Map of the local innovation industry.
Meet some of the best and newest startups based in Tokyo.
Founder @zynga
VP Product & Marketing @sendgrid
Entrepreneur, Technologist, Strategist, Startup Advisor, VC Whisperer, Connector of Dots, Marketer & Creator of Cool Stuff
CEO @anyroad • Cognitive Neuroscience at @berkeley • Founded KAIS International School in Tokyo. Founder of the Mirai Institute and Midori.so.
CEO and co-Founder of Gengo
http://robertlaing.com
Management Sensei ◦ Infrastructure Samurai ◦ Analytics Otaku ◦ Architecture Ninja. 1st programming job at 14. Effective in teams of 4 to 10,000.
Founder of MyMiniLife/FarmVille; Was CTO of @zynga Japan; Created @zynga's core game framework; Investor in @heyday, @pixelapse, @hipmunk
http://www.amitt.com
Internet entrpreneur + Angel. Founded Sublime IP. Managed Australia's first ISP; >20 years Internet experience. @insead-1 MBA. IP Attorney
Founder of @division-films, @w4, Hydra, Investor in Path, Playsino, Titan Gaming, @evertune, @mp3-com, @net2phone
Co-Founder & CTO: @social-rewards, Inc., Screen Rewards
Founder & CEO: Global Micro Solutions, Inc.
Founder & Chairman: GMS Japan, Inc.
Director, ITOCHU Technology Ventures.
http://www.asada23.com/
Angel Investor, Advisor, C-level Executive with 20 years of Media experience in print and digital platforms. Currently CEO at SheKnows.com
Serial Entrepreneur. Within 10 years has ventured into Telco, ICT, MLM, FOREX, Hedge Fund, Events, Media Production & Business Consulting for Fortune 500.
Co-founder of @simplehoney, shopping simplified.
Founder of @icanhascheezburger. Millions of lols.
http://ericnakagawa.com
Partner and CFO
Founder @cirius-technology, @cirius-technologies-usa
COO/CFO of the Marketing Solution Company at Yahoo! JAPAN.
CTO & Co-founder of @bottlenose. Created web products, companies and development teams in Japan, Europe and US. Comp sci background. #machinelearning #bigdata
http://synaptify.com/
Founder @fullcourt • Worked at @amazon, @yahoo-japan, @peatix, @six-apart • @500startups Mentor
http://angrymoose.org
Founder of @digital-magic-labs(DML), @ip-infusion (an ACCESS Company) and Miselu.
CEO @zendrive. Making Driving A Rewarding Experience. Marketing, Product & Strategy @android, @facebook @boston-consulting-group
Firestarter @ Think Gaming // Previous: co-founder, @squrl, @industrynext
Co-founded M3 (TSE:2413). Created world's most successful pharma-to-physician online marketing channel. Transformed $2M startup capital into $1B market cap.
Co-Founder, VP of Sales and BD at Aktana. Sales/Biz Dev/Product Mngt specialist. Big data, analytics, and mobile expertise. Former D-1 College Football Player.
Co-founder at @100village
Driven to solve big social problems. Co-founded @makible, product managed LEGO.@cuusoo-com. Ex @yahoo, @microsoft.
http://cloneofsnake.posterous.com
Early stage venture capital. Focus in consumer media, mobile and EC. Expert in US-Japan cross border biz dev and investments.
Co-founder of @anyperk. co-founded @goood-company, which was acquired. co-founded AppDorks. Designer.
Hacker • Founder @wazanova • Worked at @dena, @ntt
CEO Founder of @storefront-social. Creator of SushiGuru, @storefront-social, @spekkle and many more. Global Marketing, International experience, fluent Japanese.
http://globetrotter.us
Co-Founder/CEO of @babelverse. TEDx Organiser. Community Builder. Jungle Survivor. Frequent Traveller & Glomad.
http://babelverse.com/blog
Co-Founder & CEO @whill , @smile-park, @500startups • Worked at @nissan-motors • Studied at @ritsumeikan-asia-pacific-university, @nanjing University(China)
Co-founder & CEO of @unda. Serial entrepreneur, hustler. Founded my first company at age 17. Technologist and web pioneer in Latin America.
http://neotokyo.vg
Co-Founder and CEO of @wondershake, Evangelist, Hustler and a Dreamer.
