Starting a Business with the Seeds of Hard Tech and Climate Tech Lying in Universities

Joint event for management talents who want to start a business in a deep tech startup.

EIR Joint Information Session and Reverse Pitch to be held on the same day.

Session 1: EIR Joint Recruitment Event
The EIR (visiting entrepreneur) system has begun to operate with the aim of smooth and reliable deep-tech startups. The EIRs in charge and current EIRs of each company will directly explain about the EIR system and answer the concerns of businesspersons who aim to start their own businesses. In addition, an attorney from the law firm ZeLo will give a special presentation on the legal knowledge required before founding a deep tech company!

Session 2: Reverse Pitch
The famous reverse pitch event that has created 23 deep tech startups. We invite professors from academia, mainly from Kyoto University, to reverse pitch their research seeds for social implementation. This year's event will be called "HardTech ClimateTechUp to five science front-runners will take the stage with the keyword, "The Future of Science. We will offer you a chance to turn cutting-edge research that will change the future into a business (social implementation). In addition, Mr. Nagao, Founder of Kyoto Fusion Ring, will take the stage as a special guest for a start-up session!

summary
Date: Thursday, May 15, 2025, 16:00 - 20:00
Venue: Tokyo Innovation Base (TIB) *Only real events will be held.
　　　https://tib.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/
　　　(SusHi Tech Square, 2F, 3-8-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo)
　　　The QR code for entry issued from the "TIB App" is required to enter the TIB.
　　　　Those who have applied will be notified separately at a later date.
Application:https://peatix.com/event/4338171/
Target: Those who are interested in starting a university start-up business
Capacity: 100 persons
　　　　In case of oversubscription, a lottery will be held.
　　　　Those who are unable to attend due to the lottery will be notified on Wednesday, May 14.
Admission: Free
Operation:Kyoto University Innovation Capital Corporation (Kyoto iCAP), ,Kyoto University Growth Strategy Headquarters, ,UntroD, ,ANRI, ,Law Firm ZeLo, ,BlueSeed.

Program
Session 1: EIR Joint Recruitment Event

16:00-16:20 Opening remarks, introduction of each company

16:20-17:00 Panel discussion
　　Mr. Ryo Matsumoto (Kyoto iCAP EIR)
　　Mr. Takahiro Kameda (ANRI EIR)
　　Mr. Kenta Yamato (CEO, KAICO Corporation)

17:00-17:30 Legal Knowledge You Need to Know Before Starting a Deep Tech Company
　　Mr. Daiki Matsuda, ZeLo Law Office

17:30-17:50 Business card exchange

17:50-17:55 Closing

Session 2: Reverse Pitch Event

18:00-18:20 Opening remarks, introduction of each company

18:20-19:10 Reverse pitch (10 minutes per person)
　(1) "Revegetation of former mine sites and heavy metal soils using native plants and microorganisms."
　　　　Keiko Yamaji (Professor, University of Tsukuba)
　　　　Kazuyoshi Ogawa (Assistant Professor, University of Tsukuba)

　(2) "Development of logic semiconductors (integrated circuits) that can operate in high-temperature environments.
　　　　Mitsuaki Kaneko (Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Engineering, Kyoto University)

　(3) "Vibration measurement technology using a high-speed camera"
　　　　Kohei SHIMAZAKI (Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Advanced Science and Engineering, Hiroshima University)

　(4) "High-speed, non-contact optical 3D shape inspection system
　　　　Tatsutoshi Shiota (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University)

　(5) "Development of user-friendly humanoid robots."
　　　　Toshiaki Yagi (Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University)

　(6) "The Core of Earthquake Prediction Lies in Communications! Toward its social implementation.
　　　　Ken Umeno, Professor, Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University

19:10-19:40 Startup Session (Nobuhiro Yagi, Director, Investment Division I, Kyoto iCAP, Kazuhiro Nakakoji, EIR, and Akira Nagao, Founder, Kyoto Fusioneering)

19:40-20:00 Round table discussion

20:00-20:05 Closing

Introduction of Speakers

Keiko Yamaji (Professor, University of Tsukuba)
1972 Born in Mito City, Ibaraki Prefecture
Mar 1995 Graduated from the Department of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Hokkaido University
Mar 1997 Completed Master's program, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University
Mar 2000 Completed Doctoral program, Graduate School of Agriculture, Hokkaido University, Doctor of Agriculture
March 2001 Postdoctoral Researcher, Forest Research Institute of Finland
Jan. 2003 Research Fellow of Forestry and Forest Products Research Institute, Japan Society for the Promotion of Science (PD)
Sept. 2005: Worked at the University of Tsukuba

