SMFG doubles AI budget to 100 billion yen, CEO Nakashima says

SMFG's AI push did not start with the larger number. The group first announced a 50 billion yen investment framework in November 2024, then expanded it to 100 billion yen this year. That sequencing matters: the decision to double the budget came after the group had already begun putting money to work, not as a cold start.

The executive framing is unusually candid about uncertainty. Nakashima's line that the group does not know what will hit, so it should try many things, sits alongside a claim of near-certainty that AI will make business look completely different in five years. Those two ideas sit together as the rationale for spending now rather than waiting for clarity.

Operationally, the group says more than 100 AI projects of a certain size are already running, but how far each will deliver results is still being assessed. The stated end goal goes beyond cost reduction — SMFG wants AI to reshape lending and asset management, its existing business models, rather than simply automate tasks.