Otaku, gamer, media executive, business developer, ex-chemist, producer-director, Japanese speaker, world traveler, recipe-maker, hot dog.
Founder @vinetrade • Worked at @marono-media-k-k, @peatix • Studied at @university-of-sussex, @university-of-brighton
http://www.tacchistudios.com
@babelverse Co-Founder.
Glomad. Ideator. Hacker. Maker.
Winner @ LeWeb, TheNextWeb, TechCrunch Disrupt.
Alumni @500startups, @startupchile, @startupweekend
http://blog.deborniol.com/
Founder and CEO @remotus @nobot
Founder Original Stitch, @startforce • Worked at @splashtop • Studied at @university-of-california-berkeley
Co-Founder and CTO of @unda. Studied at Tokyo University. Devoted surfer and PhD of Engineering.
http://www.sonasphere.com/
Angel,entrepreneur in Japan.Founded @bizseek(acquired by @rakuten for 20M$),@crocos,@nanapi,@starfestival.
Invested in over 10 companies.
Working on @appsocially. Cycle Road Racer. Writer @GrowthHackerjp @jpTechCrunch @StartupDating @Shimizukobundo
http://growthhacker.jp
Co-Founder and CEO @amazinglife, Japan Country manager @dropmysite, Previous Founder and CEO @everconnect.
http://shinoha.la
Cofounder @intraix. Graduated @national-university-of-singapore. Self taught @ios-developer. Worked at @yahoo
http://bosslee.co/
Virtual Reality @general-motors , Led System Group @industrial-light-magic, Research Scientist @Fuji Xerox PAL, DCinema @fujifilm, Founder @cinemacraft
Helping travelers discover unique experiences @voyagin. Indian tech geek / entrepreneur from Japan, @columbia-university Eng grad, previously @producteev, @social-bicycles
http://www.tushark.com
First visited Japan in 2005. Founded MakeLeaps in 2010 to focus my 12+ years of software experience in startups and enterprise on the Japanese SME space.
Business Co-Founder of MakeLeaps, a B2B SaaS Invoicing platform. 13 years in Japan, 10+ years running a business here. Fluent in Japanese.
Economist, Writer & Globetrotter. Cold emails are my superpower. @500startups
http://hongkongandbeyond.com
Manager - Client Engineering @cinemacraft, Partner and CTO at BluSoft Inc., Strong background in UI/UX & Backend design and implementation. Never sleeps.
I am the co founder & CEO of 8 Securities. My journey has taken me through Silicon Valley, New York, London, Dubai, Mumbai, Singapore, Hong Kong and now Tokyo.
http://www.siliconyuan.com
Investor @30k • Investor @airhelp • Investor @trekbooking.com •Studied at @rutgers-university-newark, @iscte-lisboa
Founder @little-arrows & @valet-1, previously founder @poke-new-york and @winedirect.
http://aaronrutledge.com/#/blog
Hi there, I'm kristopher. I create experiences wherever I go and right now, I'm in Kyoto. CEO at connectFree k.k., founder of @zooomr -- remember to say hello!
My studies and strong interest in information and communications technology, computer science, social networking and the web have become my career.
http://www.bucchi.me
Co-founder/CEO at @selvz. Co-Founder/CEO @iPing/MrWakeup (acquired by eCal); Investor/Advisor @Conatus Energia (Brazil)
http://mrwakeup.tumblr.com/
Investment partner at Netprice.com, serial entrepreneur.
