There was a healthcare startup-focused showcasing event called Health2.0 Asia in Tokyo in November, where we saw various services born out of Japan in the healthcare sector drawing much attention globally. A Japanese startup called Symax won the startup pitch competition in the event.
This company announced today that it has secured funding from Draper Nexus Venture Partners, iSG Investment Works and several angel investors in a series A round. Financial details of the investment were not disclosed.
Since its launch back in June of 2014, Symax has been developing a sensor device that can be attached to Western-style toilets, telling users their health condition by analyzing their urine on a daily basis for a monthly charge of about $10. Based on a unique analysis algorithm, their technology detects lifestyle diseases such as gout and diabetes with 99% accuracy. Users can check out their analyzed result using the Symax mobile app.
Regardless of whether users have no subjective symptoms, Symax claimed that this solution can discover 86% out of all different types of lifestyle diseases. They say that user companies or other facilities installing many units in their venue can reduce an initial investment to about one-tenth that for conventional similar solutions which usually costs more than hundreds of thousand US dollars. Leveraging acquired data, they are considering the launch of data marketing business targeting health insurance societies and companies.
We look forward to the launch of the Simax solution which aims to watch over people’s health condition without forcing them to add a new habit to their daily lives.
Symax founder and CEO Maria Tsuruoka delivered a pitch at the Myojo Waraku event in November.
Translated by Masaru Ikeda Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy
Tokyo-based Minrevi, a Japanese startup that connects bereaved families to funeral homes and other end-of-life service providers, has commenced accepting orders through Amazon for sending Buddhist monks for memorial services. The service is expected to be used by families without their temple or knowing no Buddhist monk to ask for sutra recitation for the deceased. It is available for a flat rate of 35,000 yen (about $280) each time regardless of location if in Japan for inviting a monk, such as their cemetery or home. anywhere in Japan users want to invite a monk, such as their cemetery or home. Since its launch back in 2009, Minrevi has been offering funeral home reviews and pricing information online aimed at bringing more transparency into funeral planning. Specialized in user introduction to funeral homes in eight Buddhist denominations nationwide in Japan, they also provide various types of memorial services like a burial at sea as well as a space burial in partnership with San Francisco-based Elysium Space. See also: San Francisco startup brings space funerals to Japan In August, Minrevi fundraised 285 million yen (about $2.3 million) in a series B round led by Japanese VC firm Global Brain with participation from…
Tokyo-based Minrevi, a Japanese startup that connects bereaved families to funeral homes and other end-of-life service providers, has commenced accepting orders through Amazon for sending Buddhist monks for memorial services.
The service is expected to be used by families without their temple or knowing no Buddhist monk to ask for sutra recitation for the deceased. It is available for a flat rate of 35,000 yen (about $280) each time regardless of location if in Japan for inviting a monk, such as their cemetery or home. anywhere in Japan users want to invite a monk, such as their cemetery or home.
Since its launch back in 2009, Minrevi has been offering funeral home reviews and pricing information online aimed at bringing more transparency into funeral planning. Specialized in user introduction to funeral homes in eight Buddhist denominations nationwide in Japan, they also provide various types of memorial services like a burial at sea as well as a space burial in partnership with San Francisco-based Elysium Space.
