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By selling IoT subsidiary, Cerevo wants to help Panasonic boost digital transformation

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See the original story in Japanese. Japanese smart consumer electronics startup Cerevo announced on Monday that it has set up a subsidiary specialized in agile hardware manufacturing called Shiftall. In addition, the company has also sold the subsidiary’s entire stake to Panasonic. Takuma Iwasa will step down as CEO of Cerevo to be appointed as that for the new company. Prior to launching Cerevo back in 2007, Iwasa was being involved in developing connected consumer electronics products like Lumix (digital camera) and Diga (video recorder) at Panasonic. We’ve seen Cerevo has been collaborating with the consumer electronics giant in supporting hardware startups. Meanwhile, Panosonic is celebrating the 100th anniversary this year while launching several initiatives so that they can rejuvenate their organization  to keep producing innovations. In addition to establishing a startup collaboration space called 100BANCH in partnership with Loftwork and Cofe Company, Panasonic started working with Tokyo-based Creww, a key driver helping enterprises conduct open innovation initiatives, to run the Panasonic Accelerator program in Japan. Furthermore, our readers may recall that the company’s in-house new business initiative Game Changer Catapult showcased several innovative products at SXSW in Austin last month. For Panasonic, the Shiftwall acquisition with Iwasa can been…

Takuma Iwasa (Former CEO of Cerevo, new CEO of Shiftall)
Image credit: Rick Martin / The Bridge

See the original story in Japanese.

Japanese smart consumer electronics startup Cerevo announced on Monday that it has set up a subsidiary specialized in agile hardware manufacturing called Shiftall. In addition, the company has also sold the subsidiary’s entire stake to Panasonic. Takuma Iwasa will step down as CEO of Cerevo to be appointed as that for the new company.

Prior to launching Cerevo back in 2007, Iwasa was being involved in developing connected consumer electronics products like Lumix (digital camera) and Diga (video recorder) at Panasonic. We’ve seen Cerevo has been collaborating with the consumer electronics giant in supporting hardware startups.

Meanwhile, Panosonic is celebrating the 100th anniversary this year while launching several initiatives so that they can rejuvenate their organization  to keep producing innovations. In addition to establishing a startup collaboration space called 100BANCH in partnership with Loftwork and Cofe Company, Panasonic started working with Tokyo-based Creww, a key driver helping enterprises conduct open innovation initiatives, to run the Panasonic Accelerator program in Japan. Furthermore, our readers may recall that the company’s in-house new business initiative Game Changer Catapult showcased several innovative products at SXSW in Austin last month.

For Panasonic, the Shiftwall acquisition with Iwasa can been seen as a trump card to boost these open innovation activities from within the company.

See this link for more Cerevo-related articles.

Translated by Masaru Ikeda

Panasonic, Scrum Ventures announce BeeEdge joint venture to foster innovation

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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. Panasonic (TSE:6752) held a press conference as MC’d by Panasonic Senior Managing Executive Officer Tetsuro Homma on Thursday, announcing in Tokyo that it is forming a joint venture with a 49% share called BeeEdge together with Scrum Ventures, a San Francisco-based early-stage venture capital firm. Aimed at enabling a new generation of products, BeeEdge will identify technologies within Panasonic that are not fully utilized and create independent startups to develop them commercially. BeeEdge will act as an accelerator, with Panasonic and Scrum pooling their experience upon collaboration and supporting entrepreneurs. Scrum Ventures said in their release on the U.S. side. We know how to identify and support startups that are working on ground‐breaking new technologies. We are very hands‐on with founders and make sure they have what is needed to succeed. Sharing our expertise with Panasonic is a great opportunity to bring underutilized innovations to market. Tak Miyata heads the U.S. outfit as Founding Partner of Scrum Ventures, a seed-stage venture firm investing across a range of industries in the U.S. and Asia. With extensive experience plus networks in both…

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


Scrum Ventures’ partner Makoto Haruta speaks at a press conference in Tokyo.
Image credit: “Tex” Pomeroy

Panasonic (TSE:6752) held a press conference as MC’d by Panasonic Senior Managing Executive Officer Tetsuro Homma on Thursday, announcing in Tokyo that it is forming a joint venture with a 49% share called BeeEdge together with Scrum Ventures, a San Francisco-based early-stage venture capital firm.

