Japan and U.S. announce five-year, $1 billion joint plan to develop AI-powered scientific technologies

Japan and the U.S. governments announced a five-year plan to jointly provide $1 billion for development of scientific technologies using AI, with each government contributing $500 million. The collaboration is part of the U.S. Genesis Mission and makes Japan the first country to cooperate in this initiative.

The two countries will work together on joint projects among U.S. national laboratories and Japanese institutes including Riken and the University of Tokyo to develop AI- and robotics-powered next-generation autonomous laboratories that conduct complex experiments automatically. The plan targets advanced science fields such as quantum technologies, nuclear fusion, and biotechnologies.

The U.S. government plans to double productivity in the science field over the next decade under Genesis Mission, which the administration announced last November to accelerate research by leveraging supercomputers, AI, and government-held scientific data. Major U.S. technology companies including OpenAI, Anthropic, and Nvidia are members of the project.