AEA 2023

2023 Award Outline

Date Thursday, October 26th, 2023
※JST 10:00~19:00
Method ONLINE
Host Asian Entrepreneurship Award Steering Committee
Co-hosts Division of University Corporate Relations – The University of Tokyo
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
TX Entrepreneur Partners General Incorporated Association (TEP)
The Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs General Incorporated Association (JASVE)
Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO)
Kashiwa city
Official Language English (Some parts may be in Japanese. Simultaneous interpretation available.)
*Startups may make presentations in Japanese, but if you do so, please note that you will not be considered as a candidate for judgement at the AEA main competition.

Award Procedures

(1) Selected 10 companies present their business plans at the final session.

(2) At the final session, finalists will make a 10-minute presentation. After a fair judgement, prize winners of each prize will be elected.


Judging Criteria

(1) Innovativeness, commercial viability and social impact of the business, with consideration given to the potential of the business to expand and bring about changes in the global economy and society.

(2) Business performance, which includes the nominee’s competitive advantages, management team, strategic vision, and communication capabilities, including presentation skills.

(3) Possibility of collaboration with Japanese large corporations or expansion of business in Japan backed by it’s business model and roadmap.

<Only for Kashiwa-no-ha Award entrants>
(4)Utilization of “Kashiwanoha Innovation Field”
(How you would evolve your products or services as a result of the demonstration at Kashiwa-no-ha.)


Awards

【Asian Entrepreneurship Award】
・First Prize:3 million JPY
・Second Prize:1 million JPY
・Third Prize:500,000 JPY
・Kashiwa-no-ha Prize:Award money (TBD) + Support towards a demonstration in Kashiwa-no-ha smart city

【Special Award】
*Microsoft Award:

Once selected, the following resources will be provided.
l Microsoft Azure maximum $150,000 /4 years
l Visual Studio Enterprise
l GitHub Enterprise
l Microsoft 365
l PowerPlatform
l Dynamics365
l Partner Solution:
Ø OpenAI
Ø Bubble
Ø Miro
Ø Stripe
Ø Linkedin

*Fujitsu Accelerator Award:We will provide opportunities for startups to co-create Fujitsu smart city projects to engage in discussions with Fujitsu business unit.

*IP Bridge Award:The winner, a company that contributes to the creation of people’s future and whose products have the potential to be implemented in Japan, can take 3 times of IP consulting service by IP Bridge, Inc by the end of 2023.

*Life Science Award:
1. Support for scheduling 1on1 meeting with companies in LINK-J network during business trip to Japan and PR support at LINK-J website after consultation with LINK-J.
2. Posting an interview article of the award-winning company on website of LINK-J (Life Science Innovation Net.
3. (Japanese startups only) One-year free membership of LINK-J

*The Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs Award:The award is given by JASVE to the most excelling team in solving problems with an entrepreneurship mindset.


Qualification for Entry

Startup companies must meet all of the following requirements.

(1)Must be a technology based startup company which has solution related to either Life Science & Healthcare / Mobility / Energy & EnvironmentSustainability.
— Must be a company. Individuals or research labs are not accepted.
— ”Technology based startup company” is a startup which has it’s own technology as the core of it’s business model.

(2) Must be an early stage startup which has completed PoC (Proof of Concept), and is able to communicate with a specific customer by using prototypes, samples or mockups.
— No conditions are required for number of years from establishment nor number of employees.
— Startups invested by VCs or planned to be invested are acceptable, but the capital amount must be basically 3M USD or under.
— Public companies or affiliates of large corporations are not accepted.

(3) Must be nominated by a person responsible for startup supports at a university, research institute, or private incubator, accelerator or any other startup supporting organizations.

(4) Startup company must be able to participate in all the programs held on October 26th, 2023.
— Your absence to some programs can be reasons for disqualification.
— Nominators are expected to support their startup nominee’s preparation towards the participation in the AEA program.

(5)Japanese companies must have the intention of expanding their business overseas. Non-Japanese companies must have a specific interest in the Japanese market or a strong desire to work with Japanese companies and develop business in Japan.
In addition, they must be prepared to facilitate discussions with Japanese companies in order to enter the Japanese market and collaborate with Japanese companies.

<Only for Kashiwa-no-ha Award entrants>
(6)Must be willing to do PoB (Proof of business) in Kashiwa-no-ha.