EIR at Beenos.com
My previous startup (cloudshop.jp) is acquired by Aucfan.com which is Japan's largest product-price data analysis company.
http://beenos.com
Mobile, web & cloud enthusiast. Webmaster at VC-funded startup with 15. Former IT Consulting + Web Ops at HP. Previous mobile startup experience. iOS developer.
http://funkfeuer.net
Founder @wantedly • Worked at @facebook, @goldman-sachs • Studied at @kyoto-university
Serial entrepreneur. CEO at J-Seed Ventures and Chief Mentor at @venture-generation, a Tokyo-based venture community.
Co-Founder & CTO of:
Exco Financial Services, including Paidy.com, Aqush.com and MyCredit.jp.
Wavecell, Global SMS aggregator.
Nozara, research & investment.
Co-Founder @pocketmath, • Studied Economics/Math at @university-of-texas-at-austin-1
C#.NET, MSSQL Web & Desktop Developer / Consultant
Co-Founder | President | CTO of ubi interactive inc. / @ubi-interactive / Human Computer Interaction, ex-Vodafone, ex-Siemens, ex-Philips, CDTM, TUM Alumnus
http://chaozhang.com
Founder @wantedly • Worked at @goldman-sachs • Studied at @kyoto-university
CEO Vizalytics Technology • Content janitor. Worked at @razorfish, @FinancialTimes @newsweek • Studied at @city-university-of-new-york, Former IBCLC with private practice.
http://cuppagemma.com/
Was in on the ground floor @the-orchard, @digital-rights-agency, @electronic-arts, @digital-music-group-inc, @red-melon-records • Cognitive Science at @university-of-california-san-diego
CEO of Increments, the top prize company of Open Network Lab 4th batch. Worked at @google, @hatena.
http://yaotti.hatenablog.com
Founder @j-grab-inc • Worked at @ebay, @yahoo-japan
http://www.facebook.com/jgraben
Creator of Dynamic Paper. Energy efficient display technology for e-readers identical to paper. Background in product development of unique display tech.
CEO @marono-media-k-k
Founder of @locomizer, a B2B geo-behavioral targeting engine to help companies monetize on targeted recommendations and advertising.
http://www.locomizer.com/blog/
Researcher, Security Auditor, Developer, Software Architect, Enterpreteneur, ...
Japan Market Entry Manager and Senior AI Developer at Skimlinks (User Intent and Text understanding),
Founder of @expressi (emotional relevance), @emotion-ai. Co Founded @zukool (machine learning / recommendation). BSc Artificial Intelligence.
http://expressi.mewww.emotionai.comwww.attentionai.comwww.neon.aiwww.zukool.com
CEO of LM3LABS • Technology management roles @accenture, @nortel-networks @gartner • Engineering + MBA education.
Leading scholar and consultant on virtual economies and digital labor. Splitting my time between London School of Economics and a startup. Ex-game developer
Founder & CEO @origami-4
Co-founder of Remotus and currently in charge of business development.
Codes. Dreams. @Penn @Brown @salesforce MVP. Founder @swarm
http://www.fractastical.com
Working on @unda as Android developer. Have made more than 30 apps for iOS and Android devices. Founder of @goldrush-computing (Tokyo based app dev company)
Artist, Founder @artsocket @eureka-1 @hechnr-business-engines-inc-1
http://knowledgeandanticipation.tumblr.com
I invest in 5-10 startups @ $30K a year.
http://ougonnokane.com
Co-Founder of Doorkeeper. Enthusiastic Web Developer (10+ years) and Entrepreneur. Startup Weekend Facilitator.
Founder @cottontracks • Worked at @demand-media • Studied at @hec-paris, @telecom-paristech
Co-founder @readerie; Co-founder XM Asia, acq by WPP Group; Founded Organic Asia, IPO in 2000; Worked at @microsoft, Beacon Communications/Leo Burnett Japan.
http://startuphui.com
CEO at E-Fi Entreprenuer. Independent Marketing Consultant and CMO for start-ups. Strong Business Background. Looking for a job.
