JETRO Presents 10 Japanese Startups at SXSW 2019

Mar 05, 2019

Austin TX

Want to experience some of Japan's most innovative startups?

Explore them all at South by Southwest (SXSW 2019) in Austin, Texas!


The Japan External Trade Organization (JETRO) will present 10 innovative Japanese startup companies at SXSW Interactive, the largest conference of its kind and a launching pad for new ideas and creative technologies.

The featured Japanese technologies are a testament to the expanse of the human imagination and desire to bring greater joy, better environmental stewardship and groundbreaking innovation to industry and everyday life.

The Japanese Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and JETRO have started a new initiative called the J-Startup Program that helps cultivate the brightest of Japan's startups to succeed in world markets.

The J-Startup booths are located in the Japan Pavilion in the Austin Convention Center at Booth 819Representatives from the startups will demonstrate their products and services during the International Innovation Platform in the conference's southwestern corner on Tuesday, March 12, 2019, from 1 to 2 p.m.

Startups featured at SXSW include:








ALE-co logo

ALE Co., Ltd. 

ALE is the creator of Sky Canvas, the world’s first man-made meteor shower project. The company uses space as a stage to perform “stardust” performances. The dust is harvested in the sky from particles accumulated on micro-satellites. When entering the earth’s atmosphere, the particles create the appearance of meteor showers visible in an area of up to 200 kilometers in diameter.

The company sees a bright future for Sky Canvas in the entertainment industry, as well as in science applications. The upper atmosphere where the particles burn is one of the least understood portions of the atmosphere. By studying the path and mechanics of entry, ALE hopes to contribute scientific insight used for the safe disposal of space debris.




AI Silk logo

AI Silk Corporation  J-Startup

AI SILK turns raw silk into highly conductive (as high as 100Ω/sq resistance), comfortable, and durable clothing. Its electrodes collect vital physical data with precision to help individuals regain and maintain health following an injury or illness.

The non-irritating wearable material holds up to multiple washings and can be exposed to sweat produced during active sports. The company has even reduced the unpleasant tingling sensation caused by stimulation to muscles. While AI SILK’s products are gaining a foothold in the healthcare industry, they also are adaptable to a variety of other uses and fields.




ArchiTek logo

ArchiTek Corporation  J-Startup

ArchiTek addresses a pressing need to lower the cost and increase the performance of artificial intelligence (AI). The ArchiTek chip is a low-power, high-performance chip that uses the ArchiTek Intelligence™ Pixel Engine (aIPE) to run computer vision and AI algorithms with high performance, low power and low cost. 

Use cases for aIPE include applications for autonomous vehicles, security cameras, cybersecurity systems, robotics and data centers. In making AI more affordable and productive, ArchiTek helps its customers bring AI to new and mainstream applications.






Empath logo

Empath Inc.

Empath offers artificial intelligence (AI) that identifies emotion — joy, calm, anger and sorrow —  from voices in real-time, regardless of the language. It is configured as an API, SDK and call center technology. The mission behind the innovation is to develop and provide technology where all people can understand and help each other.

The company’s Smart Call Center can analyze and provide a visual representation of customer and operator emotions to improve the conversion rate of outbound telemarketing. Using My Mood Forecast, employees can check their mood or an employer can check a team’s mood to help improve morale and motivation, and decrease turnover. Web Empath analyzes and reports emotions by sending WAVE files to the API and has been used by 1,000 customers across 50 countries.






LifeIsTech

Life is Tech, Inc.  J-Startup

Life is Tech is the largest IT programming school for teens in Japan. It introduces middle school and high school students to programming through special camps and classes offered across Japan. Students are given the opportunity to “imagine” and “create” while learning advanced programming skills across a variety of platforms including iPhone and web applications, and video games.

The organization received the prestigious Google RISE Award in 2014, making it the first recipient in East Asia. Since then, the organization has expanded its reach to Singapore and Australia. Life is Tech! looks forward to continuing to nurture the creativity and skills of budding programming superstars.



LoadAndRoad

LOAD&ROAD INC. 

LOAD&ROAD is the creator of a tea-brewing innovation called Teplo. Teplo literally taps into the hearts and minds of tea drinkers to deliver a perfect tea experience. A heart-rate sensor at the base of the sleekly designed Teplo securely collects psychological data and shares it with a mobile app which directs Teplo to brew a perfectly personalized cup of tea.

With or without the sensor, Teplo can brew tea to please every taste using its app over Bluetooth or wireless. Teplo also has its own line of artisan tea blends featuring botanicals and ingredients sourced from around the world.






Spiber logo

Spiber Inc.  J-Startup

Spiber is achieving a mission to produce affordable synthetic protein materials for widespread industrial use, just as metals, glass and plastics are used today. In doing so, the company and its partners are ushering in a new age of manufacturing where the large-scale adoption of protein materials is finally becoming a reality.

Spiber’s target markets include apparel and automotive industries which have the potential for immeasurable impact upon widespread commercial adoption. Spiber also sees potential for use of its protein materials within industries including medicine, construction, robotics and aerospace and is engaged in joint research and business development endeavors with experts in those fields.




logo_TripleW

Triple W  J-Startup

Triple W, an innovator of connected health devices, is the developer of DFree®, the first health wearable device for urinary incontinence. According to the U.S. National Institutes of Health, urinary incontinence affects 500 million people worldwide.

DFree uses a non-invasive and non-harmful ultrasound sensor to monitor bladder fullness and notifies the individual or a caregiver via a smartphone or tablet when it’s time to go to the bathroom. Adults, children and people with disabilities who need to manage a loss of bladder control now have an alternative to disposable diapers and medications with this new wearable Dfree device.





Unipos logo

Unipos Inc.  J-Startup

Unipos has created a simple and fun way for employees to honor each other’s workplace contributions, from outstanding achievements to unrecognized accomplishments. The goal of Unipos is to help companies create cultures of recognition where employees are happy and united behind great workplace contributions to reinforce shared values.

Their app delivers “peer bonus” notifications through popular collaboration tools like Slack, Chatwork, Workplace and Microsoft Tools to all employees and/or teams on timelines. Hashtags can be added to reveal trends and insights into a team’s values and interests. The app even has a “clap” feature so employees can celebrate contributions together.





YumeCloud

Yume Cloud Inc.

Yume has developed a new, luminous way to enjoy sake thanks to its launch of the Masu Glass. Masu is the traditional Japanese wooden cup for sake. The Masu Glass combines the traditional way of drinking sake with Japanese modern loT technology to colorfully illuminate a sake drinker’s movements, pours, toasts, as well as surrounding sounds and musical beats.

Their mission is to give people around the world a fun and contemporary way to experience the age-old and beloved sake culture.



For more information, or to schedule a meeting with one of the Japanese exhibitors, contact Adam Braver at Adam_Braver@jetro.go.jp


For more information on SXSW 2019, visit their homepage HERE.