2023 Program

The AEA 2023 will bring together 20 selected startups from across Asia providing solutions in the areas of healthcare, work & lifestyle reform, and sustainability, all of which have become key issues globally. During the event, the startups will deliver business presentations showcasing their services and products, with the winners being selected on the basis of a wide range of criteria. These will include innovativeness, the social and economic impact of their products and services, their commercial viability, the potential for collaboration with Japanese companies, and the opportunity for business expansion in Japan. The event will be held online.

* Program detail is subject to change without notice.  

■Thursday, October 26, 2023

10:00-10:10(JST) Greetings from Chairman of AEA Steering Committee

Dr. Shigeo Kagami

Chairman of Asian Entrepreneurship Award Steering Committee
Professor, Department of Technology Management for Innovation,
Graduate School of Engineering
The University of Tokyo

10:10-10:20(JST) Orientation
10:20-10:30(JST) Introduction to Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City
10:30-12:00(JST) Final Session①(3 startup teams)

10-minute presentation will be followed by 15-minute Q&A session of 10 startup teams.

AIRS Inc.(South Korea)

Healthcare / Medical

SANGHYUN JOUNG

CEO



Dai3mimi Health-Tech Limited(Hong Kong)

Healthcare / Medical

STEPHEN LAM

Founder , CEO & Product Creator



Liaoning Jiayu Technology Co., LTD(China)

Healthcare / Medical

KUAN LU

General Manager

12:00-13:00(JST) BREAK
13:00-14:55(JST) Final Session②(4 statup teams)

10-minute presentation will be followed by 15-minute Q&A session of 10 startup teams.

Huijia Health Corporation(Taiwan)

Healthcare / Medical

SHU CHEN YANG

CEO



I2Cool Limited(Hong Kong)

Transportation / Infrastructure

YIHAO ZHU

Co-founder



Nabsolute Co., Ltd(Thailand)

Healthcare / Medical

PUTTIMON SRIBONFHA

CEO



Ostic Pharma Pvt Ltd(India)

Biotechnology/Food/Agriculture/Environment/Healthcare/ Medical

VINAY SAINI

Managing Director

14:55-15:05(JST) BREAK
15:05-16:20(JST) Final Session③(3 statup teams)

10-minute presentation will be followed by 15-minute Q&A session of 10 startup teams.

BioPhenolics Inc.(Japan)

Biotechnology

NUKUI NORIYUKI

CEO



Castomize Technologies Pte. Ltd.(Singapore)

Healthcare / Medical

ABEL JUN HIENG TEO

CEO



Yanekara Inc.(Japan)

AI/IoT/Apps/Software Transportation/Infrastructure

DAICHI YOSHIOKA

Co-Founder and COO

16:20-16:30(JST) BREAK
16:30-17:10(JST) AEA Alumni Speech

Dr. Karlos Ishac

CEO, Lifeform AI

17:10-17:20(JST) BREAK
17:20-18:05(JST) Special Speech

Mr. Hironobu Yoshikawa

General Partner, Carbide Ventures /
Founder & Chairman of the Board, Treasure Data

Mr. Yoshikawa is a Japanese entrepreneur currently residing in Silicon Valley. 2011, he co-founded Treasure Data, Inc. in Mountain View, U.S., and has served as CEO since its inception. In July 2018, Treasure Data was acquired by Arm, Inc. for approximately $600 million, after several years of service as Arm’s Director of Data Operations, Treasure Data re-established itself under the SoftBank Vision Fund and became Chairman of the Board. In August 2021, he founded Carbide Ventures with members from Treasure Data and others. With offices in Silicon Valley and Tokyo, he invests in enterprise Saas and other startups mainly in Japan and the US.
Mr. Yoshikawa background movie


Dr. Shigeo Kagami

Chairman of Asian Entrepreneurship Award Steering Committee

18:05-18:20(JST) BREAK
18:20-19:00(JST) Announcement of the Winners

10:00-10:10(JST) Greetings from Chairman of AEA Steering Committee

Dr. Shigeo Kagami

Chairman of Asian Entrepreneurship Award Steering Committee
Professor, Department of Technology Management for Innovation,
Graduate School of Engineering
The University of Tokyo

10:10-10:20(JST) Orientation
10:20-10:30(JST) Introduction to Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City
10:30-12:00(JST) Final Session①(3 startup teams)

10-minute presentation will be followed by 15-minute Q&A session of 10 startup teams.

