'japan' Tag
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Moving beyond adaptability
June 27, 2019Our French president is in Japan this week and addressed a small group of the French community in Tokyo yesterday at the ambassador’s residence. It was a refreshingly honest discussion, relatively devoid of the airy platitudes to which we’ve become accustomed to hearing from our political leaders. I won’t focus on the politics of it, […]
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The innovation drive of Japan’s real estate developers
June 20, 2019It’s hard to walk around Tokyo these days without hearing the buzz of construction equipment. In this city of perpetual renewal, new building construction in Tokyo seems to occur year-round. The phenomenon is repeating itself in many other of Japan’s major cities (Osaka, Kobe, Fukuoka, etc.), although it’s certainly most prominent here in the capital. […]
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Drug prices in Japan
May 22, 2019An editorial in this morning’s Yomiuri Shimbun reminded me of a mind-blowing conversation I had the other day with an accomplished health care investor. Today’s Yomiuri editorial, Extremely high drug prices should be reviewed for appropriateness, cites the case of Kymriah, a breakthrough biological drug which efficaciously treats certain types of leukemia and other blood […]
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Springtime for AI in Tokyo: Global startups invited
March 10, 2019I’ve written before about Japan’s deep thirst for innovation in the field of artificial intelligence. Another prestigious event in the domain is taking place next month: AI/SUM. Nikkei has generously offered me a few complimentary invitations to promising AI startups from Europe. Accepted applicants will receive free airfare and accommodation for Tokyo for the event. […]
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ICOs in Japan revisited
February 24, 2019“Why invest in a security token ?” That was how the conversation started with some co-investor friends over wagyu dinner in Tokyo the other night. The question was triggered by the collective observation of the sudden spike in deal flow these days from projects raising funds for their ‘security tokens’. One example cited was that […]
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Startup Girls shatters societal standards
February 1, 2019There’s much buzz abound about films, as is typical around this time of year. The Golden Globes awards took place earlier this month. The Oscars are right around the corner. And this week are the Screen Actors Guild awards, also focused on Hollywood hits, as well as the Sundance Film Festival, focused on new independent […]
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AI Frameworks infographic
November 14, 2018Although I am the proud investor in one promising AI startup in Japan already, most of my deal flow involving innovation in AI is still coming from Europe nowadays, most predominantly from France. France’s prowess in AI might be one of the best kept secrets in innovation these days globally. As I find myself explaining […]
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Japan has its successful Unicorn. Next it needs its first Unicorpse.
June 22, 2018[Note: The Japanese version of this piece can be found here: 初のユニコーンを手にした日本、次に必要なのはユニコープス? ] Japan witnessed its first successful unicorn take flight this week in the IPO of Mercari. Since its launch in 2013, Mercari has become Japan’s leading online flea market platform, allowing people to buy and sell secondhand items on a smartphone app with […]
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Japan’s Airbnb mishap
June 15, 2018Today, the registration deadline for Japan’s new rule on private lodging services like Airbnb comes into effect. I’m going to try to be as diplomatic as I can here: the implementation of this new legislation is a head-scratcher. Two prominent requirements of the new law are: i) a restriction on the number of rental nights […]
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New book out: Land of the Rising Blockchain
April 10, 2018I never planned to be a part-time author and still contend that I am not worthy of the title. However, after crafting Japan Bitcoin #1 last year, I realized that writing books makes me a better venture capitalist. My new book, Land of the Rising Blockchain, explores the wide-ranging impacts of blockchain technology on industry […]
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欧州スタートアップが日本市場に熱視線 その理由は？
March 31, 2018[Increasingly, and encouragingly, corporate Japan is demonstrating an interest in European innovation. Often I am asked why a European startup would even consider Japan. I believe that this interview I recently gave to Softbank’s ITmedia News accurately captures my rationale.] あなたの知らない欧州スタートアップの世界： 欧州スタートアップが日本市場に熱視線 その理由は？ 世界で注目を集める欧州のスタートアップが、新たな市場として日本に熱い視線を送っている。AIや仮想通貨といったDeep Techへ前向きに取り組む日本は、欧州スタートアップにとって「自分たちのビジネスが飛躍できる場所」と捉えられているからだ。 本連載の第1回では、日本企業が欧州スタートアップと相性がいい理由を探り、前回の記事では、欧州のスタートアップ隆盛の背景を説明した。今回は、欧州スタートアップがいかにして日本市場を注目するようになったかに迫っていく。 会社のさらなる成長を求めて国外へ目を向けた欧州のスタートアップは、近隣諸国、米国への参入を経て、日本という金脈を見つけることになる。 グローバル志向が芽生えて近隣諸国、そして米国へ 初期のベンチャー投資でお金を集めた、野心的なとある欧州のファンドマネジャーは気付き始めていた。本来、私たちは投資家から預かったお金を運用する立場。これまでの節税を全面に押し出したコミッション重視のファンドに慣れきった周囲は、投資家から成果を求められないのをいいことに何もしない。「投資先のスタートアップを成長させるには国内だけではマーケットが小さい。大きくするなら国外へ行こう」 早速、ファンドマネジャー指示のもと、投資先のスタートアップは手始めに電車で行ける距離の国への参入を試みる。同じ欧州だからという気軽さはどこへやら、ローカライズの手間や体制作りなど思った以上にパフォーマンスを出すことの難しさに直面する。それを逆手にとってか、同じくらい大変ならと、憧れの地・米国へ進路を突如変えていく。 スタートアップは米国に会社毎移転するようになったが、大きな壁に直面する。資本力だ。米国は利益よりもまず初めに莫大な資金を調達し、マーケットシェアをできるだけ確保する、“圧倒的に勝つ”戦略をとっている。対する欧州は、少しずつだが安定的かつ利益を意識し、持続可能なビジネスを作る方法をとっている。似たようなジャンルの会社たちが市場と共に成長していくのがよく見られるのも欧州の特徴といえる。
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Japan’s prestigious Tech Leaders Summit returns
March 20, 2018Japan’s prestigious Tech Leaders Summit returns on April 6 in Tokyo. The JTL Summit is an invite-only event for internationally-minded Japanese corporates looking for foreign startups. The Japanese corporates present have expressly declared an interest in meeting innovative global startups for partnership or acquisition potential. The themes tend to center on deep tech innovations — […]