Aimed at enabling a new generation of products, BeeEdge will identify technologies within Panasonic that are not fully utilized and create independent startups to develop them commercially. BeeEdge will act as an accelerator, with Panasonic and Scrum pooling their experience upon collaboration and supporting entrepreneurs.

Scrum Ventures said in their release on the U.S. side.

We know how to identify and support startups that are working on ground‐breaking new technologies. We are very hands‐on with founders and make sure they have what is needed to succeed. Sharing our expertise with Panasonic is a great opportunity to bring underutilized innovations to market.

Tak Miyata heads the U.S. outfit as Founding Partner of Scrum Ventures, a seed-stage venture firm investing across a range of industries in the U.S. and Asia. With extensive experience plus networks in both Silicon Valley and Japan, Scrum Ventures accelerates their portfolio companies for global opportunities and helps corporations innovate. Scrum Ventures partner Makoto Haruta will become BeeEdge President. It was recently announced that Scrum Studio to connect global corporations in Japan with startups in Silicon Valley through investing and collaboration have been set up.

Scrum Ventures’ partner Makoto Haruta (right) shakes hands with Panasonic’s Tetsuro Homma (left).
Image credit: “Tex” Pomeroy

Meanwhile Panasonic, known for creating consumer electronics that enhance customer lifestyles, has been increasing its investment to create new consumer experiences and businesses for the next generation. In April, it will look to focus their design efforts in Kyoto, among other changes. Haruta took the stage to underscore Scrum Ventures’ track record identifying new trends and technologies, in addition to strong understanding of the Silicon Valley startup ecosystem, noting that Scrum Ventures is well‐positioned to bring expertise to BeeEdge upon advising the startups.

Homma, in charge of the Appliance Company at Panasonic, said:

We are looking forward to working with Scrum Ventures because of their expertise in supporting startups. From analyzing opportunities and bringing products to market, to sharing best practices in operations, Scrum Ventures will be a valuable partner in maximizing how we develop our technologies with new innovative companies.

The Osaka manufacturing giant spokesman added as well that Panasonic is mulling investment into the Scrum Ventures Fund III along with the joint venture set-up.

Loftwork, Cafe Company and Panasonic set up collaboration site for startups in Shibuya

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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. In view of Panasonic celebrating its centennial in 2018, the Osaka electronic company has set up this July with startups Loftwork and Cafe Company – under the banner of “setting up an experimental space that seeks to enrich the world over the next hundred years” – a collaborative space in the area just south of Japan Railways Shibuya station. The three-story structure dubbed 100BANCH comprises the “Loft” collab space on the top floor supported by Panasonic and the “Garage” work space for members on the second floor. The ground floor will be occupied by “Kitchen” which will be a cafe space operated by Cafe Company. Shibuya is a hotbed of startup in Japan, and Panasonic, which started out small a century ago, wishes to support such companies taking on business challenges. The opening ceremony brought together some of the slated occupants of the building, ranging from an aquaponics venture with the backing of Assoc. Prof. Hiroyoshi Iwata of the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Science, to a Non-Profit Organization project (Re:recipe) looking to invigorate regional cities…

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


In view of Panasonic celebrating its centennial in 2018, the Osaka electronic company has set up this July with startups Loftwork and Cafe Company – under the banner of “setting up an experimental space that seeks to enrich the world over the next hundred years” – a collaborative space in the area just south of Japan Railways Shibuya station.

The three-story structure dubbed 100BANCH comprises the “Loft” collab space on the top floor supported by Panasonic and the “Garage” work space for members on the second floor. The ground floor will be occupied by “Kitchen” which will be a cafe space operated by Cafe Company. Shibuya is a hotbed of startup in Japan, and Panasonic, which started out small a century ago, wishes to support such companies taking on business challenges.