See the original story in Japanese. FiNC is a Tokyo startup that provides online weight loss and dietary advice based on a scientific approach such as genetic testing. Corresponding to the stress check guideline recently implemented by the Japanese ministry of health and welfare, FiNC launched in November a new online stress check service called Welness Survey Stress. The company has introduced a variety of services such as the FiNC online diet coach service, healthcare news app Wellness Post, as well as a 60-day group weight-loss program in partnership with Wellness Frontier, the company behind the Joyfit sports club chain in Japan. FiNC announced today that it has fundraised an undisclosed sum from several companies. Participating investors are ANA Holdings (TSE:9202, passenger flight service), All Nippon Airways Trading, Credit Saison (TSE:8253), Dai-ichi Life Insurance (TSE:8750), Mitsubishi Estate (TSE:8802), Yoshinoya Holdings (TSE:9861, beef bowl restaurant chain), Rohto Pharmaceutical, Kewpie (TSE:2809, mayonnaise manufacturer), Golf Digest Online (TSE:3319), Neo Career (recruiting), Fenox Venture Capital, and Good Patch (UI/UX agency). For instance, Rohto Pharmaceutical, whose mission statement is to increase life expectancy, aims to introduce more healthcare services to meet the needs of people’s daily lives by combining Rohto’s know-how in medicine and cosmetic…
FiNC is a Tokyo startup that provides online weight loss and dietary advice based on a scientific approach such as genetic testing. Corresponding to the stress check guideline recently implemented by the Japanese ministry of health and welfare, FiNC launched in November a new online stress check service called Welness Survey Stress. The company has introduced a variety of services such as the FiNC online diet coach service, healthcare news app Wellness Post, as well as a 60-day group weight-loss program in partnership with Wellness Frontier, the company behind the Joyfit sports club chain in Japan.
For instance, Rohto Pharmaceutical, whose mission statement is to increase life expectancy, aims to introduce more healthcare services to meet the needs of people’s daily lives by combining Rohto’s know-how in medicine and cosmetic development with FiNC’s technology.
By joining forces with big companies representing the Japanese market, FiNC aims to be the world’s best wellness solution provider by accelerating business expansion. In October, the company partnered with Softbank and started developing a new healthcare service leveraging user personal data and IBM Watson. Expect to see the launch of similar joint projects with participating investors in the future.
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Clue announced in November the launch of a data management service for drones called DroneCloud. The service will offer a platform to manage drone data, such as tracking who operates which drone, managing projects and team members operating drones, as well as managing and sharing drone flight data. In the platform, the project management menu allows users to create and manage a project such as assigning drone managers and selecting which drone to use. The data management menu can store photos and videos taken from drones, as well as manage flight plans and other project information. The flight log menu records weather conditions, and where and when drones are being operated. The individual management menu manages model specs of drones used, records total flying hours, and maintenance status. The service is available for a monthly subscription fee of 9,800 yen ($80). Ryosuke Abe, CEO and founder of Clue explains: DroneCloud is a cloud service for companies using drones in their business. There are few peripheral services supporting their efficient drone operations such as managing drones and acquired data. We can support their safe and efficient operations by offering a service allowing them to…
Tokyo-based Clue announced in November the launch of a data management service for drones called DroneCloud. The service will offer a platform to manage drone data, such as tracking who operates which drone, managing projects and team members operating drones, as well as managing and sharing drone flight data.
In the platform, the project management menu allows users to create and manage a project such as assigning drone managers and selecting which drone to use. The data management menu can store photos and videos taken from drones, as well as manage flight plans and other project information. The flight log menu records weather conditions, and where and when drones are being operated. The individual management menu manages model specs of drones used, records total flying hours, and maintenance status. The service is available for a monthly subscription fee of 9,800 yen ($80).
DroneCloud’s dashboard
Ryosuke Abe, CEO and founder of Clue explains:
DroneCloud is a cloud service for companies using drones in their business. There are few peripheral services supporting their efficient drone operations such as managing drones and acquired data. We can support their safe and efficient operations by offering a service allowing them to manage various data in an integrated way. Since business use of drones are more advanced in the US and Europe, we will target the global market. That’s why we are offering the service in English as well as in Japanese.
He has a website called Drone Borg that covers drone startups and use cases from the world. Abe is a serial entrepreneur, having launched fashion sharing business Loving’Box. Abe is leveraging his aerospace engineering background in the drone space.
Abe says that DroneCloud will be a platform for data processing solutions in the cloud, acquiring flight data by integrating drones from different manufacturers via API (application program interface) or SDK (software development kit).
As the Aviation Law has been amended in Japan, when a company wants to use a drone, they must check flight restricted areas, apply for a flying permit, and register the drone. Clue will help users process these tasks, aiming to support overall drone operations for businesses.
