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JAPAN AI launches knowledge platform with ten new autonomous agents
JAPAN AI released “JAPAN AI KNOWLEDGE,” a knowledge-management product adding ten AI agents to help enterprises organize internal data and automate support.
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Global chip market to hit record $1.5 trillion in 2026 on AI memory boom
The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics body raised its forecast sharply, with AI-driven memory chips leading the surge — a tailwind for Japan’s chip supply chain.
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Japanese note app adds plugin-free Obsidian sync and voice input
Yurica’s “Captio-style Simple Memo” for iOS shipped a v3.0 update that auto-appends quick notes to an Obsidian vault without plugins, plus voice input — free.
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WHILL launches autonomous wheelchair service at London Heathrow, hits 26 sites
Japan’s WHILL began trialing its self-driving personal mobility devices at Heathrow Terminal 3, extending a network that has delivered over one million autonomous rides.
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Sakana AI builds applied team to embed its models in Japanese finance
Japan’s most valuable AI unicorn is moving from research to deployment, putting its evolutionary models into banking workflows like loan origination.
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Gatebox brings VTuber Shigure Ui home as an interactive digital figure
Holographic-character maker Gatebox launched a “Digital Figure Box” featuring illustrator-VTuber Shigure Ui, with wake-up and focus-timer voice features.
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METI survey pegs Japanese startups at 4% of GDP, up 15% in a year
Japan’s economy ministry released its 2026 Startup Ecosystem Survey, quantifying startups’ contribution to national output for the first time at this scale.
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Humanoid robot startup Atom raises ¥3B seed led by ANRI, Beyond Next and JAFCO
Founded by a Turing co-founder, the “physical AI” company will develop bipedal, dual-arm humanoid robots for…
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Voice-AI startup IVRy secures ¥4.5B in debt financing from Japan’s three megabanks
The conversational voice-AI SaaS firm raised ¥4.5 billion in debt from SMBC, Mizuho and MUFG to…
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Suzuki bets on Indonesian mobility, investing in movus via its Global Ventures arm
Suzuki Motor confirmed a strategic investment in movus technologies, deepening the automaker’s push into Indonesia’s ride-hailing…
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Japan’s movus technologies raises ¥42.6B for Southeast Asia mobility, backed by Suzuki
The Tokyo startup’s Series B combines a ¥16.6B equity allotment and ¥26B in debt to grow…
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Pegasus’s Anis Uzzaman says Japan’s startup story is just beginning
The Silicon Valley VC, who backed OpenAI and SpaceX, is doubling down on Japan as corporate capital and AI urgency converge.
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Oishii’s Hiroki Koga on crossing vertical farming’s brutal unit-economics chasm
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Inside Brave Group, the Tokyo studio turning VTubers into a $50M-backed global business
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Sakana AI’s Llion Jones argues the path forward runs beyond the Transformer
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OptQC’s Hiroshi Takase bets on light to build Japan’s room-temperature quantum computer
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US and Japan launch $1 billion “Genesis Mission” AI research partnership
Japan becomes the first international partner in the US Department of Energy’s flagship AI-for-science program, with…
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Global chip market to hit record $1.5 trillion in 2026 on AI memory boom
The World Semiconductor Trade Statistics body raised its forecast sharply, with AI-driven memory chips leading the…
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Japan lifts AI and chip budget, adds ¥150 billion for Rapidus 2nm push
The Takaichi cabinet’s draft FY2026 budget sharply raises state support for semiconductors and “Physical AI,” deepening…
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Japan eyes ¥19 trillion “Physical AI” robotics market as 2026 orders top ¥1 trillion
Japanese robot makers are positioning around autonomous “Physical AI,” with industrial robot orders forecast to exceed…
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Asian deep-tech startups increasingly look to Japan as a growth base
Early-June reporting frames Japan as an opening market for regional founders, as Tokyo’s IPO push and…
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WHILL launches autonomous wheelchair service at London Heathrow, hits 26 sites
Japan’s WHILL began trialing its self-driving personal mobility devices at Heathrow Terminal 3, extending a network…
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Sakana AI builds applied team to embed its models in Japanese finance
Japan’s most valuable AI unicorn is moving from research to deployment, putting its evolutionary models into…
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Surgical-AI maker Anaut closes Series B, pushes into US and Europe
Tokyo deep-tech startup Anaut, whose EUREKA system flags nerves and tissue during surgery in real time,…
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JAPAN AI launches knowledge platform with ten new autonomous agents
JAPAN AI released “JAPAN AI KNOWLEDGE,” a knowledge-management product adding ten AI agents to help enterprises…
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Japanese note app adds plugin-free Obsidian sync and voice input
Yurica’s “Captio-style Simple Memo” for iOS shipped a v3.0 update that auto-appends quick notes to an…
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Gatebox brings VTuber Shigure Ui home as an interactive digital figure
Holographic-character maker Gatebox launched a “Digital Figure Box” featuring illustrator-VTuber Shigure Ui, with wake-up and focus-timer…
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Timee turns its 13-million gig workforce into an on-demand BPO service
Japanese spot-work giant Timee launched “Timee BPO,” a fully variable outsourcing service that staffs client operations…
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METI survey pegs Japanese startups at 4% of GDP, up 15% in a year
Japan’s economy ministry released its 2026 Startup Ecosystem Survey, quantifying startups’ contribution to national output for…
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METI issues startup M&A guidance to unblock Japan’s weakest exit channel
With IPOs scarce, Japan’s government published M&A guidance in May 2026 to normalize acquisitions as a…
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Osaka to host Global Startup EXPO 2026, betting on deep tech and Kansai
METI approved an Osaka-led bid to stage Global Startup EXPO 2026 in October, positioning the Kansai…
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Japan startup funding flat at ¥761 billion as IPOs hit a decade low
Speeda’s Japan Startup Finance 2025 data shows a more selective market: funding held steady but listings…