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Kyoto’s Makers Boot Camp partners with La French Tech to help more IoT startups grow

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This is a guest post by Sabrina Sasaki, a marketing representative of Kyoto-based hardware startup accelerator Makers Boot Camp. The accelerator holds the Monozukuri Hub Meetup event in Kyoto on a monthly basis. Additionally, all photos in this article were taken by Kyoto-based systems biologist Tugi Guenes. Last week we took part of the closing event of France Japan Innovation year: a special forum when an official mission from France visited Japan to validate bilateral business opportunities. The event happened on December 6th and 7th at Knowledge Capital – Grand Front Osaka (Umeda) , as the outcome of two years of collaboration, when the parts involved had the chance to showcase, all in the same space, their next steps and also new opportunities in innovation between both countries. Makers Boot Camp had a booth area together with KSN (Kyoto Shisaku Net), our prototype experts, a network of SMEs who support small lot production for startups creating a new product. KSN has already clients from France, and they also count on some French team members to support French startups. We shared our area side by side with Kyoto VR, a brand new startup working on combining both arts and technology for…

sabrina-sasaki-150x150This is a guest post by Sabrina Sasaki, a marketing representative of Kyoto-based hardware startup accelerator Makers Boot Camp. The accelerator holds the Monozukuri Hub Meetup event in Kyoto on a monthly basis.

Additionally, all photos in this article were taken by Kyoto-based systems biologist Tugi Guenes.


L to R: Olivier Ginepro, Economic Counselor for the French Embassy of Japan,
Narimasa Makino, Makers Boot Camp CEO

Last week we took part of the closing event of France Japan Innovation year: a special forum when an official mission from France visited Japan to validate bilateral business opportunities. The event happened on December 6th and 7th at Knowledge Capital – Grand Front Osaka (Umeda) , as the outcome of two years of collaboration, when the parts involved had the chance to showcase, all in the same space, their next steps and also new opportunities in innovation between both countries.

Our team had a prototype expert support from Emery Delmotte, French team member of KSN,
part of Saijo Inx Sales Team.
Thierry Dana, French Ambassador to Japan, visited our booth,
when Emery highlighted all the close ties between France and KSN.

Makers Boot Camp had a booth area together with KSN (Kyoto Shisaku Net), our prototype experts, a network of SMEs who support small lot production for startups creating a new product. KSN has already clients from France, and they also count on some French team members to support French startups.

We shared our area side by side with Kyoto VR, a brand new startup working on combining both arts and technology for a unique virtual reality experience. Recently, they exhibited a demo session at Nuit Blanche, a French event in Kyoto, with a special project involving IoT for cultural initiatives. Paris and Kyoto are already sister-cities in the fields of Fine Arts and Architecture and IoT should also be considered for the next projects.

Makers Boot Camp team with all the invited startups for the pitch session: Atmoph, PLENGoer and Kyoto VR.
Atmoph team members Chikaku Kato, Customer Relations, and Kyohi Kang, CEO and Co-Founder,
introduced their smart window already available for sale in Paris and other overseas markets.
PLENGoer team with their open-source robots that will be in a tour to US for CES 2017.
For Japanese makers like them, France is also a key market they plan to expand to.

During the two days of the event, there were sessions with key industry players from both countries, as Valeo, Michelin, Orange and Dassault Systems, Toyo Aluminium, SynphaTech Japon, and also a special session day focused on IoT startups. The purpose of the event was to bring stakeholders involved on the current discussions between France and Japan in order to achieve a plan for concrete actions in the next years.

With this spirit, Makers Boot Camp signed an MoU (Memorandum of Understanding) with La French Tech, represented by The French Embassy of Japan.

In May 2016, on behalf of Makers Boot Camp, I was invited to attend two outstanding hardware events in France: Connected Conference and Innorobo. It is clear the potential of disruptive projects in robotics and healthcare being created in France, so we’d like to partner with local players interested to reach a global market with high quality. Currently, there are players from both Japan and France willing to promote an exchange of technologies and resources.

From the French local governments,
Aix-Marseille Provence and Occitanie sent their representatives from both private and public sectors.

From Toulouse city, Julien Toulouse paid us a visit to our ecosystem in Kyoto, including our KSN factories with French team members involved. The tour was a way to illustrate Japanese small lot capabilities for French startups.

