27 Tech Startups across Asia Register for 8th Asian Entrepreneurship Award
Progressive tech startups from 14 countries & regions in Asia seeking opportunity for open innovation in Japan
September 19, 2019
Asian Entrepreneurship Award Steering Committee
Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.
The University of Tokyo, Division of University Corporate Relations
TX Entrepreneur Partners General Incorporated Association
The Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs
(Chiba, September 19th) The Asian Entrepreneurship Award (AEA) Steering Committee announced today that it will hold the Asian Entrepreneurship Award 2019 (AEA 2019) from October 30th to November 1st at Kashiwa-no-ha campus city in Chiba prefecture, Japan. This marks the 8th event of the AEA program, which was launched in 2012, and 27 progressive tech startups from 14 countries and regions from all over Asia have submitted entries this year.
*Full list and business outline of AEA2019 entrants: https://aea.events/e/startup-entrants/
During the event, entrants will be evaluated on their innovativeness, the commercial viability and social impact of their products and services, and the potential for collaboration with major Japanese corporations. The winners will receive awards of up to 3 million JPY along with other business-support services to assist their entry to the Japan market.
This year, Nikkei Inc., the largest economics newspaper in Japan, and Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd joined AEA as special sponsors, and over 20 other major companies in and outside of Japan are also sponsoring the event to enhance the contents that will better support the growth of participating startup companies.
Tech Startups from Asia gather at Kashiwa-no-ha area
AEA to attract tech startups to further bolster innovation in Asia
According to a recent report, the value of Asian unicorn startups is equal to 40% of the global total, and six out of the top ten are from China. In recent years, the number of unicorn companies with valuations of $1 billion or more is growing also in other parts of Asia, including India and Indonesia.
Leveraging this growth, AEA was launched in 2012 as an annual international business pitch event for startups across Asia, aiming at the formation of an “ecosystem” that generates innovation through collaboration among industry, government and academia. Since its launch, 154 tech startups from 15 countries and regions in Asia have participated in this opportunity to showcase their business ideas for tackling social issues.
Throughout the three-day event, AEA will offer not only the opportunity for entrants to pitch their solutions, but also mentoring sessions and various learning components such as keynote sessions by renowned speakers will be provided. Participants will also be offered a study tour of top academic institutions and the National Cancer Center Hospital East located in the AEA host city of Kashiwa-no-ha in Japan’s Chiba prefecture, one of the rapidly globalizing “smart cities” attracting people from around the world with the aim of creating new industrial culture.
From this year, Kashiwa-no-ha area will also be positioned as a testing field for participating startups to demonstrate their products and services, thereby helping to realize AEA’s vision of evolving as an innovative platform for all countries across Asia.
List of Startup Entrants
| Crowdrender | Australia | IoT |
|---|---|---|
| The company offers shared access to computing environment generated by underutilized computers.. | ||
| Langzou Technologies | China | IoT |
| The company builds digital twin solution platform equipped with IoT solution which utilizes cutting edge 3D vision and CG technologies. This solution enhances the efficiency of space management on various levels, from individual building to urban landscape. | ||
| Microblue Intelligence | China | AI |
| Microblue Intelligence is a tech company which provides industry-wide AI image analysis technology. The company offers flexible and rapid customer services based on its core technologies including target recognition, defect detection, and visual classification. | ||
| Cavli Wireless | India | IoT |
| Cavli Wireless is an IoT building block provider, bringing together connectivity, application processing capability and data management into one single platform called Cavli Hubble. The company contributes to promotion of IoT product makers around the world by connectig of smart modules more safely, easily and rapidly. | ||
| Examly (The brand of Pineaxe Technologies) | India | AI |
| Examly is an AI powered educational platform, especially designed to teach coding and programming skills. Examly provides customized learning path for each student and adapts the practice exercises at their own pace. The platform is currently used by 100+ top universities, with more than 60000+ learners across India. | ||
| PT. Inovasi Bioproduk Indonesia | Indonesia | Medical |
| The company produces hard capsule made from Indonesian seaweed. For animal gelatin is usually the main ingredients for hard capsules, Indonesian seaweed, the country’s leading product, provides important alternatives for people with dietary restrictions. | ||
| Algal Bio Co., Ltd. | Japan | Healthcare |
| Algal Bio Co., Ltd., a biotech startup, was established based upon 20 years of research at the University of Tokyo. The company possesses around 3000 algae strains, from which the company extracts substances to make functional foods (health foods and supplements), cosmetics, functional beverages, natural additives, medicines and biofuels, etc. | ||
| Exergy Power Systems, Inc. | Japan | IoT |
| As the global power system increasingly adopts renewable energy, Exergy Power Systems, Inc. provides services that prevent sudden fluctuations of the electricity generated from renewable resources. The company provides unique IoT solution that utilizes storage battery technology to stabilize the renewable power system, thereby preventing energy losses. | ||
| Hachi Tama Inc, | Japan | IoT |
| The company produces “Toletta®,” a smart IoT cat litter box that separates urine and feces and detects any abnormalities such as chronic kidney disease which may otherwise unnoticeable without such technology. | ||
| Metcela Inc. | Japan | Medical |
| Metcela develops an efficacious cell therapy,“VCFs” or VCAM-1-positive cardiac fibroblasts, which treats heart failure. Its main function is to modify the microenvironment of the infarcted heart to promote survival and proliferation of pre-existing cardiac cells. | ||