Kazuyoshi Ogawa (Assistant Professor, University of Tsukuba)
1973 Born in Gifu City, Gifu Prefecture
Mar 1997 Graduated with a degree in Bioresource Sciences, University of Tsukuba
Mar 1999 Completed Master's program in Environmental Science, University of Tsukuba
Nov 2001 Withdrawn from Doctoral Program in Agriculture, University of Tsukuba
Dec. 2001: Worked at the University of Tsukuba
D. (Biotechnology), University of Tsukuba, Feb. 2004

Tatsutoshi Shiota (Associate Professor, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University)
2002 Completed Doctoral program in Organic and Polymeric Materials, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Tokyo Institute of Technology Doctor of Engineering
2002 Research Associate, Case Western Reserve University, USA
2004 Assistant Professor, Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology
2008 Associate Professor of Electrical Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Nagaoka University of Technology
2013 Associate Professor, Graduate School of Science and Engineering, Saitama University

Toshiaki Yagi (Assistant Professor, Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University)
D. in 2022 from the Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University. He has been an Assistant Professor at Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University since April of the same year. He is engaged in research on human-robot interaction and humanoid motion generation. He received the 18th Osaka University President's Award (2018), the 30th International Symposium on Artificial Life and Robotics Best Paper (2024), and the Social Impact Invention Award (2025) from the Kyoto University Growth Strategy Headquarters.

Ken Umeno, Professor, Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University
He was awakened to physics in the Department of Electronics and Communications at the School of Science and Engineering, Waseda University, where he became interested in chaos and the brain. Later, he studied complex systems as a Student Fellow at the Santa Fe Institute. D. in Physics at the University of Tokyo for his research on the foundations of chaos theory. After that, he worked on chaos AI as a RIKEN Basic Science Fellow under the guidance of a researcher who is called the father of AI.
As a researcher at the Communications Research Laboratory (CRL) of the Ministry of Posts and Telecommunications, he developed the world's fastest chaos encryption, and using this technology, he founded Chaosware Inc. in 2003 as the first start-up of the National Institute of Information and Communications Technology (NICT), and was its president until 2012. During the Great East Japan Earthquake in 2011, he had a hunch that earthquakes could be predicted, and he began researching the possibility, becoming a professor at the Graduate School of Informatics, Kyoto University in 2012. His research to date has blossomed, and he is convinced that short-term earthquake prediction is possible.

 

Ryo Matsumoto (EIR, Kyoto University Innovation Capital Corporation)
As a child, he wanted to become a researcher, hoping to someday realize the secret tools of the cartoon "Doraemon" by himself. He was in charge of research on peptide chemistry and regenerative medicine at the Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University. After joining Ajinomoto Co., Ltd. as a new graduate, he has been engaged in research and development related to taste and smell. After his business proposal for a next-generation seasoning was adopted by A-STARTERS, an in-house entrepreneurship program, he developed the world's first "electric seasoning," which adjusts the taste of food using electricity. In January 2025, he will join Kyoto iCAP to realize Japan as No.1 again by creating new industries through deep tech. His hobbies are fantasizing about the future, sweets/drinks, and binge reading manga. D. (Drug Discovery Science), born in 1991 in Nagano, Japan.

Takahiro Kameda (EIR, ANRI Corporation)
Born in Hyogo Prefecture. Joined Sumitomo Corporation as a new graduate and was mainly engaged in nuclear power and mining investment business. After returning to Japan from his stay in the U.S., he decided to change his career to a university-launched technology start-up and joined Microwave Chemical in 2020, where he experienced an IPO as a business developer. He is now seeking themes and technologies that have the potential to create the next era in the Climate Tech field. He has been playing lacrosse since he was a student, and still continues to play lacrosse in a very small way. He has been away from Kansai for 10 years and now feels guilty every time he unconsciously speaks in standard Japanese, which is a recent problem.