On Japanese side, Kansai representatives from local government and companies were also supporting the event. We hope the players involved can commit to a more active role in both countries, fomenting IoT industry all over the world.

Pepper Salé: Lessons from the bitter Aldebaran / SoftBank project

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This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him @markbivens. The Japanese translation of this article is available here. Bloomberg published an article last week on the failed Pepper program, the emotionally intelligent robot originally developed by French company Aldebaran Robotics which was largely acquired in 2012 by Japan’s SoftBank for approximately $100 million. The demise of Pepper has long been rumored (in fact The Rude Baguette originally broke the story nearly two years ago), though only recently is it becoming acknowledged more openly in Japan. On a recent visit to a business meeting in Tokyo, I was warmly welcomed at the interphone (despite my poorly accented Japanese), directed into a elevator, escorted to a conference room and offered coffee, all by a charmingly hospitable Pepper receptionist. Although the Rude Baguette post‘s comments go deeper in speculation and entertaining mud-slinging, one part of the Bloomberg piece in particular resonated with me: Aldebaran and SoftBank’s…

mark-bivens_portrait

This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him @markbivens. The Japanese translation of this article is available here.


rudevc_pepper-salted

Bloomberg published an article last week on the failed Pepper program, the emotionally intelligent robot originally developed by French company Aldebaran Robotics which was largely acquired in 2012 by Japan’s SoftBank for approximately $100 million.

The demise of Pepper has long been rumored (in fact The Rude Baguette originally broke the story nearly two years ago), though only recently is it becoming acknowledged more openly in Japan. On a recent visit to a business meeting in Tokyo, I was warmly welcomed at the interphone (despite my poorly accented Japanese), directed into a elevator, escorted to a conference room and offered coffee, all by a charmingly hospitable Pepper receptionist.

Although the Rude Baguette post‘s comments go deeper in speculation and entertaining mud-slinging, one part of the Bloomberg piece in particular resonated with me:
Aldebaran and SoftBank’s cultures didn’t mesh well. Engineers in Japan fumed when their French counterparts disappeared for weeks on vacation.

Aldebaran employees, accustomed to a flat structure, suddenly found many of their decisions second-guessed by an army of managers in Tokyo.

The Japanese parent created SoftBank Robotics Corp. to oversee the business and sell Pepper. It named Fumihide Tomizawa, a business manager who doesn’t speak English or French, to oversee development. Son put Takashi Tsutsui, a close ally and a veteran network engineer, in charge of technology.

So here are a few lessons from the unfortunate and probably avoidable demise of Pepper.

Acquisitions don’t magically solve organizational dysfunction. I understand from some of the firm’s early investors that Aldebaran faced internal lack of cohesion in the period prior to the SoftBank’s rescue, with allegedly some investors reaching the limits of their patience with Aldebaran management. Cleaning up personnel challenges in French companies is already difficult enough for shareholders locally, let alone a foreign acquirer.

Cross-cultural training is critical in transcontinental acquisitions like this one. The company cultures of SoftBank and Aldebaran fell in stark contrast: a hierarchical organization vs. a flat one; structured vs. chaotic; a work environment where office face time is valued vs. one in which the minimum 5 weeks vacation plus RTT days are prized.

Employees with an affinity to bridge the cultural divide — be it thanks to their languages skills, international experience, etc. — should be empowered to play a prominent role in such partnerships. Even among those who are not viewed as sufficiently senior in the hierarchy or as sufficiently expert in the domain, any individuals who can help facilitate the interpersonal connections are valuable during the initial critical phase of a merger.

Finally, perhaps the Aldebaran / SoftBank experiment shines light on a need that efforts like #LaFrenchTech might address: with its access to a pool of resources who are versed in political relations and diplomacy, a government initiative like #LaFrenchTech could provide guidance to startups in finding their way in unfamiliar territory.

