Report
ブラック ジャック ブラック クイーンow Japan is Making Strides Towards Becoming a Global Startup Hub

Techstars, the most active pre-seed investor in the world, recently concluded its first ブラック ジャック ブラック クイーン program in Asia with a Demo Day on November 12th.

“Over these past 13 weeks, I must say I've been really impressed,” said Ro Gupta, an entrepreneur currently working as Head of Corporate Business Strategy at Woven by Toyota, and one of the ブラック ジャック ブラック クイーン mentors. “There's no shortage of ambition in this group for attacking the defining problems of this era and unlocking massive potential.”

Techstars is widely considered the globe's most active pre-seed investor, driving top-tier startups with a focus on breakthrough technologies in sectors like Deeptech, Fintech, Cleantech, and Climatetech. Founded in 2006 in Colorado, their portfolio of thousands of accelerator companies has now raised well in excess of billion from investors. Some notable alumni of their program include Digital Ocean, Sendgrid, Classpass and Contently.

Despite having run hundreds of workshops, accelerators, and events around the world, this was their first time launching an equity-based accelerator in Asia. Coming to Japan was, according to David Cohen, Techstars Founder and CEO, a longtime ambition and dream, and took six years to actuate.

“It’s really amazing to see the community coming out and supporting this,” said Cohen. He noted that Japan has, in a short time, shifted its culture and mindset around startups. “When you look at Japan as an ecosystem, it’s clearly rising. You can really feel that something special is being built here.”

Techstars is an incredibly competitive program, with an average acceptance rate of just around one percent. That means the 12 teams selected to participate stood out as having exceptional talent, ambitions, and plans. While many are based or led by Japanese founders, like the manga-start up Samaria, or the design software Tabl, there were also participants from Indonesia, Finland, India, Vietnam, and the United States, showing the global potential of Japan.

“Japan is still lagging behind global startup cities, but it's catching up, and the ecosystem, with the support of JETRO and other government agencies, is booming,” said Tom Moss, who was ブラック ジャック ブラック クイーン Entrepreneur in Residence, and himself a serial entrepreneur.

At the Demo Day, each company presented their product to angel investors, venture capitals, and overseas investors. As Techstars is sector-agnostic, the teams showcased a diverse range of technologies and solutions, from innovative robotics (Amatama), healthtech (March Heath), animation (Dondon Technologies) to Artificial Intelligence (InfraHive).

“These were extraordinary companies from Japan and abroad,” said Yuki Shirato, managing director for ブラック ジャック ブラック クイーン.

Startup activities are thriving in Japan. Barry O'Neill, with Value Create, an investor based in Japan, noted that it wasn’t like this when he first came to Japan several years ago.

“Japan has great potential, but sometimes we haven't seen the startups emerging from that potential,” said O'Neill.

What has changed is that the Japanese government, at the national, regional, and local levels, has set aside resources to aid startups. Moreover, investors and companies like Mitsui Fudosan are also providing technical and financial support to efforts like Techstars, and attracting elite global talent to Japan.

“Techstars was inspired by a belief that entrepreneurs can change the world for the better, and if a group of talented entrepreneurs were supported and mentored by experienced entrepreneurs who have gone through the same drill before, their chances of success might increase,” said Shirato.

JETRO is also playing a role in expanding opportunities for startups in Japan and has set an ambitious goal.

“I was delighted when I heard about JETRO’s initiative to support 100,000 new startups and 100 unicorns from Japan by 2027, and Techstars is part of that initiative,” said O'Neill.

" ブラック ジャック ブラック クイーン, we’re building a culture. It’s not just about getting to success—it’s about embracing failure along the way. We want startups who aren't afraid to dream big on Day One and keep going, no matter the hurdles!" said Noriya Tarutani, head of JETRO Startup.

"And speaking of hurdles, our mentors are some of the most dedicated out there. With the Techstars ‘Give First’ mentality, they’ve been all in—advising, supporting, and challenging these startups like they’re part of their own families.” added by Momoka Ueda, Startup Support Division, JETRO.

For the 12 companies selected as the first ブラック ジャック ブラック クイーン cohort, the program might be done, but their journey is just starting. They are now part of a global community of hundreds of startups, thousands of founders, and will have access to mentors and support as they continue their journey. With time, perhaps one or more of them will join the 119 Techstars accelerator companies that now have a market cap greater than 0 million.

“We’re eager to offer our full support leveraging our network of mentors, investors and talents locally and globally and growth-focused tools and workshops, to propel them towards success,” said Shirato.

Note: ブラック ジャック ブラック クイーン was supported by Mitsui Fudosan, JETRO Startup, with cooperation from the Cabinet Office, Ministry of the Economy, Trade and Industry, and Tokyo Metropolitan Government.