6 rising startups in Japan

This week saw a huge variety of local startups getting early funding including players in artificial intelligence, online entertainment, virtual reality, and digitized services.

BitStar by Bizcast

Bizcast, the operator of advertising and talent-management service BitStar, found itself with a sizable US$2.7 million investment from Global Brain last week.

Bizcast describes the service as an “Influencer Support Platform.” What this means in practice is that BitStar forms partnerships between content creators and interested companies to the benefit of both parties. Rising YouTube stars can leverage the company’s advertising and marketing expertise free of charge as long as they have over 1,000 subscribers.

Aising

Aising is already making itself known for its proprietary algorithm, “Deep Binary Tree.” Firms can purchase the services of Aising’s artificial intelligence for a subscription fee in addition to royalties on the products it is used for. The program’s specialty is simulating and making predictions of mechanical motions, such as the industrial robots found in car factories.

Aising also has a hand in hardware with the Deep Binary Tree software pre-installed. This allows for ready made construction of products ranging from industrial robots to home automation systems. TechAccel Ventures saw promise in the project and infused it with over US$1.7 million on Thursday.

Japan Foodie

Japan Foodie, also known as Nihon-bishoku, wrapped up a pre-Series A round of investment with nearly US$1.2 million in funds. Eight investors including innovation lecturer Ikuo Nishioka, MS Capital’s Yuan Xiaohan, and former Colopl Vice President Kotaro Chiba participated in the round.

Eating out in Japan can be difficult with no Japanese, so Japan Foodie’s app aims to target tourists and foreigners to make it easier for them. The app lets users browse restaurants, make reservations, and order in advance all in their native language. The firm turns a profit by letting restaurants subscribe for the service in a bid for publicity and an influx of new customers.

Pulit

Pulit is a media delivery service that aims to usurp current industry leaders with a new distribution model. Content producers that partake in the service can upload to Pulit’s servers, which provides direct access links to users where they can watch videos on separate devices. The service includes robust anti-piracy measures and digital rights management, allowing content providers to control who sees their product and in what amount.

The platform’s ease of use for consumers and content protection abilities for producers seem to have caught the eye of two unnamed firms. The investment amount was not disclosed but The Bridge reports it to be in the low millions.

Vaqso

Vaqso was founded by the scent-technology guru Kentaro Kawaguchi of Zaaz. The startup is working to incorporate realistic smells into virtual reality.

Flamingo

Meet more rising stars at #tiatokyo2017