SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025: Asia’s biggest startup event gets even bigger!

JSTORIES ー On Jan. 30, Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike introduced particulars of SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025, Asia’s largest startup occasion, which can deal with fixing world sustainability points.

This would be the third SusHi Tech Tokyo. Final yr, the occasion’s World Startup Program was attended by round 40,000 individuals, sparking some 3,500 enterprise conferences. Notably, SusHi Tech’s many individuals from overseas give it a powerful abroad focus. Sixty % of the 434 corporations that attended final yr had been overseas.

Talking on the TiB World Day occasion, which kicked off the 100-day countdown till SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025, Koike mentioned that this yr’s occasion would be the greatest but, with targets to draw 50,000 individuals and 500 VCs from overseas, whereas facilitating over 5,000 enterprise conferences. She talked about three key focus areas: AI, quantum expertise and meals expertise.

She additionally introduced that, for the primary time, this yr’s occasion will characteristic a “Public Day,” giving most of the people, and notably younger individuals, an opportunity to study startups and their cutting-edge applied sciences.

Tokyo Gov. Yuriko Koike speaks on the TiB World Day occasion. Supply: J-Tales (Moritz Brinkhoff) (Identical under)

Along with speak periods, some individuals pitched concepts for startups in English. Japanese and abroad startups additionally gave shows and demonstrations to the media.

J-Tales’ govt editor, Toshi Maeda, spoke on stage as co-representative of the Tokyo Hub of Startup Island TAIWAN, a startup assist initiative backed by Taiwan’s Nationwide Improvement Council.

Maeda defined that final yr’s occasion featured round 40 promising Taiwanese startups. Taiwan can be nicely represented on the 2025 occasion, too, mirroring its long-standing presence in Silicon Valley, with many Taiwanese individuals concerned within the founding of unicorn corporations similar to Nvidia, in addition to YouTube and Yahoo. In the meantime, many Taiwanese startups have expanded into the Japanese market and grown into world unicorn corporations. Such collaboration between Taiwan and Japan is a robust driver of Tokyo’s startup ecosystem, he mentioned.

Toshi Maeda, co-representative of the Tokyo Hub of Startup Island TAIWAN.

One Taiwanese startup with a powerful presence in Japan that has grown into a world unicorn is Excellent Corp., which supplies options that use augmented actuality and AI, similar to digital make-up and pores and skin evaluation. Normal Supervisor and President Rob Isozaki spoke on the TiB occasion.

Perfect Corp. GM and President Rob Isozaki speaks at the event. — Excellent Corp. GM and President Rob Isozaki speaks on the occasion.

Different corporations which are on the verge of turning into unicorns, so-called “soonicorns,” additionally took to the stage. These included KKday, an internet journey company that gives considered one of Asia’s largest choices of genuine native excursions, and Crescendo Lab, which develops and supplies advertising options for LINE, the most well-liked messaging app in Japan.

From left: Toshi Maeda (co-representative of Startup Island TAIWAN Tokyo Hub), Anyu Lee (head of selling at Crescendo Lab), Rob Isozaki (GM and president of Excellent Corp.), Celine Chang (chief advertising officer at KKday), Chi Ko (model technique coordinator at Startup Island TAIWAN)

SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 can be held at Tokyo Massive Sight and different venues on Might 8-9, with a special occasion for members of the general public on Might 10.