From Hamamoto at TIMEWELL
This is Hamamoto from TIMEWELL Corporation.
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IVS2025 LAUNCHPAD in Kyoto
On July 3, 2025, fifteen startups with the potential to change Japan's future took the stage at IVS2025 LAUNCHPAD in Kyoto. Each presenter had six minutes to make their case. Part 1 covers the first eight — spanning materials science, space technology, environmental infrastructure, factory robotics, manufacturing AI, local hospitality DX, and a cultural approach to corporate innovation that has earned clients from Fujitsu to the Sapporo City government.
- Japan-Origin Materials Revolution: Energy and Space
- Waste and Manufacturing: AI Meets Environmental Challenge
- From Local Snack Bars to Global Conference Rooms
- Making AI Accessible: BOCEK's New Shape of Work
Japan-Origin Materials Revolution: Energy and Space
1. Advance Composite Co., Ltd.
AKIYOSHI of Advance Composite opened the competition with an entrance more entertainer than founder, and immediately made a serious point. "Every summer, news reports tell you to raise your air conditioner temperature to save electricity. That's because air conditioners account for 30-40% of Japan's summer power consumption." He held up the conventional iron compressor part — 4.6 kg — and explained: "Iron is the only material that meets all the requirements for this component. So no matter how heavy it gets, iron was the only option. Until now." He then produced the same component made with his company's new material: 1.6 kg.
The proprietary technology — "liquid forging" — forces molten material B into precision micropores in material A under high pressure, enabling combinations of materials at ratios and precision levels impossible by other methods. The equipment alone costs billions of yen; development took ten years; over 100 patents are planned in the coming years. The entry barriers are exceptionally high.
The environmental impact: the company's technology targets compressor efficiency improvements that could reduce global annual power consumption by 3% — equivalent to Japan running without electricity for 300 days. The market is approximately ¥320 billion, with regulatory tailwinds expected to accelerate growth. The company already works with virtually all major Japanese automakers and has confidential engagements with major overseas firms in AI processor and data center applications.
2. CarbonFly Co., Ltd.
Kimura of CarbonFly is pursuing the commercialization of carbon nanotubes — a material discovered in Japan and described by researchers as a "dream material." The properties are extraordinary: approximately 100 times stronger than iron, one-fifth the weight of steel, and capable of conducting large amounts of electricity. CarbonFly's ultimate application: the space elevator — a literal cable connecting Earth to space.
The cable requirements for a space elevator demand strength, lightness, and electrical conductivity simultaneously. Steel cable would collapse under its own weight at 45 kilometers. Carbon nanotubes are the only known material that could work. Based on over 20 years of foundational research by the company's founder, CarbonFly has achieved controlled mass production of nanotubes and has already manufactured 2,000-meter fibers and completed deliveries for a specific undisclosed project. The production equipment is proprietary and protected by multiple patents.
Waste and Manufacturing: AI Meets Environmental Challenge
3. JOYCLE Co., Ltd.
JOYCLE's Koyanagi addressed one of Japan's deepening infrastructure crises: waste management. Japan's declining population means fewer incinerators, longer transport distances, rising costs, and acute driver shortages. In Yubari — the municipality that declared bankruptcy — all waste is currently buried because incineration transport is not viable.
The JOYCLE BOX is compact enough to transport by vehicle, visualizes environmental, economic, and safety data in real time, and requires no kerosene or gas. Using electric thermal pyrolysis in an ultra-low oxygen environment (no open flame), it converts combustible waste to ceramic material at 1/100 to 1/105 of original volume — no combustion, no harmful emissions. The resulting material can be upcycled into eco-tiles, water purification ceramic balls, and other applications. An AI system optimizes energy usage and predicts hazardous gas formation for efficient decomposition.
¥120 million in revenue is already secured. For hospitals with 100+ beds, waste disposal costs ¥10 million or more per year — JOYCLE reduces that by 30-50%. The hospital market alone exceeds ¥160 billion in Japan. The Southeast Asia market, with its many islands unable to accommodate large incinerators, represents an ¥8 trillion opportunity; the company targets 1% market share for ¥80 billion in revenue.
4. CoLab Co., Ltd.
CoLab's Kawabata asked the key question: "Why, with so many automation robots available, do factories keep moving overseas in search of cheap labor?" The answer: assembly — the final and most difficult bottleneck in factory automation. CoLab's team, drawn from Keyence and university research labs, has embedded human-like capabilities into AI: "AI Visual Servo" for identifying assembly positions in real time, and "AI Sensing Servo" for learning precise force-controlled movements.
In live demonstration, the robot inserted metal components onto a moving steel plate to 0.4mm precision — a task difficult for humans to execute reliably on the first attempt. The same robotic hand completes sheet metal parts, cap connectors, electrolytic capacitors, and small audio jacks without switching tools. All AI configuration is done via screen interface without specialized programming knowledge.
