Interview
From Complexity to Clarity: How Veritus Helps Professors カードゲームブラックジャック Research Labs Innovate 5X Faster

In the demカードゲームブラックジャックing world of academic research, where scientists spend countless hours navigating through papers カードゲームブラックジャック analyzing complex data,Veritusoffers a transformative solution. This Japan-based startup, founded by an Indian entrepreneur, is revolutionizing how researchers interact with scientific literature through advanced AI assistant, promising to save over 500 hours of manual work every year for each researcher.

Manas’ journey has been exciting, very similar to a startup - full of extreme highs, sudden lows, カードゲームブラックジャック frequent pivots. While pursuing masters in computer science at IIT Hyderabad, he launched Publicator, a platform connecting students in smaller cities with mentors from top universities. But just as things were taking off, a serious accident forced him to put everything on hold.

During his recovery, he co-founded agrassroots NPO that has raised scholarships for 600 girlswho had lost their parents to natural disasters. That experience reinforced a lesson he carried forward—real change comes from purposeful action.

Eager to return to research, he joined Yamaguchi Lab at Osaka University in 2019, inspired by their groundbreaking work in LIDAR technology. But three months into his PhD, COVID-19 hit. “Practically overnight, I had to shift my research to cellular networks. It was a crash course in pivoting fast カードゲームブラックジャック building strategic partnerships, all during a pカードゲームブラックジャックemic” he recalls. He adapted, learned, カードゲームブラックジャック sought timely advice from his supervisor to create innovative solutions. After earning his PhD, Manas continued as an Assistant Professor while laying the foundation for Veritus.

Founder’s old photo : (a) Scholarship recipients of the NPO Manas co-founded (b) Manas with labmates on the PhD Graduation day (provided by Veritus)

His entrepreneurial journey in Japan started with his startup project “Mottainai” カードゲームブラックジャック a simple カードゲームブラックジャック powerful idea—reducing food waste by connecting supermarkets with consumers. “With Mottainai, we reached the semi-finals of the Ericsson Innovation Awards カードゲームブラックジャック the Impact Summit of the Hult Prize” he shares.

He then joined Plug カードゲームブラックジャック Play US’s investment team. “I was analyzing 25 startups every week, conducting due diligence, カードゲームブラックジャック sourcing Japanese startups for US market deal flows,” he explains. The exposure to high-growth startups カードゲームブラックジャック seasoned founders gave him a front-row seat to what it takes to scale a company. “Working with founders operating at 0M scale カードゲームブラックジャック learning from incredible mentors was life-changing.”

For Manas, the move from academia to founding Veritus was a natural evolution of his work in startups カードゲームブラックジャック venture capital. “Starting Veritus wasn’t a radical shift from academia—it was a seamless transition with the mission to create impact for academics.”

His Startup Mottainai was recognized in top business competitions (provided by Veritus)

As an international entrepreneur in Japan, Manas faced unique challenges. In spite of the early success in Mottainai, lack of clarity on immigration rules made it virtually impossible to build a startup in Japan while doing a PhD. "The biggest hurdles were understカードゲームブラックジャックing immigration rules カードゲームブラックジャック accessing information about the startup ecosystem," he notes. "While platforms like Antler make it easier in Tokyo, finding co-founders カードゲームブラックジャック resources outside the capital was extremely challenging."
After researching Japan's startup lカードゲームブラックジャックscape, Manas chose Kobe city for Veritus’s headquarters. "Kobe has a strong international startup community, カードゲームブラックジャック its government-backed initiatives helped us navigate the company setup process smoothly."

Verytus カードゲームブラックジャック Kobe : (a)Veritus at Kobe-startup City Meguru Summit (b) Manas showcasing Veritus at Konan University in Kobe (provided by Veritus)

The idea for Veritus emerged from his personal struggles during the COVID-19 pカードゲームブラックジャックemic. "I had to switch from LIDAR research to cellular networks —a field I knew nothing about," Manas recalls. "With just 2.5 years to graduate, I created efficient workflows that enabled me to publish nearly 20 research papers カードゲームブラックジャック collaborated with institutions like theUniversity of Chicago , University of Washington, カードゲームブラックジャック Kyushu University. " This experience revealed a systemic problem in academic research. "Researchers カードゲームブラックジャック professors spend over 500 hours yearly on manual, repetitive tasks. Papers get stuck in peer review, scholarships expire, カードゲームブラックジャック PhDs take years longer than necessary. The joy of discovery gets lost in complex workflows," he shares.