The opening ceremony brought together some of the slated occupants of the building, ranging from an aquaponics venture with the backing of Assoc. Prof. Hiroyoshi Iwata of the University of Tokyo’s Graduate School of Agriculture and Life Science, to a Non-Profit Organization project (Re:recipe) looking to invigorate regional cities by introducing to travelers unique local dishes that can be found all over Japan.

Creww sets up accelerator with Panasonic for high-potential startups from the world

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See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Creww, the Japanese startup behind a community platform offering open innovation opportunities to startups, announced today that it has launched the Panasonic Accelerator 2016 program in partnership with the consumer electronics giant and started accepting applications from startups. The program has three categories for entries – “home appliances and living” and “work,” plus “Advanced Technologies” – where Panasonic will offer their intellectual assets or human resources accordingly, such as their menu and recipe-suggestion websites, 250,000 employees around the world, offices and factories… in addition to bioelectronic sensing, spoken-language analysis as well as image diagnosis support technologies. Applications for the program are being accepted from July 13th to 28th. Following the screening of documents and presentations, selected applicants will participate in the program with a team from Panasonic, which is scheduled to start on September 2nd. Submitted ideas will be implemented in a closed environment controlled by Creww and Panasonic so that applicants will not need to worry about possible leaks of their ideas to third parties regardless of whether or not they can pass the screening process. Creww has partnered with over 50 Japanese corporations to date and helped them work with startups…

panasonic-advanced-technology-team
Panasonic’s Leading-Edge Technology Team (Image credit: Creww)

See the original story in Japanese.

Tokyo-based Creww, the Japanese startup behind a community platform offering open innovation opportunities to startups, announced today that it has launched the Panasonic Accelerator 2016 program in partnership with the consumer electronics giant and started accepting applications from startups. The program has three categories for entries – “home appliances and living” and “work,” plus “Advanced Technologies” – where Panasonic will offer their intellectual assets or human resources accordingly, such as their menu and recipe-suggestion websites, 250,000 employees around the world, offices and factories… in addition to bioelectronic sensing, spoken-language analysis as well as image diagnosis support technologies.

Applications for the program are being accepted from July 13th to 28th. Following the screening of documents and presentations, selected applicants will participate in the program with a team from Panasonic, which is scheduled to start on September 2nd. Submitted ideas will be implemented in a closed environment controlled by Creww and Panasonic so that applicants will not need to worry about possible leaks of their ideas to third parties regardless of whether or not they can pass the screening process.

Creww has partnered with over 50 Japanese corporations to date and helped them work with startups in so-called open innovation efforts. As of this month, the company has received more than 1,600 business proposals from startups in total while over 200 ideas out of these have been adopted by partnered corporations. While Panasonic had been collaborating with startups by individual product or technology where necessary, the company made some of its IoT (Internet of Things) patents available for royalty-free use last year, followed by launch of facilities like Panasonic Laboratory Tokyo and Wonder LAB Osaka as hubs for open innovation activities focused on artificial intelligence, IoT, robotics and sensing technologies this spring.

Other examples of accelerators by renowned consumer electronics giants around the world include Siemens Accelerator (in Germany), Samsung Accelerator (in New York City and San Francisco), StarRocket by Foxconn (in Taipei), not to mention Seed Accelerator Program (SAP) by Sony in Tokyo.

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Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

Japan’s Seven Dreamers developing the world’s first laundry bot with Panasonic, Daiwa House

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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. Japanese startup Seven Dreamers has unveiled joint development with Panasonic (TSE:6752) and Daiwa House (TSE:1925) for commercialization of “Laundroid” [1] at CEATEC Japan 2015, the largest consumer electronics exhibition in Asia being held under the theme of “NEXT – Today’s Dreams, Future Realities.” The effort fuses pioneering automatic laundry folding technology developed by Seven Dreamers, advanced washing/drying machine technology and home electronics development capacity developed by Panasonic, and track record in housing/nursing care businesses expanded by Daiwa House. Seven Dreamers implemented a large scale funding of 1.52 billion yen ($12.7 million) through third-party allocation of new shares by Daiwa House, the University of Tokyo Edge Capital, and several other companies in a series A funding, not only for development of revolutionary technology but also for expansion of business globally. The laundroid looks to free people from the labor required in folding and increases time with one’s family/hobby, resulting in revolutionizing people’s lifestyle. Through this joint development, Panasonic aims to provide more comfortable life style to consumers by enabling the automation of not only washing and drying processes but also folding…