Founder and CEO of @3d-travel, a travel-tech startup that raised $3.5MM. Founder and CEO of @team-vision, a successful interactive agency for over 15 years.
http://3dhawaii.com/blog
Serial entrepreneur. Co-Founder at @basaar & @siison. Studied marketing and finance at the University of Tartu and Waseda University in Tokyo.
http://silverhage.com
Swedish Entrepreneur and currently founder of Primal Shield. 5 Countries, 5 companies, 5 Languages and 5 areas of expertise.
StudyPact Founder. MSc in Big Data. Deep passion for behavioral design. Entrepreneur & full-stack dev since age 10.
I get things done.
http://www.hoenisch.at
Founder Vitanect • Worked at @medtronic, @eli-lilly, @arthur-andersen • Studied at @insead-1, @universidade-nova-de-lisboa
ex-Co-founder of @fluxflex.
Network/Infra Engineer, @amazon EC2/AutoScaling, iPhone Apps Dev, Internet Backbone Operation(BGP).
Worked at NTT, IRI, transcosmos
http://hirofukami.tumblr.com
Ruby on Rails contributor, Kaminari maintainer(watched by +2600 on Github). experience in programming for +10 years.
http://yukinishijima.net
Work at @samurai-incubate-1 which is a seed-Investor.
Director/Event Organizer/
http://www.entrepreneursmind.net/
Founder @j-grab-inc • Worked at @ebay, @ctc-enterprises • Studied at American University from Pennsylvania and Master degree in Japan Social Science.
http://www.facebook.com/jgraben
Founder @everyone @recipay-com-1
https://medium.com/@thierrybezier
Misanthropologist
Software engineer with 14 years’ experience as a technology leader, architect and entrepreneur in enterprise & high-volume web. Building a Google Glass startup.
http://www.superhumanlabs.com/blog
Builds stuff. CS @berkeley and @stanford-university. Likes Machine Learning, Big Data, UX Design, Lean Startups. Lived in US, Germany, Japan, Thailand.
http://dennybritz.com
Media Mogul behind #QEBLLC @QEBVLogTV #PublishingQEB #QEBStudios & #QEBFoundation. NEWS TIPS #4045329232
Inventor, "Med-Surg Onshoring" (pat. pend.). Project leader $50MM ILEC COs. Leading Wall St. analyst Cable-Modem 1.0. MBA, UNC-Chapel Hill. U-Mich. award.
Founder. Art Director. Launched mobile app Area Now.
Game industry conference planner. Worked @ startups in Tokyo & Vienna. Speaker @ MIT, GDC, Gamescom. PhD.
Co-Founder, CEO of CoinPass. Ex Director, Regional Head of APAC, Global RTB Team, at Criteo, BD Manager at Groupon, also Co-Founder of Musavy
Founder at @design Royale (acquired dec'12). Founder at @drumo
Founder @yoketown, Sence • Worked at @goldman-sachs, @morgan-stanley • Studied at @stanford-university, @university-of-waterloo
https://medium.com/@fon_tran
CEO of GOOPA Inc. Lived in Silicon Valley for 8.5 years. Animation major at Tokyo Polytechnic University. Worked at amana inc. as newly graduate.
CEO at Profero Tokyo, Founder Growth Hacking Japan, 500 Startups Mentor. Japan-focused brand strategist & growth hacker, bilingual, WPP Fellow, OxfordUni MPhys
http://jameshollow.com
Executive Chairman & Co-Founder of Cerego LLC
Co-Founder and CEO of 10SEC
Founder of Etsuri
Creative problem solver. Founded, ran and sold online travel startup. Strong online background from @expedia and @mckinsey-company
CEO of MediaProbe Inc.
CEO of @net8. I met the internet in 1995 at the first. In that time i worked for JustNet that was ISP of Justsytem corp. Then found own company in 1999.
Founded Roth Management, Founding board member of the Catalina Film Festival.
http://www.ryan-roth.com
CEO of Origoh (Current). Rocket Engineer in JAXA, Public Officer in Japan, Statistian, Chicago Booth MBA 2013 (Sponsored by Government) and Art lover.