Startups enter the fray with arrival of fall exhibition season in Japan

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This is a guest post authored by “Tex” Pomeroy. He is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology. Many startups in Japan are exhibiting their products and services with the arrival of fall, when many major exhibitions are being held throughout Japan. The characteristic this year of the exhibitions seem to be the closer cooperation and industrial crossovers between the various sectors. It is thought that in reflection of the networks that are developing around the world by the day the “niche-ness” of the past, especially for Japanese startups, may be overcome. For example on October 2, the Edo/Tokyo Comprehensive Skills and Techno Exhibition supported by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government was held at Tokyo International Forum. In past years, many “niche” companies from industrial areas in Tokyo were gathered here but this year saw many Tokyo firms joining forces with those from other prefectures as well as abroad. In highlighting the move, a super-compact electric vehicle maker whose product is later being showcased at the Tokyo Motor Show and a humanoid robot startup supported by Osaka University took center stage. Exhibitors of interest included a Fukushima-focused group of companies working to expand cooperation between agricultural products providers and…

This is a guest post authored by “Tex” Pomeroy. He is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology.


yudogaku-2
Folks from Yudogaku Foundation at Edo/Tokyo Comprehensive Skills and Techno Exhibition

Many startups in Japan are exhibiting their products and services with the arrival of fall, when many major exhibitions are being held throughout Japan. The characteristic this year of the exhibitions seem to be the closer cooperation and industrial crossovers between the various sectors. It is thought that in reflection of the networks that are developing around the world by the day the “niche-ness” of the past, especially for Japanese startups, may be overcome.

yudogaku-1
Folks from Yudogaku Foundation at Edo/Tokyo Comprehensive Skills and Techno Exhibition

For example on October 2, the Edo/Tokyo Comprehensive Skills and Techno Exhibition supported by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government was held at Tokyo International Forum. In past years, many “niche” companies from industrial areas in Tokyo were gathered here but this year saw many Tokyo firms joining forces with those from other prefectures as well as abroad. In highlighting the move, a super-compact electric vehicle maker whose product is later being showcased at the Tokyo Motor Show and a humanoid robot startup supported by Osaka University took center stage.

Exhibitors of interest included a Fukushima-focused group of companies working to expand cooperation between agricultural products providers and small trading houses, a Saitama outfit looking to expand business overseas with “boutique trading support”, and a Yokosuka Research Park (YRP) IoT (Internet of Things) endeavor aiming to spawn actual applications of YRP-IoT technologies among others.

yrp-iot
YRP-IOT’s booth at Edo/Tokyo Comprehensive Skills and Techno Exhibition

Also opening the second week of October is CEATEC, the consumer electronics confab supported by the Japanese electronics industry. This year, it is cooperating closely with the Tokyo Motor Show in a first such attempt, along with hosting a hackathon event jointly with Nomura Research Institute in trying to realize IoT applications by stimulating such efforts by startups. They will also hold a “Space Robot Contest” with an eye to space development activities gaining support from the electronics sector.

la-french-tech-tokyo-1

In parallel, other startups in Japan took part in La French Tech, which brought many French startups to Tokyo to present their wares. The Japanese firms were keenly interested in cooperating with business expansion efforts by such companies involved in health/sports and the environment not to mention manufacturing. Although the French firms still tend to prefer “marketing individually” as opposed to attending exhibitions there were notable exceptions.

la-french-tech-tokyo-beam
BeAM CEO Emmanuel Laubriat at La French Tech Tokyo

Of particular interest was BeAM (which stands for “Be Additive Manufacturing”) that had its CEO appear in Tokyo, in advance to having his engineers attend the Tokyo Motor Show in a few weeks’ time; the company’s strength is being able to use metal lasering tech for its 3D printers. Looking to market aggressively as well were companies like IDEOL selling floating platforms for wind power generators and Natural Grass, started by a former Rothschild banker, offering “manufactured turf grass” seen being usable for sport fields as well as for “greening” of buildings.

As for other European companies such as those from UK, Ireland or Norway, CEATEC was set forth as “testing ground” for their products. IoT seems to the “promising sector” for UK and Irish startups, while a chat with Nordic Semiconductor indicated field applications research in Japan to be a priority in their Asia-Pacific strategy. Regarding US firms, the CPS IoT standards for lower power consumption being pushed by industry members in conjunction with the International Energy Agency (IEA) – to realize “Energy Efficient End-use Equipment” – was seen as an impetus for venture businesses to enter the sector.

Japanese startups like Emotion Intelligence, Increments, and Repro took part in La French Tech. For the readers’ information, 2015 is “France Japan Innovation Year” and the French government has been vigorously assisting collaboration by French and Japanese firms.