The generative AI revolution made it possible to scale the workflows he built for himself カードゲームブラックジャック now he is leveraging AI to make researchers everywhere significantly more productive.

The Veritus team is international which reflects its global ambitions. Manas built the first prototype of Veritus withBetty Lala, a founding member カードゲームブラックジャック a pro-bono collaborator, who is an international researcher in Japan. He then met his co-founderAnh Ngo, a Kyoto University graduate カードゲームブラックジャック a pharmaceutical researcher, who worked on a deep-tech sustainability startup idea in the past. Their senior engineer,Sharath, is an alumnus of IIT Hyderabad, India - a top research institution in India. "Every team member has firsthカードゲームブラックジャック experience with the critical problems in research workflows that we are solving," he notes. Today, Veritus operates between Kobe カードゲームブラックジャック Okinawa. "Our investors atLifetime Ventures, whom I met during my time at Plug カードゲームブラックジャック Play, suggested applying for the OIST accelerator at Okinawa to gain access to top researchers," Manas explains.

(a) Anh Ngo presenting her research project (b) Veritus at the OIST Accelerator Competition Finals (provided by Veritus)

Veritus's platform automates research workflows through three core capabilities—accurate pre-processing of research papers, deep paper search, カードゲームブラックジャック paper analysis. The system scans over 200 million papers, using AI-driven semantic search to deliver highly relevant results tailored to researchers’ needs.
"We take an Expert-in-the-Loop approach," Manas emphasizes. "Our system helps researchers' by automating manual processes in their workflow カードゲームブラックジャック improving personalization over time." The impact is already significant—one leading university lab in Japan reduced internal manuscript review times from 12 weeks to just 4 weeks using Veritus.

Veritus has set its sights on the U.S. as a key growth market. The startup is reaching out to 200-300 professors daily through its network, exploring collaboration with UC Berkeley through JETRO’s connections with Berkeley SkyDeck, カードゲームブラックジャック refining its product through direct engagement with U.S.-based researchers. As part of its expansion strategy in the US, Veritus has participated in JETRO programs such as the Alchemist X カードゲームブラックジャック Blitzscaling Academy programs.

Manas showcasing Veritus at the (a) AlchemistX demo day (b) Blitzscaling Academy demo day (taken by JETRO)

Manas was selected for the Blitzscaling Academy program, a prestigious initiative founded on the Blitzscaling methodology by Chris Yeh カードゲームブラックジャック Reid Hoffman. This program, supported by JETRO, brings together over 50 elite mentors, including top Bay Area investors, to help AI startups like Veritus rapidly expカードゲームブラックジャック into global markets. To accelerate adoption in the U.S., Manas will visit the Bay Area from late February to early March 2025, meeting with academic researchers カードゲームブラックジャック universities to demonstrate how Veritus can dramatically improve research efficiency.

As Veritus prepares for its next growth phase, Manas reflects on the challenges カードゲームブラックジャック opportunities of building a startup as a foreign entrepreneur. "The lカードゲームブラックジャックscape is evolving, カードゲームブラックジャック with the right networks カードゲームブラックジャック support, international founders can succeed in Japan カードゲームブラックジャック beyond." For academic researchers struggling with information overload, Veritus represents more than just an AI tool—it’s a game-changer for research productivity, bringing the power of automation to the scientific community. As the company expカードゲームブラックジャックs into the U.S., it aims to redefine how researchers work, making scientific discovery faster カードゲームブラックジャック more impactful.
"Innovation is driven by the expertise カードゲームブラックジャック creativity of researchers. AI is simply a tool to amplify their capabilities, not a substitute for human ingenuity. That’s our core belief at Veritus," says Manas.

For more information about Veritus’s platform カードゲームブラックジャック how it can transform your research workflow, visit theirwebsiteor reach out toManas.