| Wish- Alize Co.Ltd. | Japan | Medical |
| The company tackles the issue of medical device traceability. By providing a quantitative evaluation system that not only entails “Identification of individual surgical instrument,” but also features “evaluation of surgical instrument condition”- such as cleanliness, functionality and deterioration- the technology enables the surgeons to avoid surgical site infections. | ||
| FUTURUN TECHNOLOGIES | Malaysia | Healthcare |
| The company develops “Smart Intelligent Materials”, that possesses the materials that can stabilize blood pressure, such as non-radioactive alpha, beta and gamma rays, non-toxic, non-conductive, non-migrating and non-magnetic properties. Through its unique chemical interaction of the impregnated materials in the plaster, it emits a low-frequency vibration to the blood, thereby improving its circulation. | ||
| SmartPeep Pte Ltd | Malaysia | AI |
| SmartPeep provides better elderly care with AI. The company offers virtual elderly-sitter systems to monitor and better respond elderlies who are at risk and in need of help. It also helps caregivers by reducing their care burdens. | ||
| AWARE GROUP | New Zealand | AI |
| In 2019, Aware Group released Aware Cognitive Platform (ACP), the first Software-as-a Service product which supports companies through number counting, automatic number plate recognition, and voice classification technologies. | ||
| uHoo Pte Ltd | Philippine | IoT |
| The company provides solution to assess various parameter of the aerial environment and realizes a cleaner indoor air with automatic air conditioning adjustments. The solution is applicable not only for residential uses, but also for business complexes and offices. | ||
| MOTORICA LLC | Russia | Healthcare |
| MOTORICA LLC. adds new value to prosthetic arm through online transaction and voice-controlled command functions. In addition to rehabilitation program, the company aims to accelerate the integration of prosthetic arm users’ into the IT market. | ||
| Warden Machinery/Machine Vision LLC | Russia | AI |
| Warden Machinery is a Russian-based startup, specializing in machine vision-based solutions, including but not limited to human behavioral analytics, visual defects detection in complex engineering systems and conveyor manufacturing, and real-time vision systems for industrial robots based on AI. | ||
| UNIM | Russia | Healthcare |
| UNIM’s Digital Pathology© system enables highly specialized consultants worldwide to remotely meet with their patients online and perform real-time case analysis and diagnostics. | ||
| Advent Access Pte Ltd | Singapore | Medical |
| Advent Access is a medical technology startup focused on end-stage renal disease management. A Stanford StartX company and spin-off from A*STAR, the company’s mission is to pioneer innovations to significantly reduce dialysis cost and restore quality of life for kidney failure patients. The av-Guardian™ forms a key component of Advent Access’ dialysis-machine agnostic platform to empower patients to perform hemodialysis independently, safely and more affordably - at home or in novel care environments. | ||
| BioCheetah Pte Ltd | Singapore | Medical |
| BioCheetah Pte Ltd is a Singapore-based, A*STAR-IMCB spin-off diagnostics company. With the use of uniquely developed biomarkers and detection antibodies, it successfully launched a bladder cancer application. | ||
| Acumen Research Labs | Singapore | Medical |
| The company developed AcuSeptTM -- a novel, blood-based Sepsis Host Response test using sepsis-specific mRNA biomarkers -- that can assist the doctors to detect sepsis faster and more accurately than current methods. | ||
| Ministry of Movement Pte Ltd (aka SWAT) | Singapore | AI |
| Responding to the rising need of large-scale on-demand ride sharing, the company provides a world-class routing engine that uses customer’s real-time geolocation to adjust car routes on the move. It is now installed in Singapore and Sydney, and will extend to various Asian cities in the future. | ||
| ALI Co., Ltd. | Korea | AI |
| Artificial Language Intelligence (ALI) Co., Ltd. offers text summarization and chatbot solutions through deep learning based on natural language processing technology. The solution accelerates the automation of communication services such as customer call centers. | ||
| AcroViz Inc. | Taiwan | Healthcare |
| AcroViz develops novel imaging biomarkers to prolong human health span and aims to end dementia. The company adopts diffusion Magnetic Resonance Imaging (MRI) and Machine Learning techniques, which are effective in predicting the risk and prognosis of dementia, such as Alzheimer’s Disease (AD). | ||
| Rehab Happy Walk | Thailand | Medical |
| The company tackles the issue of Parkinson disease (PD) which affects millions by causing walking difficulties, high risk of falling, fear, and depression. Based on proven clinical research, the company developed a rehabilitation solution to combat PD. | ||
| System Stone Company Limited | Thailand | IoT |
| System Stone specializes in industrial technology in the context of evolving along with the Industry 4.0 trend. The company developed a mobile machine maintenance and management software application, through which full transfer and control of maintenance engineering tasks can be regulated. It ensures effective schedule management and predicts future machine malfunctions. | ||
| Minet | Vietnam | AI |
| Minet is a technology company in marketing field, building a platform that connects brands that seek to leverage influencers to advertise their products via SNS. The platform enables brands to analyze followers’ demographic with Big Data AI and optimize campaign effectiveness. | ||
Program Overview
- Date: Wed October 30th to Fri November 1st
- Venue: Kashiwa-no-ha Conference Center and Kashiwa-no-ha Open Innovation Lab (KOIL), Kashiwa-city, Chiba Prefecture
- Host: Asian Entrepreneurship Award Steering Committee
- Co-hosts: Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd.; The University of Tokyo, Division of University Corporate Relations; TX Entrepreneur Partners General Incorporated Association; The Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs
- Language: English (Some programs will be in Japanese with interpretation into English)
- The event will be open to the public only on October 31st (excluding dinner session) and November 1st.