Interactive Developer Web/Device
Developing Second Screen experiences
An ex-director of mixi Inc. that is one of popular Japanese socia network service.
Software Developer, Engineer, Founder. Worked at @business-objects. Worked in Japan, Canada, Romania, India.
Co-Founder/COO/General Counsel of Global EduGate • Worked as IP lawyer at @the-coca-cola-company • Studied at @georgetown-university, @university-of-maryland-college-park
http://careeradviceforasians.wordpress.com
Founder @bulqy • Worked at @deloitte-consulting, @sap
Founder @diggerlab • Worked at @microsoft-research, @tokyo-institute-of-technology-1 • Studied at @waseda, @chalmers-institute-of-technology
Serial cleantech entrepreneur with successful startup, IPO, secondary, turn-around and MBO experience. Currently CEO of VAIREX air systems.
Entrepreneur based in Tokyo and CEO at Cream - Mobile Marketing Lab.
Founder of @hitch-d. Mother of two. Web Designer and Fulbright Fellow. Former Tech Recruiter in Tokyo.
Co-founder & Chairman of Ticketstreet, online marketplace of Sports/Concert/Thertre tickets in Japan. Serial entrepreneur, Angel investor.
http://blog.livedoor.jp/taro_akebono/
Founder and CEO of @godigex. Strong international business background (operations at ConAgra Foods, marketing at Brambles). MBA @georgia-institute-of-technology 2009 - Batts Fellow.
Founder islamap
Studying Waseda University
I'm now in MOVIDA School by Taizo Son.
Graduated Kaisei High&Middle Hish School.
Mobile Developer, Photographer, Blogger.
http://zuco.org
Founder @securo, @instatrip
Owner & CIO of @skyavy, INC.
http://iketani.skyavy.com
Founder and developer of Cumiki. Ph.D student at University of Tokyo department of Economics. I'm a developer of Node, Rails, and iOS.
http://ryooopan.tumblr.com
Software engineer who has speciality in machine learning.
Founder Mystar-Japan Business Solutions • Studied at @keio-university
http://satoshitaniguchi.com
Co-founder at FitnessCubed. UChicago alum. ChicagoBooth MBA admit. Health, Energy, Art.
Founder/Engineer @tadaku • Studied at @university-of-massachusetts-amherst • Bostonian abroad
Founder Skimtoon and LVC Investment, Specialize in Financial analysis and operations Studied at @university-of-waterloo
Founded two companies in Japan
Worked at @recruit, @recruit Holdings • Studied at @keio-university
Designer turned entrepreneur turned angel investor. Co-founder of LELO (sold), co-founder of Dreamler, founder of Criterion Investments.
Worked at @morgan-stanley @pwc @credit-suisse @bnp-paribas • Studied at @london-school-of-economics • Member of MENSA • Speaks four different languages
Founder @tabego • Worked at @gree-international-inc, @wizcorp
Co-founder of @10sec.
Masahiko Inada is a Founder & CEO at kabuku Inc., a leading startup relating making things in Japan.
Founder of Otsumu Inc.
Founder @coffeebreak • Worked at @stumbleupon, @microsoft • Studied at @carnegie-mellon-university
Founder of @olio.me. Founder @skyavy, Inc (US). Founder @skyavy Group, co.ltd (Japan). Founder @jmarket-com (sold).
http://sorato.me
Japan.
Two decades, marketing, strategy, m&a, deals in b. Actually knows what "wa" means.
Rode the 9.0 no hands.
Significant Experience in IT Ops, LiveOPS, IT Support, and Customer Support.
Co-Founder of @porter-sail. Ideated and executed global digital strategies for brands like Food Network and Masterchef. Barnard College graduate in Economics.