5. Takumi Giken Kogyo Co., Ltd.
Maeda of Takumi Giken Kogyo is digitizing manufacturing quotation work — a domain that requires veteran craftspeople and can consume over 100 hours per month. "One mispriced quote leads to a loss, and the efforts of an entire production floor go unrewarded. At scale, this threatens the viability of factories across Japan."
The system accepts uploaded technical drawings, analyzes them with AI, instantly recommends comparable past projects, and marks differences from similar items. Each company's unique cost calculation formulas can be customized into the system — standardizing the knowledge that previously existed only in experienced estimators' heads.
Results: 50% reduction in quoting time; successful knowledge transfer from workers in their 70s to those in their 30s. Monthly cost from ¥100,000 positions it at the premium end of SME SaaS, but upsell rates at renewal exceed 60% and ARPA has grown at 140% CAGR. By 2030, capturing just 2% of Japan's 220,000 small manufacturers — 4,000 companies — would generate ¥12 billion ARR.
From Local Snack Bars to Global Conference Rooms
6. Snack Technologies Co., Ltd.
Sekigawa of Snack Technologies has visited snack bars across Japan and describes himself as "Japan's number-one snack bar enthusiast." His pitch quoted a scene from the film Your Name: "The convenience store closes at 9, there's no stylish café — but there are two snack bars." Snack bars are essential social infrastructure in rural Japan.
120,000 snack bars operate nationwide — more than twice the number of convenience stores. Market size: over ¥2 trillion. Yet 73% of people who want to visit one never have, because of the "door problem" — the opacity and social friction of entering an unfamiliar bar. Accounting is often opaque, operations run on thin margins, and the host mamasan's own isolation is rarely discussed.
Sekigawa's background: he previously sold a three-person plumbing company for ¥2 billion and took the casual workwear brand "Harusuido" to national scale. He ran snack bars himself to build proof of concept. The resulting system makes the "door" transparent: interior atmosphere, owner introduction, and pricing are visible before entry. A shared membership card enables check-in, automated payment, and instant itemized receipts.
Pilot stores: new customer visits up 8%, repeat rate up 12%, revenue up 15%. The business model takes 1% of transactions, reducing credit card fees from 4% industry average to 2.98% — effectively free for operators. Strategic partnership with Daiichikosho (Japan's major karaoke operator) is underway. Five-year targets: 10,000 snack bars on the system, 300 rolled up under management, ¥10 billion in combined revenue, ¥4 billion operating profit.
7. CGO.com Co., Ltd. (Gal-Style Brainstorming)
Bubbly of CGO.com arrived in full gal fashion to "Yahoo! Yeah!" applause. Her story: as a child too anxious to speak her mind, she dropped out of high school after being told on her first day to "go to Tokyo University," ran away to Osaka, and encountered gal culture — people with "a core sense of self, the courage to follow their intuition, and an intensely positive energy." Her insight: "Isn't that just entrepreneurial spirit?"
The Gal-Style Brainstorming rules are specific:
- No titles or hierarchies — use casual language
- Everyone gets a nickname
- Maximum reaction and encouragement
- No silence over 5 minutes
- Come in your favorite outfit
In practice, participants are assigned nicknames by the gal facilitator. "I like traveling" becomes "Adventure Tamken." Employees who initially resist gradually begin expressing real opinions, producing ideas that never emerge in conventional meetings. The intensely positive reactions ("that's amazing," "so good") create psychological safety that breaks down status barriers.
100 companies have adopted the system through word-of-mouth, growing 2.5x per year. Clients include Fujitsu, JR Freight, and multiple municipal governments. The Sapporo City deputy mayor said: "We could finally hear the hearts of our employees." A Suzuki executive described it as the ability to "demolish and rebuild the mindset needed for corporate transformation at overwhelming speed." The Gal Mind community has grown to 2,000+ members. Annual revenue target: ¥4 billion.
Making AI Accessible: BOCEK
8. BOCEK Co., Ltd.
BOCEK's Okimura opened with: "Work is a drag sometimes, right?" His platform introduces two AI agents: a slide-creation agent that generates complete presentations with images and diagrams from a single text instruction, and an information retrieval agent that answers "what's my meeting tomorrow?" by pulling from Google Calendar and running real-time web searches.
The key insight: over 70% of Japanese companies have adopted generative AI but struggle to put it to practical use. BOCEK's conclusion is that the problem is the UI. "Apps are the form that everyone uses." Their workflow editor lets users build custom AI applications by connecting process flows with no code — like linking nodes with string. The platform supports 2,000+ integrations and is compatible with models from Google, Anthropic, and OpenAI.
Part 2 covers the remaining seven presenters.
Reference: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ZlovKHZDL40
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