Program Schedule
| Day 1（Oct. 30th） Closed event |
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|---|---|
| Day 2 （Oct 31st） Open to public |
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| Day 3 （Nov. 1st） Open to public |
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Preceding the AEA 2019, the “Kashiwa-no-ha Innovation Fes.” will be hosted from Sat October 26th to Mon November 4th.
Award Overview
Award Procedures
At the semi-finals, each of the entrants will deliver a 10-minute presentation on their business proposition. Those judged to be the best six will go forward to the final. At the final session, finalists will make a 10-minute presentation. The judges will then select the prize winners.
Judging Criteria
- Potential for collaboration with large Japanese corporations (only for companies based outside of Japan)
- 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.
- Business performance, including the nominee’s competitive advantages, management team, strategic vision and communication capabilities, including presentation skills.
Awards
- First prize: JPY 3 million
- Second prize: JPY 1 million
- Third prize: JPY 500,000
- 31 VENTURES Award: All winners will additionally be awarded 2 years free use of co-working space at 31 VENTURES Office operated by Mitsui Fudosan (maximum 3 people per company).
- The Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs Award: JPY 50,000
The award will be given by JASVE to the most challenging team in solving problems and which is full of entrepreneurship. - Life Science Award
- One-year free membership of LINK-J (Life Science Innovation Network Japan)
- Business support during the recipients’ business trip to Japan, including 1-1 meeting set-up, PR support, etc.
- Invitation to Biocom Global Life Science Partnering Conference
List of Sponsors and supporters（As of September 19）
< List of sponsors>（in alphabetical order）
| Special sponsors | Microsoft Japan Co., Ltd., Nikkei Inc. |
|---|---|
| Platinum sponsors | DENTSU INC., Global Brain Corporation, Hitachi, Ltd., Toppan Printing CO., LTD. |
| Golden sponsors | Ananda Development Public Company Limited, INNOSPACE+, Jun Mitsui & Associates Inc. Architects, KAJIMA CORPORATION, Kirin Holdings Company, Limited., KOMATSU MATERE Co.,Ltd., Mitsui Consultants Co., Ltd., Mitsui Fudosan Residential Co.,Ltd., Mitsui Home Co.,Ltd., Nikken Sekkei Ltd, Obayashi Corporation, Taisei Corporation |
| Silver sponsors | Daiwa House Industry Co., Ltd., IP Bridge, Inc., Kashiwanoha T-SITE, Konoike Construction Co., Ltd., Nippon Venture Capital Co., Ltd., UTEC(The University of Tokyo Edge Capital) Co., Ltd., UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd. |
< List of supporters >
The Ministry of Education, Cabinet Office, Chiba Prefecture, Kashiwa city, The National Institute of Advanced Industrial Science and Technology (AIST), Japan Science and Technology Agency, Japan External Trade Organization, Japan Venture Capital Association, Venture Enterprise Center, Japan Institute of Design Promotion, Chiba Convention Bureau and International Center, The National Graduate Institute for Policy Studies, Licensing Executives Society Japan
Co-hosts
- Mitsui Fudosan Co., Ltd (Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City website: https://www.kashiwanoha-smartcity.com/en/）
- The University of Tokyo, Division of University Corporate Relations http://www.ducr.u-tokyo.ac.jp/
- TX Entrepreneur Partners General Incorporated Association (TEP) http://www.tepweb.jp/
- The Japan Academic Society for Ventures and Entrepreneurs (JASVE) http://www.venture-ac.ne.jp/
About AEA
The Asian Entrepreneurship Award (AEA) is an annual international business pitch event for startups across Asia, aimed at forming an ecosystem that will generate innovation through collaboration among industry, government and academia. Since 2012, young entrepreneurs from over 16 countries and regions in Asia have gathered in Japan to present their innovative ideas to leverage knowledge and technology to tackle challenges in the fast-growing Asia region. AEA is hosted at Kashiwa-no-ha Campus in Japan’s Chiba prefecture, a rapidly globalizing smart city that attracts people from around the world aiming to pursue the creation of a new industrial culture.