Founder @tier5 • Worked at @google, @microsoft • B.S./M.S @johns-hopkins-university
Founder of @cybridge, @cybridge Mobile. Investor in @axion, @fan-appli, @soratobu, @predge, @pa-corp. Team member of @cybridge.
http://yuki.blog.cybridge.jp/
Co-founder/CEO of Oarket Inc. Planning to move office to CA, USA. Studied at @tokyo Metropolitan. International retail background (Tribox Inc., a puzzle shop)
Tokyo, Japan-based marketer, entrepreneur, tea aficionado and outdoorsman.
http://jonclemons.com/blog
Co-Founder, CEO of @shiroube - The marketplace linking travelers with local residents to enable users to freely seek micro local guides. - http://shiroube.com/
Co-founder COO of Molcure, Co-founder CEO of Mashroom, Founder of iDEFIX
CEO of @beartail. Student at @tsukuba-university university. Worked at big computer magazine companies as a technical writer and founded smartphone news web media.
Co-Founder @beestripe. Analytics Consultant for @microsoft, T-Mobile, Home Depot, Alaska Air. Founded Speekit which serves language learners in 176 countries.
Founder of Ednity. Ednity is a collaborative learning platform for classrooms.
http://hackinsight.com/
Founder @makamaka
http://blogs.bizmakoto.jp/kazunobuseto/
Visionary, Entrepreneur and Investor
Entrepreneur & software developer. Founded Bell Standard, Inc. Created over 750 apps for the iTunes Store.
Experienced Ruby on Rails programmer. Business, analytics and finance background. Previously worked at @pnc-capital-markets.
http://www.diasks2.com
Worked at @mixi-inc
Founder POYNTER
Web Developer
ex-startup founder & CEO: AHO Corporation(former @netaten-inc
Founder and CTO of @liine • Worked at @vantrix • Studied at @university-of-montreal • Maker of things
CEO & Co-Founder at co-meeing Inc.
COO,CFO of @cafeworx-inc
Founder of ZenClerk. We help e-commerce websites to close sales. Wanna surprise the world!
Team member of @marketgeek.
http://keketter.tumblr.com/
Founder The Manx Entertainment Group, @conceptuous • Studied at @southern-cross-university
Founder @tabego
Founder of IGL-Art Inc. Film Producer, Director, Writer. Mainly make samurai movies.
Enthusiast, passionate about new tech and wearable devices. Founder @mmt-and-co, @syncbiz-pte-ltd • Worked at @77hz-ltd
http://masarusuzuki.tumblr.com/
CEO @invest-diva
http://forexdiva.com/
Presidet & CEO at @rivertime-entertainment Inc.
Creative at @dentsu Inc.
Film Director with @radical.media
Founder of @myndpage. Fond of programming, linguistics and neurology. 1st freelance programming job at 18 for @novonordisk Laboratories. Graduated from Epitech.
Owner Muchacho Clothing. Founded 2007. Worked at Macquarie Bank, JP Morgan, Citco Fund Services. We are a swim and streetwear brand based in Sydney, Australia
COO of Increments,the top prize company of Open Network Lab 4th batch.Open Network Lab is one of the most famous incubation in japan.Worked at Rakuten.
Founder Tokyo Incubator @luxstack; sold 1st startup to @monster-worldwide; platform & app lead for Softbank, @yahoo-japan, @fujitsu; enterprise R&D for @adidas
Founder @localgraph • Worked at @recruit
Founder MoreTrax
Worked at @regal-farms-llc-1
CEO of @miracoro. Master of pharmacy. worked at parexel international, dispensing pharmacy.
Co founder of @mashroom-fm.
@mashroom-fm help people playing instruments at home and participate in virtual jam session and practice with others.
Director of @entsure. Pro Go player. World Rank #1. Won 35 Championships (15 major int'l titles). Over 40 million fans in Asia (China, Korea, Japan and Taiwan).
Founder Byus
A Managing Partner of TMC Japan, Karl Caldeira focuses on developing the firm’s and search and recruitment techniques.
http://karlcaldeira.tumblr.com/
Founder of @thinkx-inc
http://kazukiotsuka.wordpress.com/