AIRS Inc.(South Korea)

Healthcare / Medical

SANGHYUN JOUNG

CEO



Dai3mimi Health-Tech Limited(Hong Kong)

Healthcare / Medical

STEPHEN LAM

Founder , CEO & Product Creator



Liaoning Jiayu Technology Co., LTD(China)

Healthcare / Medical

KUAN LU

General Manager

12:00-13:00(JST) BREAK
13:00-14:55(JST) Final Session②(4 statup teams)

10-minute presentation will be followed by 15-minute Q&A session of 10 startup teams.

Huijia Health Corporation(Taiwan)

Healthcare / Medical

SHU CHEN YANG

CEO



I2Cool Limited(Hong Kong)

Transportation / Infrastructure

YIHAO ZHU

Co-founder



Nabsolute Co., Ltd(Thailand)

Healthcare / Medical

PUTTIMON SRIBONFHA

CEO



Ostic Pharma Pvt Ltd(India)

Biotechnology/Food/Agriculture/Environment/Healthcare/ Medical

VINAY SAINI

Managing Director

14:55-15:05(JST) BREAK
15:05-16:20(JST) Final Session③(3 statup teams)

10-minute presentation will be followed by 15-minute Q&A session of 10 startup teams.

BioPhenolics Inc.(Japan)

Biotechnology

NUKUI NORIYUKI

CEO



Castomize Technologies Pte. Ltd.(Singapore)

Healthcare / Medical

ABEL JUN HIENG TEO

CEO



Yanekara Inc.(Japan)

AI/IoT/Apps/Software Transportation/Infrastructure

DAICHI YOSHIOKA

Co-Founder and COO

16:20-16:30(JST) BREAK
16:30-17:10(JST) AEA Alumni Speech

Dr. Karlos Ishac

CEO, Lifeform AI

17:10-17:20(JST) BREAK
17:20-18:05(JST) Special Speech

Mr. Hironobu Yoshikawa

General Partner, Carbide Ventures /
Founder & Chairman of the Board, Treasure Data

Mr. Yoshikawa is a Japanese entrepreneur currently residing in Silicon Valley. 2011, he co-founded Treasure Data, Inc. in Mountain View, U.S., and has served as CEO since its inception. In July 2018, Treasure Data was acquired by Arm, Inc. for approximately $600 million, after several years of service as Arm’s Director of Data Operations, Treasure Data re-established itself under the SoftBank Vision Fund and became Chairman of the Board. In August 2021, he founded Carbide Ventures with members from Treasure Data and others. With offices in Silicon Valley and Tokyo, he invests in enterprise Saas and other startups mainly in Japan and the US.
Mr. Yoshikawa background movie


Dr. Shigeo Kagami

Chairman of Asian Entrepreneurship Award Steering Committee

18:05-18:20(JST) BREAK
18:20-19:00(JST) Announcement of the Winners


Special Sponsors


Platinum Sponsors


Gold Sponsors


Silver Sponsors


Media Partners


Partners


2023 Startup Entrants


2023 Winners

ASIAN ENTREPRENEURSHIP AWARD 2023 Winners

Award winners were selected among 10 finalists who gave presentations at the Final session on 26th October, 2023. The 10 finalists were selected out of 20 semi-finalists at the semi-final session held in mid September.

Announced at 19:00 Thursday, 26 October, 2022

 

 

■First Prize:

Award 3 million JPY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

I2 Cool Limited.

Hong Kong

 

 

 

 

 

YIHAO ZHU

Co-founder

 

 

 

■Second Prize:

Award 1 million JPY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yanekara Inc.

Japan

 

 

 

 

 

DAICHI YOSHIOKA

Co-Founder and COO

 

 

  

 

■Third Prize:

Award 500,000 JPY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Castomize Technologies Pte. Ltd.

Singapore

 

 

 

 

 

ABEL JUN HIENG TEO

CEO

 

 
 
 
 
 
 

■Kashiwa-no-ha Prize:

The winner will recieve the prize money and also will fulfill one of the requirements for applying a new grant for startup support which Kashiwa City is planning for year 2024.

(Applications must participate one of the startup programs being implemented in Kashiwa-no-ha and AEA is one of them.)