Mr. Kenta Yamato (CEO, KAICO Corporation)
After graduating from Yokohama National University with a Bachelor of Business Administration degree, he was assigned to Nagasaki Prefecture as a ship sales representative for Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Ltd. He started BRIO Corporation in 2006, took a company leave after two years, and completed his MBA (Business School) at Kyushu University Graduate School in 2015. He founded KAICO, a Kyushu University venture company, in 2018 while serving as a special associate professor at Kyushu University's Graduate School of Economics.

Daiki Matsuda (Attorney at Law, ZeLo Law Office)
Graduated from the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law in 2018, registered as a lawyer in 2019 (affiliated with the Daini Tokyo Bar Association), and joined the law firm ZeLo in 2020. His main practice areas include startup finance, M&A, public affairs, fintech, web3 (blockchain/crypto assets/NFT, etc.), venture/startup law, and general corporate. His main publications include "Strategy and Practice of Rulemaking" (Shojihomu, 2021), and his article "Practical Issues and Guidelines for Handling Startup Shareholder Agreements" (NBL 1242 (2023.5.15)).

 

Akira Nagao (Founder, Kyoto Fusion Engineering Co.)
In 2019, he founded Kyoto Fusion Engineering as a founder. He has served as President and Chairman of the Board, launched fusion businesses starting from lab-scale R&D, raised a cumulative total of over 13 billion yen in funding, hired more than 120 personnel, and promoted the establishment of subsidiaries in the UK and the US. With the know-how cultivated at the company, he has expanded the scope of his activities to include startup support and entrepreneurship education.　Prior to founding Eneris, he worked at Arthur D. Little Japan, where he provided strategic consulting services for new businesses and led the listing of Eneris Corporation, an energy startup, on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers market (now the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market), capital and business alliances, R&D, etc. He has a Master's degree in Mechanical Science and Engineering from Kyoto University, Japan. He holds a Master's degree in Mechanical Science and Engineering from Kyoto University.

Kazuhiro SMEJI (EIR, Kyoto University Innovation Capital Corporation; President, Yaqumo Corporation)
He became interested in nuclear research after the accident at the Fukushima nuclear power plant. While in school, he was involved in the development of Japan's first accelerator mass spectrometry instrument for measuring uranium isotope ratios, and has also been engaged in various applied research projects. He has received numerous awards from domestic and international academic societies, including the Atomic Energy Society of Japan, and participated in the decommissioning project of the Fukushima Nuclear Power Plant with the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology. After joining Dream Incubator as a new graduate, he was consistently involved in cross-border projects related to new business and industry creation, and invested in and provided management support to an AI startup company in the India office. In July 2024, he joined Kyoto iCAP to create a world-changing deep-tech start-up company by himself.
In April 2025, Yaqumo Corporation, a quantum computer startup based on research results from Kyoto University and the Institute for Molecular Science, was established.
Born in Thailand, raised in Malaysia, and holds a B.S. in Engineering from the University of Tokyo. He enjoys mathematics (especially geometry), reading and writing prose, and triathlon.

Nobuhiro Yagi (Director, Investment Department I, Kyoto University Innovation Capital Corporation; Deputy Director, Ecosystem Development Area, Growth Strategy Division, Kyoto University)
Currently an Investment Officer at KYOTO-iCAP, Dr Nobuhiro Yagi earned a PhD in pharmaceutical Sciences and accrued over 20 years of experience in industry before joining KYOTO-iCAP. He worked for Kyowa Hakko Kirin for 18 years and assumed many different positions, including R&D and Business Development of Biopharmaceutical products. He also served as a scientist for several academic research institutes such as Kyoto University, RIKEN, Tokyo University, and UC San Diego. He has obtained extensive experience in the planning and management of open innovation through industry-academia collaboration and in the development of intellectual property strategies in considering commercialization. In his present position, he focuses on technology driven startups based on Biology, Material science, and Mechanical engineering.

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Handling of Personal Information

Personal information provided upon application will be handled appropriately in accordance with the privacy policy of the following companies.
＜Privacy Policy
Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd.
UntroD
ANRI
Law Firm ZeLo
BlueSeed.

<Contact us
Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co.ecc-icap@kyoto-unicap.co.jp

Please note that this event is subject to change or cancellation due to various circumstances. In such cases, we will notify you of the change or cancellation by posting on the website and by e-mail to all applicants.