Tech in Asia Tour kicked off in Osaka. Here’s who we’re bringing to Tokyo

Tokyo may be home to Japan’s most active startup community, but there’s no denying that Osaka is carving out an ecosystem of its own. Tech in Asia Tour: Road to Tokyo 2015 kicked off at Osaka Innovation Hub on Tuesday night, with five promising Kansai area startups pitching in front of students, fellow entrepreneurs, government officials, and venture capitalists. The grand prize? An all-expenses-paid trip to the capital for Tech in Asia Tokyo 2015.

Pitches were judged by a panel of three esteemed industry heavyweights: James Riney, principal at DeNA; Matthew Romaine, co-founder and CEO of Gengo; and Yoshiomi Kurisu, CEO of Hatena. The trio asked questions and gave individual feedback after each pitch, then shared their overall impressions with the audience.

“Quite honestly, Osaka wasn’t even on my startup radar before this event, but that’s changed,” Riney said. “Not only did I see great pitches, but I saw smart entrepreneurs tackling difficult problems, many solving problems they’ve encountered themselves. That’s always a good sign.”

“I was also impressed with the great turnout, especially on a Tuesday night,” Riney added. “I think that’s a testament to the newfound support and excitement around the [Osaka] startup ecosystem. I really hope that continues, because it is critical to encouraging smart people to take risks and build new companies that can revitalize the community and local economy.”

Here are the five startups, in the order that they pitched. Read on to the bottom to find out who we’re bringing to Tokyo in September.

AromaJoin

Apart from sight and sound, AromaJoin wants to make smell a part of your television experience. The startup makes a directional fragrance deployment system that can be synced with video and sound. Whereas so-called “4D theaters” and other sensory entertainment outlets rely on a liquid-based solution – think spraying a bottle of perfume – AromaJoin’s “Aroma Shooter” uses solid scent cartridges. This unique technology allows scents to be mixed and ensures that the smell doesn’t linger after being activated.

Founder Dongwook Kim has been developing the Aroma Shooter platform for a decade and has obtained 30 patents along the way. He’s been selling the US$2,500 devices to research institutes and car companies – imagine if the “new car smell” could last forever – and is actively seeking clients in other industries. Kim sees big potential in the gaming and media sectors.

YumScroll

Finding recipes online is a breeze – following them, however, is not always as simple. YumScroll, available for iPhone and iPad, offers highly-detailed instructions with photos illustrating each step. It also allows on-the-fly quantity changes that adjust the entire recipe accordingly – no need to bust out a calculator or guess.

While YumScroll’s core features may seem pretty standard, the startup is differentiating itself from the pack by adding interactive voice guidance. Not only will the app tell users what to do, but it can even be asked to slow down, stop, repeat a step, or skip ahead. This makes YumScroll truly hands free – of utmost importance when you’re chopping veggies or handling raw meat.

Founder Shota Mizukami describes his product as a “Google Maps for cooking.” It’s attracted 3,500 monthly active users since launching late last year, with Mizukami claiming consistent 13 percent week-on-week growth since then.

CrewBase

Due in part to the country’s economic slowdown, Japanese people are slowly warming up to the idea of room sharing as a way to cut down on monthly expenses. For those unaccustomed to living with others, mediating conflict and settling bills can be a major headache.

Enter CrewBase, a web service designed to make living with others as stress free and transparent as possible. Roommates can use it to lay down house rules, divide up chores, and evenly split rent and utility costs.

CrewBase launched two months ago and is led by Masaaki Urashima, an undergrad at the University of Kyoto.

Research Mind

Research Mind’s product is called The Journal of Typical Medical Images and Videos (JTMIV). Sure, it’s a bit of a mouthful, but JTMIV is serving an important purpose as an Instagram for doctors.

Traditional medical journals go heavy on the text and light on images. Sometimes they even feature hand drawn diagrams instead of actual photographs. Research Mind founder Masahiko Hara, himself a doctor, believes that fellow medical professionals are willing to share images and videos of various procedures to help educate others. Hara’s goal is to compile the best content into visual journals that can be sold as a B2B service.

Research Mind, which launched in May, has built up an 86-member strong advisory board of doctors from some of the world’s most respected medical institutions. In addition to his work at Osaka University’s department of cardiovascular medicine, Hara has been recognized for excellence in his field by the American Heart Association and the American College of Cardiology three years in a row.

Kekkan Bijin

Getting blood drawn is a minor discomfort for some and a nightmare for others. Needles can hurt, and the fact that they must pierce your skin opens the door for infection and transmission of disease if the appropriate care isn’t taken.

Kekkan Bijin – loosely translated as “A person with beautiful blood cells” – created a medtech device that easily and painlessly takes an image of the capillaries in a patient’s finger. The size and shape of the pictured blood vessels can inform a doctor about a variety of health factors, from stress levels to nutritional intake.

The startup’s patent-pending video microscopes were created through a joint research project with Kyoto University and produce a much clearer picture than similar offerings. Despite plans for an official launch in 2016, Kekkan Bijin has already sold 3,000 devices on pre order.

And the winner is…

In the end, the judges unanimously selected Research Mind as the grand prize winner.

“[Research Mind] is clearly being driven by a group of experienced professionals in their domain, so that definitely came across,” Romaine said. “I can imagine a big need for hosting and sharing medical images among professionals and patients, so although I don’t know the medical space all that well, the combination of team, application, and promise helped them win my vote.”

Research Mind will receive round-trip transportation, accommodation, event passes, and a startup booth at Tech in Asia Tokyo 2015, which will be held on September 8 and 9. Tickets are still available for purchase here.

A big thank you to those who helped make our Osaka event a success:

Sponsor: PR Times

Partner: Osaka Innovation Hub

Supporter: Filament