[Press Release] Japanese Entrepreneurship Comes to Silicon Valley for Two-Day Pitch Event

Oct 01, 2015

 

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SAN FRANCISCO, October 1, 2015 -- The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) and U.S. Market Access Center (US MAC) co-hosted a two-day TechMatch pitch event on Thursday and Friday in San Francisco and Palo Alto, CA. The event saw eight Japan-based tech companies pitch their product models to some of the top technology brands on the market, including Samsung, Sprint, PayPal, LG, CenturyLink, IBM, and AT&T.

 

The sponsored event, now in its third year, provides Japanese entrepreneurs with the opportunity to foster new business relationships and product partnerships in the U.S. market. Presenters included Iwane, a geo-mapping enterprise that offers private companies the chance to develop 3D, scalable models for business purposes, and PassClip, a free mobile password app designed to give users the freedom of keeping all their passwords in one place with none of the typical security risks.

 

Speaking to a room of over 40 business executives, JETRO San Francisco Executive Director Akihiko Morota addressed TechMatch’s contribution to Prime Minister Shinzo Abe’s larger economic goal of fostering trade and business relationships between the two countries.

 
“Last April, Prime Minister Shinzo Abe visited Silicon Valley, [marking] the first official visit [to the region] by a Japanese Prime Minister. As part of his goal to promote U.S.-Japan business and trade relations, [the Prime Minister] pledged to support 200 [Japanese] companies and startups in Silicon Valley over a period of five years. TechMatch aims to contribute to the Prime Minister’s initiative.”

 

Companies represented at TechMatch this year include: Monaca, an digital platform that offers HTML5-based solutions for developers looking to build cross-platform IoT, mobile, and desktop apps, Doereming, an B2B accrued payroll lending service that helps employees advance their accrued pay rather than rely on high-interest payday loans, Kyowa, a precision manufacturing company specializing in high quality components and prototypes, Moshi Moshi, a cloud service solution that personalizes the online customer experience, Seletech, software platform designed to provide high-level security to IoT devices, and Ubiquitous, which offers a cloud software solution for industrial and consumer products that specializes in energy management.  

JETRO, or the Japan External Trade Organization, is a government-related organization that works to promote mutual trade and investment between Japan and the world. Originally established in 1958 to promote Japanese exports abroad, JETRO's core focus in the 21st century has shifted toward promoting foreign direct investment into Japan and helping small to medium size Japanese firms maximize their global export potential. 

US MAC is a tech-centered business accelerator that specializes in preparing foreign companies for entry into the U.S. market.