technology. The key supplier to Nintendo is eyeing climbing market forecasts for data centers and humanoid robots, and sees "unlimited" upside ahead, according to Chairman Yoshihisa Kainuma, who said the company has no current plans for deals. "We are so busy," he said in an interview. "It's more important for us to focus on the volume of work in front of us, rather than on M&A and pouring managerial resources into a new arena." In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Warnings from researchers at Anthropic that increasingly powerful artificial intelligence models could escape human control and even lead to the extinction of the human race have drawn attention in China, where policymakers have been preparing for some of the same risks. Beijing - Warnings from researchers at leading U.S. artificial intelligence developer Anthropic that increasingly powerful models could escape human control and even lead to the extinction of the human race have drawn attention in China, where policymakers have been preparing for some of the same risks. The U.S. and China are the two major driving forces of frontier AI development and the technology's global adoption. Both superpowers have been increasingly at loggerheads over each other's AI policies and industry practices, with these issues slated to feature prominently in bilateral talks later this month. Despite the race to develop increasingly powerful AI systems, regulatory frameworks and public statements from Beijing underscore how Chinese authorities regard the possibility of advanced AI escaping effective human oversight as serious enough to plan for. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

Trump dismisses AI safety alarm, says U.S. already has tools to police industry U.S. President Donald Trump speaks during a meeting in the Oval Office at the White House in Washington on Sept. 2. | REUTERS WASHINGTON - President Donald Trump said on Monday that the U.S. already has guardrails in place to regulate and prosecute AI companies, appearing to play down concerns expressed by industry leaders over the weekend about the misuse of artificial intelligence harming people. Public alarm about the potential danger posed by AI is growing, after Anthropic researcher Jacob Coxon said last week he had resigned, in part because the "people building AI earnestly believe that it could kill us all by the end of the decade." AI-related stocks fell worldwide on Monday after leaders of some of the industry's largest companies called for slowing the pace of the technology's development. "The only control or'guardrails' that AI needs is a STRONG AND SMART (High IQ!) PRESIDENT, and the U.S.A. has that, in spades!" Trump wrote on Truth Social, adding that China would benefit from the doubt being cast on AI development. Trump is scheduled to meet with Chinese President Xi Jinping next week in Washington. In a time of both misinformation and too much information, quality journalism is more crucial than ever.

SoftBank gets upsized $11.9 billion loan in OpenAI funding push SoftBank Group secured an $11.87 billion two-year loan from about 20 banks to support its investment in U.S. artificial intelligence firm OpenAI, exceeding its earlier $10 billion target. SoftBank Group secured an $11.87 billion loan to support its investment in U.S. artificial intelligence firm OpenAI, people familiar with the matter said, up from its earlier target of $10 billion. The Japanese conglomerate sealed the two-year facility last week, attracting commitments from around 20 banks, said the people, asking not to be identified because they're not authorized to speak publicly. The financing comes as some executives are now voicing the need to slow the pace of AI development due to escalating risks from the technology. OpenAI Chief Executive Officer Sam Altman said in an interview with Fortune that his company wouldn't proceed with a public offering this year as it addresses safety-related concerns.