 

Award 2,000,000 JPY

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yanekara Inc.

Japan

 

 

 

 

 

DAICHI YOSHIOKA

Co-Founder and COO

 

 


 

Microsoft Award

The winner will be provided the following resources.

Microsoft Award will be given to all 10 finalists.

・l Microsoft Azure maximum $150,000 /4 years
・l Visual Studio Enterprise
・l GitHub Enterprise
・l Microsoft 365
・l PowerPlatform
・l Dynamics365
・l Partner Solution:
Ø OpenAI
Ø Bubble
Ø Miro
Ø Stripe
Ø Linkedin

 

 

Fujitsu Accelerator Award

Fujitsu will provide opportunities for startups to co-create Fujitsu smart city projects to engage in discussions with Fujitsu business unit.

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yanekara Inc.

Japan

 

 

 

 

 

DAICHI YOSHIOKA

Co-Founder and COO

 

 

 

IP Bridge Award

The winner, a company that contributes to the creation of people’s future and whose products have the potential to be implemented in Japan, can take 3 times of IP consulting service by IP Bridge, Inc by the end of 2023.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Yanekara Inc.

Japan

 

 

 

 

 

DAICHI YOSHIOKA

Co-Founder and COO

 

 
 
 

■Life Science Award:

1. Support for scheduling 1on1 meeting with companies in LINK-J network during business trip to Japan and PR support at LINK-J website after consultation with LINK-J.
2.  Posting an interview article of the award-winning company on website of LINK-J (Life Science Innovation Net.)
3. (Japanese startups only) One-year free membership of LINK-J

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

AIRS Inc.

South Korea

 

 

 

 

 

SANGHYUN JOUNG

CEO

 

 

 

■The Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs(JASVE) Award:

The award is given by JASVE to the most excelling team in solving problems with an entrepreneurship mindset.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Dai3mimi Health-Tech Limited

Hong Kong

 

 

 

 

 

 

STEPHEN LAM

Founder , CEO & Product Creator

 

 

 

 

 

■Audience Award:

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Castomize Technologies Pte. Ltd.

Singapore

 

 

 

 

 

ABEL JUN HIENG TEO

CEO

 

 


2023 Nominators

GYEWAN MOON – South Korea

Full Professor,School of Business Administration, College of Economics & Business
Administration, Kyungpook National University

JOSEPHINE CHAO – Taiwan

President,
Epoch Foundation (Garage+ Incubator)

KENICHI HARADA – Japan

Chief Incubation Manager,
Todai Kashiwa Venture Plaza, Kanto head office, SME support lapan

K SURESH KUMAR – India

Executive Director,
PSG-STEP

NGUYEN THI HANH – Vietnam

Dr., Senior Lecturer,
Foreign Trade University

YOSHITAKA NISHINO – Japan

Professor / Deputy Director,
University of Tsukuba

2023 Judge

Final Session Judges

Michael Alfant

Group Chairman and CEO,
Fusion Systems Japan

Ken Kajii

General Partner,
Global Brain Corporation

Shingo Kokudo

Chairman, Director
TX Entrepreneur Partners

Miao Chunting

Investment Partner/Principal,
Mobile Internet Capital, Inc.

Hitomi Totani

Microsoft Corporation

Kazunori Yamashita

Executive Managing Officer
General Manager,
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
Semifinal Session Judges

Hogil Doh

Genera Partner,
Global Brain Corporation

Jim Weisser

Co-Founder and CEO, SignTime K.K.

Takao Kitano

LPC Partner, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

Mitsuko Hirata

Ph.D Dean Professor、Faculty of Management,
Tokai University

Shunsuke Imura

Senior Associate, Mori Hamada & Matsumoto

Daisuke Kashiro

Partner,
Global Brain Corporation

Machifumi Kashiwagi

CEO, Global Eye, Ltd.

Kenta Kitsuka

General Partner,
Global Brain Corporation

Emi Makino

Associate Professor, Ritsumeikan Asia Pacific University

Naohiro Nishida

CEO, Arco Partners Inc.
M.D.&Partner, Diamond Medino Capital

Noriaki Ozaki

Vice Chairman, Director,
Tx Entrepreneur Partners General Incorporated Association

Shinya Tsujimoto

Representative Director, Kashiwa Research Institute