Interview
From Complexity to Clarity: How Veritus Helps Professors and Research Labs Innovate 5X Faster

In the demanding world of academic research, where scientists spend countless hours navigating through papers and analyzing complex data, Veritus offers 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, and 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 a grassroots NPO that has raised scholarships for 600 girls who 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 and building strategic partnerships, all during a pandemic” he recalls. He adapted, learned, and 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” and a simple and powerful idea—reducing food waste by connecting supermarkets with consumers. “With Mottainai, we reached the semi-finals of the Ericsson Innovation Awards and the Impact Summit of the Hult Prize” he shares.

He then joined Plug and Play US’s investment team. “I was analyzing 25 startups every week, conducting due diligence, and sourcing Japanese startups for US market deal flows,” he explains. The exposure to high-growth startups and seasoned founders gave him a front-row seat to what it takes to scale a company. “Working with founders operating at $100M scale and 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 and 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 understanding immigration rules and accessing information about the startup ecosystem," he notes. "While platforms like Antler make it easier in Tokyo, finding co-founders and resources outside the capital was extremely challenging."
After researching Japan's startup landscape, Manas chose Kobe city for Veritus’s headquarters. "Kobe has a strong international startup community, and its government-backed initiatives helped us navigate the company setup process smoothly."

Verytus and 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 pandemic. "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 and collaborated with institutions like the University of Chicago , University of Washington, and Kyushu University. " This experience revealed a systemic problem in academic research. "Researchers and professors spend over 500 hours yearly on manual, repetitive tasks. Papers get stuck in peer review, scholarships expire, and 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 and 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 with Betty Lala, a founding member and a pro-bono collaborator, who is an international researcher in Japan. He then met his co-founder Anh Ngo, a Kyoto University graduate and 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 firsthand experience with the critical problems in research workflows that we are solving," he notes. Today, Veritus operates between Kobe and Okinawa. "Our investors at Lifetime Ventures, whom I met during my time at Plug and 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, and 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 and 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, and 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 and 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 and 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 expand 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 and universities to demonstrate how Veritus can dramatically improve research efficiency.

As Veritus prepares for its next growth phase, Manas reflects on the challenges and opportunities of building a startup as a foreign entrepreneur. "The landscape is evolving, and with the right networks and support, international founders can succeed in Japan and 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 expands into the U.S., it aims to redefine how researchers work, making scientific discovery faster and more impactful.
"Innovation is driven by the expertise and 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 and how it can transform your research workflow, visit their website or reach out to Manas.