After working at NTT Laboratories, he has led corporate strategy and commercialization of research at ATR. He drives Keihanna Science City's global innovation ecosystem and startup platform, and has led startup and innovation initiatives for Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai and Keihanna Expo 2025.

A serial entrepreneur with 20 years of experience, he successfully grew an insurance brokerage into one of the top 50 firms in its domestic market. Drawing on extensive expertise in business growth and scaling, he continues to lead innovative approaches to creating new value. He developed a distinctive concept of building a “layer of trust” on top of existing technologies rather than replacing them. He holds multiple U.S. patents related to zero-knowledge architecture and AI digital twins and is actively driving innovation in advanced technology development. He is also an alumnus of ATR’s KGAP+ Batch 14.

He completed the doctoral coursework in Information Science at Nara Institute of Science and Technology in 2013 and received his Ph.D. in Science the same year. From 2013, he conducted research at the Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR), focusing on decoding human mental imagery using fMRI. Since joining NTT in 2021, he has been engaged in the development and application of brain information analysis technologies using deep learning for visual and language processing. Profile: By combining fMRI measurements of human brain activity with brain-inspired computational models, he is advancing cutting-edge research in brain information analysis. His work seeks to understand how information related to subjective experiences is represented and constructed in the brain, using deep learning and other advanced technologies to uncover the fundamental mechanisms underlying complex human perception and cognition.

He conducted research on peptide chemistry and regenerative medicine at the Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University, and holds a Ph.D. in Drug Discovery Science. After joining Ajinomoto Co., Inc., he worked in R&D related to taste and smell. Following the selection of his next-generation seasoning concept through the company’s internal entrepreneurship program, A-STARTERS, he developed the world’s first “electric seasoning” technology, which uses electricity to adjust the taste of food. Inspired by a childhood dream, he has led the development of innovative food technologies, including electric seasoning, as well as the growth of multiple new businesses. He is currently focused on creating new industries and bringing deep-tech innovations into society through his work with Kyoto iCAP. He continues to pursue a richer future in which food and well-being contribute to a better quality of life.

She is involved in building innovation ecosystems and in planning and managing KGAP+, a program that supports deep-tech startups from around the world in entering the Japanese market. She has many years of experience in international work, including support for overseas researchers, and brings extensive expertise in business development, branding and communications, as well as cross-cultural understanding and communication.

A dual French-Algerian national, he grew up speaking both French and Arabic. With programming experience from an early age, extensive travel across multiple continents, language study in Sydney, and time spent in Japan, he later pursued studies in AI and worked for four years as a Data & AI Consultant at Avanade. Alongside his professional work across multiple organizations, he has been involved in filmmaking since 2004, producing short films as well as the feature film The Far-off Haven. In 2023, he launched Al Safar Ila AlYaban, a museum project focused on Japanese culture, and continues to pursue a wide range of activities that connect cultures and people.

Graduated from the Graduate School of Engineering, Nagoya University. Since 2000, he has worked in R&D, technology marketing, and business development. His work focuses on enhancing the value of multisensory experiences and creating environments that are comfortable and suitable for everyone. He promotes co-creation with startups and therapeutic and educational facilities in Japan and overseas, working toward a more inclusive future society where everyone can choose a place where they feel they belong.

He graduated from the Department of Electrical and Electronic Engineering, Faculty of Engineering, Kobe University, and completed both the master’s and doctoral programs in Adaptive Machine Systems at the Graduate School of Engineering, Osaka University. Profile: He conducts research in Human-Robot Interaction (HRI), exploring how people can build richer and more meaningful relationships with robots and artificial agents. With a particular focus on “social touch,” he studies the computational mechanisms underlying tactile interaction and applies these insights to robotics. His work aims to create warm, tactile connections between people and technology and to open up new possibilities for communication in the future.

Background: Completed the master’s program at the Graduate School of Engineering Science, Osaka University, and the doctoral program in Cognitive Brain Systems. Profile: A globally recognized researcher working at the forefront of artificial intelligence and neurotechnology. He has received numerous international honors, including recognition by MIT as an innovator of the year and selection as a young researcher by the New York Academy of Sciences. While also active as a researcher at ATR, he promotes the real-world application of advanced healthcare technologies and presents future-oriented innovations on stages in Japan and abroad, including Expo 2025 Osaka, Kansai.

Originally from Sweden, he has built experience in startup investment and finance in locations including Hong Kong and Dublin, and now works as a venture developer specializing in cross-border innovation between Europe and Japan. Over the past five years, he has led collaboration with early-stage companies across the Nordic region. Since 2022, he has focused on Japan’s innovation ecosystem, continually exploring new ways to build stronger cross-border connections among entrepreneurs, investors, corporations, and institutions in Japan and Europe.

Graduated from the Faculty of Agriculture at Tokyo University of Agriculture. She developed expertise in the life sciences, with a focus on molecular and genetic biology and PCR analysis. In her previous role in the food industry, she spent six years in production engineering, serving as a chief leader responsible for production-line operations and management, process improvement, and optimization. Building on her hands-on experience and expertise in food manufacturing, she promotes the digitalization of scent and the industrial application of AI technologies. Drawing on a distinctive career spanning research, manufacturing, and business development, she works to translate scientific knowledge into practical business applications. She is passionate about combining human sensory perception with cutting-edge digital technologies to unlock new possibilities for olfactory data.

After completing graduate studies at Johns Hopkins University, he worked at Goldman Sachs and later co-founded a social business. He then studied at the Blavatnik School of Government, University of Oxford, where he also conducted policy research as a visiting researcher. Drawing on diverse experiences in the United States, the United Kingdom, and Japan, he explores differences in culture and sensory perception. In 2022, he founded Godot Inc. and has since led research and development at the intersection of behavioral change and AI. He holds 15 related patents and continues to advance real-world applications that use AI to expand sensory input and embodied experiences, shaping how people create meaning and change their behavior.