Abe outlined their plans:
In addition to DroneCloud, we are looking at creating a whole “operating system” for business-use drones. Only Airware is running the business, but there is no outstanding startup in this sector. While the hardware business of drones will be commoditized in the future, I think the operating system software and the cloud will be the key to secure our competitive advantage. We intend to make DroneCloud a must-have cloud service for drone businesses, providing an OS control board that will enable seamless data integration with the cloud platform.
Translated by Moto Tsujino via Mother First Edited by Kurt Hanson
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Aquabit Spirals announced on Tuesday that it has fundraised 40 million yen (approximately $325,000) from K&P Partners in a seed round. Since its launch back in 2009, Aquabit Spirals has been developing O2O (online to offline) solutions using NFC (near field communication) technology. The company was selected to join the Spring 2015 Season batch of the Orange Fab Asia incubation program with its Smart Plate device which enables bookmarking on real objects using NFC-enabled IC chips. Having a unique QR code and IC chips inside, the device gives information linked with other Smart Plates through NFC-enabled / camera built-in smartphones. By managing linked information with codes via the cloud, the Smart Plate leads the user to the information by redirecting access destination, even enabling the NFC chip campaign owners to integrally manage information via the cloud with a specialized app. The company was selected a Top 10 finalist in the Startup Launchpad Area competition at Echelon Thailand 2015, a startup showcase event taking place in Bangkok last week. They also recently won the Shibuya second prize in the Tokyu Accelerate Program, a startup acceleration program by Tokyu Corporation, one of Tokyo’s leading private…
Tokyo-based Aquabit Spirals announced on Tuesday that it has fundraised 40 million yen (approximately $325,000) from K&P Partners in a seed round.
Since its launch back in 2009, Aquabit Spirals has been developing O2O (online to offline) solutions using NFC (near field communication) technology. The company was selected to join the Spring 2015 Season batch of the Orange Fab Asia incubation program with its Smart Plate device which enables bookmarking on real objects using NFC-enabled IC chips. Having a unique QR code and IC chips inside, the device gives information linked with other Smart Plates through NFC-enabled / camera built-in smartphones.
By managing linked information with codes via the cloud, the Smart Plate leads the user to the information by redirecting access destination, even enabling the NFC chip campaign owners to integrally manage information via the cloud with a specialized app.
A prototype of the Smart Plate device showcased at Orange Fab Asia Demo Day. This can be put on books laid sideways at bookstores and help customers reach supplemental information on mobile.
The company was selected a Top 10 finalist in the Startup Launchpad Area competition at Echelon Thailand 2015, a startup showcase event taking place in Bangkok last week. They also recently won the Shibuya second prize in the Tokyu Accelerate Program, a startup acceleration program by Tokyu Corporation, one of Tokyo’s leading private railway companies, in association with IMJ Investment Partners. With the support of Tokyu, Aquabit Spirals will start test marketing the Smart Plate device in January of 2016.
In addition, Aquabit Spirals started providing the showrooming experience for customers at two DIY shops in Tokyo and Osaka using the device, connecting items displayed for sales there with an online storefront where customers can buy afterwards. In Bangkok, the company has placed the device at Airbnb guest rooms, aiming to drive potential customers to Travee, an online activity matching platform in Asia, and bring additional revenue for guest room owners. It can be considered as a new affiliate business model that drives customer traffic into offline retailing.
A Smart Plate device located in an Airbnb guest room in Bangkok. (Image from Travee’s Facebook timeline).
Using the latest funds, Aquabit Spirals wants to enhance the function of the device and accelerate the penetration thereof in Japan and the rest of the world, aiming to connect various location spots and physical things to the Internet.