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


laundroid_featuredimage

Japanese startup Seven Dreamers has unveiled joint development with Panasonic (TSE:6752) and Daiwa House (TSE:1925) for commercialization of “Laundroid[1] at CEATEC Japan 2015, the largest consumer electronics exhibition in Asia being held under the theme of “NEXT – Today’s Dreams, Future Realities.”

The effort fuses pioneering automatic laundry folding technology developed by Seven Dreamers, advanced washing/drying machine technology and home electronics development capacity developed by Panasonic, and track record in housing/nursing care businesses expanded by Daiwa House.

seven-dreamers-at-ceatec
Seven Dreamers’ booth at CEATEC Japan 2015 (Photo by Jerry Suppan)

Seven Dreamers implemented a large scale funding of 1.52 billion yen ($12.7 million) through third-party allocation of new shares by Daiwa House, the University of Tokyo Edge Capital, and several other companies in a series A funding, not only for development of revolutionary technology but also for expansion of business globally. The laundroid looks to free people from the labor required in folding and increases time with one’s family/hobby, resulting in revolutionizing people’s lifestyle.

Through this joint development, Panasonic aims to provide more comfortable life style to consumers by enabling the automation of not only washing and drying processes but also folding process. Meanwhile Daiwa House aims to achieve the realization of ideal social model by supplying services and products for the purpose of solving social issues.


  1. Trademark pending.

Panasonic’s new electric bicycle for moms combines practicality and design

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Panasonic Cycle Tech announced that it will launch an electric bicyle designed for three people — a parent and two small children. It’s called Gyutto. In Japan, especially in Tokyo where trains dominate as daily transportation, many moms turn to electric bicycles for getting around. If you walk around the streets of Tokyo, you’ll notice many women on bicycles with a child in the front or back. With the Gyutto’s sleek and modern design, moms can look stylish while getting her errands done too. The electric bicycle has an 8.9Ah battery which provides enough power to go for about 26 kilometers. It also has a feature that counts and displays your total calories burned. Gyutto comes in three color variations and is available for 133,000 yen (or about $1,330). The bicycle looks pretty sharp, it would be a great addition to any family — suitable for both moms and dads. In Japan, the very first electric bicycle appeared back in 1993. The market has grown ever since, and in 2010, the number of shipments exceeded 380,000 nationwide — outweighing even motorcycles in popularity. The 2011 Tohoku earthquake had an impact on the market as well. People needed affordable transportation and…

panasonic-gyutto

Panasonic Cycle Tech announced that it will launch an electric bicyle designed for three people — a parent and two small children. It’s called Gyutto. In Japan, especially in Tokyo where trains dominate as daily transportation, many moms turn to electric bicycles for getting around.

If you walk around the streets of Tokyo, you’ll notice many women on bicycles with a child in the front or back. With the Gyutto’s sleek and modern design, moms can look stylish while getting her errands done too.

The electric bicycle has an 8.9Ah battery which provides enough power to go for about 26 kilometers. It also has a feature that counts and displays your total calories burned. Gyutto comes in three color variations and is available for 133,000 yen (or about $1,330). The bicycle looks pretty sharp, it would be a great addition to any family — suitable for both moms and dads.

In Japan, the very first electric bicycle appeared back in 1993. The market has grown ever since, and in 2010, the number of shipments exceeded 380,000 nationwide — outweighing even motorcycles in popularity. The 2011 Tohoku earthquake had an impact on the market as well. People needed affordable transportation and turned to electric bicycles. In 2012, the number of electric bicycles sold grew by 24% in comparison to the year before.