Stripe to Acquire AI Gateway OpenRouter for Over $7 Billion
The acquisition, at over five times OpenRouter's last private valuation, would put a major payments platform in control of a gateway that routes usage across hundreds of AI models.
GIGAZINE
Industry
SpaceX Completes Its $60 Billion Acquisition of Cursor Developer Anysphere
The completed deal puts Cursor inside SpaceX with access to the world's largest GPU fleet, which Cursor says will let it build more powerful models at lower operational costs.
GIGAZINE
HarperCollins Launches KAZÉ Manga Imprint for U.S. Market
The U.S. launch extends the KAZÉ brand that HarperCollins acquired from Crunchyroll's French and German manga operations in July 2025, bringing its European catalog to the American market.
Anime News Network
Apple in Talks to Pay News Outlets for Siri News Access
The variable compensation model, paying per use rather than a fixed fee, would be an unusual departure from typical AI-news contracts and could set a precedent for how AI assistants license news content.
ASCII.jp
REXEV and Remixpoint Form Business Partnership on Storage Battery Aggregation
The partnership combines Remixpoint's customer base and sales capability with REXEV's energy management technology and market operation know-how, aiming to create a stock-type business model with continuous revenue from remote control and market operation.
ASCII.jp
SOBA OTOME Partners With Web3 Pet App LOOTaDOG
The partnership pairs financial education with Web3 entertainment to create a more accessible entry point for investment beginners.
ASCII.jp
Shogakukan Announces Findings From Third-Party Investigation, Salary Cuts
The publisher is moving from investigation to concrete policy, with executive salary cuts and a Human Rights Committee led by senior managing director Kumiko Hanazuka.
Anime News Network
ASOBISYSTEM and ORIGINAL Sign Capital Alliance for Global Japanese Culture Push
The alliance pairs ASOBISYSTEM's overseas market development with ORIGINAL's Time Out Tokyo network to build the business infrastructure needed to convert international interest in Japanese culture into sustainable revenue.
GameBusiness.jp
M Data and Domo Launch Connector Linking TV Metadata With Domo Platform
The partnership moves TV metadata from a reporting tool into an operational one, letting companies feed broadcast data into AI-driven workflows across retail, finance, food service, and other sectors.
GameBusiness.jp
New York Mayor Backs Bill to Make Amazon Hire Delivery Workers Directly
The mayor's endorsement adds political weight to a bill that would restructure Amazon's DSP model in New York, potentially forcing the company to take direct responsibility for thousands of delivery workers.
GIGAZINE
Anilink Portfolio Service Opens to Anime Industry
Anilink gives anime staff a self-managed record of their credits and work availability, addressing the difficulty of verifying staff rolls after broadcast and the burden of maintaining external databases.
GameBusiness.jp
Comture and Krugle Sign AI Platform Partnership for Legacy Systems
The alliance marks Comture's first concrete step in shifting its growth driver from headcount and utilization to AI use and companion support, as outlined in its new medium-term plan.
ASCII.jp
KADOKAWA Q1 Revenue Rises but Profit Falls as Game Segment Slips
The quarter shows KADOKAWA's game segment resetting after the ELDEN RING NIGHTREIGN launch year, with the publishing side carrying growth while the company absorbs production cost pressure and early retirement special losses.
Denfaminicogamer
Naver WEBTOON, MCST, Interpol Take Down 3 English Piracy Sites
The takedown shows Naver WEBTOON's anti-piracy team tracking rebranded sites and coordinating with international authorities to shut down major English-language piracy operations.
Anime News Network
Pacific Meta CEO Iwasaki Named Official Claude Ambassador
The appointment puts a blockchain-focused community leader in Anthropic's official ambassador program, with Iwasaki planning quarterly practitioner events starting in Tokyo this September.
ASCII.jp
Bluepass Capital Fund Invests in Nursing Care Recruiter CyXen
The investment backs a recruitment service that targets chronic labor shortages in Japan's nursing care and medical sectors, with the fund planning hands-on support for operational efficiency and business expansion.
ASCII.jp
Crunchyroll to Stream in Select Cars Through Appning by FORVIA
The partnership extends Crunchyroll's reach beyond traditional screens into the automotive space, starting with BMW and MINI vehicles and expanding to more than 40 brands.
Anime News Network
Sony and TSMC Sign Deal for Kumamoto Image Sensor Joint Venture
The joint venture formalizes a partnership announced in May 2026, turning Sony's existing Kumamoto factory into a shared hub that pairs Sony's sensor design with TSMC's manufacturing process for smartphone image sensors.
GIGAZINE
Manus Says It Will Return to Independent Operation
The reversal of Meta's acquisition, prompted by Chinese regulatory opposition, returns Manus to independent status and requires a data purge affecting users who generated data during the Meta ownership period.
GIGAZINE
Cygames Sponsors Dodgers Game, Gives Away Ohtani Championship Ring
This marks Cygames' entry into MLB sponsorship, extending its sports marketing beyond horse racing into American professional baseball, with a giveaway tied to Ohtani's championship legacy.
Inside, Game Spark, GameBusiness.jp
Uber Sells Entire Stake in Serve Robotics
The complete divestment signals the end of Uber's direct involvement with Serve Robotics, following a period of declining delivery volumes through Uber and a broader pattern of Uber investing in and partnering with numerous autonomous vehicle companies.
GIGAZINE
DMM Pictures Student Seminar and Mixer Set for August 31 With Hiroshi Kamiya
The event gives students direct access to a working voice actor and DMM producers, covering both craft and business, with a reception for candid career questions.
Anime Anime
BookWalker Global Opens Door to Comics Beyond Japanese Manga
The shift positions BookWalker Global to fill the gap left by Amazon's ComiXology closure, competing with Webtoon Entertainment and GlobalComix for the digital comics market.
Animenomics
SK Hynix to Invest 54 Trillion Won in New Memory Chip Fabs
The investment secures mid-to-long-term production capacity for AI memory demand, with the Yongin Y2 fab set to produce next-generation DRAM including HBM by 2029.
GIGAZINE