See the original story in Japanese. This is part of our ‘Tokyo Office Tour’ series (RSS), a modest attempt to better understand how folks in the local startup scene are working every day. Startups in the growth stage are often forced to relocate their office due to the rapid increase of their employees. As I wrote in this story before, since every district in Tokyo has its own characteristics in terms of property size or public transit access, it is common for startups to move to other district as they grow. However, Grooves, a Japanese startup providing human resources technology (HR tech) solutions, has been relocating its office only in the Omotesando district, sometimes referred to as Tokyo’s Champs-Élysées or Rodeo Drive, for over ten years. We recently visited Groove’s newest office facing a main road in the area to speak with their founder and CEO Yuhikiro Ikemi. He said that the this area’s presence as a startup hub has been gradually growing amongst Tokyo’s other major startup hubs like Shibuya and Roppongi. Our readers may recall that MerryBiz, Japanese crowdsourced bookkeeping startup, established its office last year in this area which we also called a fintech startup hub in Tokyo….
This is part of our ‘Tokyo Office Tour’ series (RSS), a modest attempt to better understand how folks in the local startup scene are working every day.
Startups in the growth stage are often forced to relocate their office due to the rapid increase of their employees. As I wrote in this story before, since every district in Tokyo has its own characteristics in terms of property size or public transit access, it is common for startups to move to other district as they grow. However, Grooves, a Japanese startup providing human resources technology (HR tech) solutions, has been relocating its office only in the Omotesando district, sometimes referred to as Tokyo’s Champs-Élysées or Rodeo Drive, for over ten years. We recently visited Groove’s newest office facing a main road in the area to speak with their founder and CEO Yuhikiro Ikemi.
He said that the this area’s presence as a startup hub has been gradually growing amongst Tokyo’s other major startup hubs like Shibuya and Roppongi. Our readers may recall that MerryBiz, Japanese crowdsourced bookkeeping startup, established its office last year in this area which we also called a fintech startup hub in Tokyo.
Since a typical office floor is about 200 square meters wide at most in this area, medium-sized companies move to towering buildings in subcenters of Tokyo such as Otemachi or Shinjuku when their office is to small for the increased number of employees. Because these companies typically leave furnishings or amenities when they move, the next tenant startup can take them over when renting these office without additional renovation or furnishings. When moving to the next location, these tenant startups would not need to restore the venue interiors to its original condition if they can find the next renter which can be satisfied with using it without changing the environment. This merits an original tenant company, a new tenant startup as well as an office room owner in terms of cost saving and renovation construction unneeded.
Guiding me inside his new office, Ikemi told us in a modest way that the new venue was far beyond their means but he could luckily rented the one having brilliant interiors and furnishings thanks to a real estate agent that he has known long.
L to R: Yukihiro Ikemi (CEO and founder), Minoru Kuriyama (MD, management strategy), Yuka Ouka (programmer), Akira Matsuda (MD, R&D), Takafumi Ohata (MD and co-founder)
Earlier this year, the company appointed Dr. Kenji Hirata, who has been involved in HR-XML (Human Resources eXtensible Markup Language) and standardizing the competence model for human resources development, as principal for the new research unit. And this time around, the company announced that Minoru Kuriyama, former McKinsey consultant and MBA lecturer, and Akira Matsurda, Japan’s only committer on Ruby and Ruby on Rails committer, have joined the board. Going forward, the company will more focused on expanding Forkwell, a platform helping engineers find new jobs by registering their skills portfolio, and CrowdAgent as channels for connecting general job seekers with recruitment agencies, in addition to developing HR technology solutions in the research unit.
Ikemi started the Omotesando Start-up Hub Project this year, encouraging as many entrepreneurs and startups as possible to run their business here together through organizing meet-ups at Apple Store Omotesando which is located in the very heart of the district. We are looking forward to seeing the high rise of the new startup hub, slightly different from conventional startup hubs in chaotic townscape like Shibuya or Roppongi.
Lovely array of books in the meeting space with clients.Staffers are aggressively working in cubicles.Engineers discussing in serious manner, surrounded by user voices on post-it notes.With a sheepish grin, Ikemi said “there’s even a room for me” and guided me inside it.
Yukari Mitsuhashi
Masaru Ikeda
Shintaro Eguchi
