At "FIRST CVC," we host bi-monthly meet-up events called "CVC Office Hour," where startups and CVCs can connect.

From the perspective of startups, there are often comments such as, "I don't know where to meet CVCs or corporate venture companies," or "It's difficult to make appointments before collaboration topics are decided." The lack of opportunities to connect is one of the barriers to open innovation in Japan.

As Japan's largest CVC community, FIRST CVC aims to solve this issue by creating casual opportunities for startups and CVCs to meet before seriously considering collaboration or investment. This event series, "CVC Office Hour," allows CVCs and startups to meet and discuss collaboration in a relaxed setting.

This event was unlike any other, where multiple CVC capitalists and startup executives gathered in an intimate setting to discuss potential collaboration.

This time, the theme was "Deep Tech," and on July 19, 2023, we welcomed 16 CVCs and 15 Deep Tech startups to engage in lively discussions about collaboration.

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【Participating CVC Capitalists】

DIC Corporation
ENEOS Holdings, Inc.
TEL Venture Capital, Inc.
Eisai Co., Ltd.
Hulic Co., Ltd.
Asahi Kasei Corporation
MOLPLUS, Inc.
PF Capital Co., Ltd.
Benesse Holdings, Inc.
Medipal Holdings Corporation
Shizuoka Capital Co., Ltd.
Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
FFG Venture Business Partners Co., Ltd.

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【Participating Startups】

BionicM Inc.
Craif Inc.
HarvestX Inc.
Morus Inc.
NUProtein Inc.
TopoLogic Inc.
Imacreate Inc.
Intelligent Surface Inc.
Sonus Inc.
Nanobridge Semiconductor Inc.
Libertas Therapeutics Inc.
Digzyme Inc.
KOALA Tech Inc.
Logomix Inc.
Yanekara Inc.

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The venue for this event, once again provided by Tokyu Corporation's generosity, was the "SOIL (Shibuya Open Innovation Lab)" in Shibuya. As an open innovation lab focused on "social implementation," it was the perfect setting for CVC and startup discussions. A big thank you to everyone at Tokyu!

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Event Report

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As this was an office hour format, there were not only discussions between CVCs and startups, but also in-depth conversations among CVCs and startups themselves. In this report, we will share highlights from the event and participant feedback.

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The program for the event was as follows:

• Part 1 - Roundtable Session: Large Corporations x Startups
• Part 2 - Networking

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Part 1 - Roundtable Session: Large Corporations x Startups

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We had many CVCs and startups join us once again. The participants were divided into five tables, with each table consisting of about three CVCs and three startups. Discussions were held at each table.

With deep tech startups and CVCs interested in these technologies, the discussions spanned a wide range of topics across industries, with deep dives into niche areas.

The topics ranged from early disease detection using genetic testing to discussions on silkworm biology and strawberry cultivation, covering a vast array of subjects.

Many companies had unique points of discussion, and some were particularly interested in the practical business applications of materials, as well as examples of alliances, including those related to employee benefits.

There were even in-depth discussions about the possibility of eventually exiting by selling to a corporation, which highlighted the charm of smaller group discussions.

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Part 2 - Networking

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After Part 1, we entered a one-hour networking session.

As an opportunity to speak directly with multiple Deep Tech startups at once, CVC capitalists engaged in lively discussions about aspects they didn’t have time to cover during the first session.

There were also great conversations between startups themselves and among the CVC capitalists.

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Feedback from Participating CVCs

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Shizuoka Capital Co., Ltd.
Tatsuya Ishii
Eiichi Yamauchi

Although the roundtable time was admittedly limited, it sparked ideas for future connections and was a great opportunity to broaden our knowledge.

While Deep Tech investments are often later-stage, we met several potential companies that could be considered for future investment.

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Asahi Kasei Corporation
Yukimasa Kaneda

Asahi Kasei operates in a wide range of business sectors, so it was very valuable to meet with so many Deep Tech startups like those at this event.

Additionally, I appreciated the networking with VCs and CVCs, which will help in our LP investment considerations. I look forward to participating again.

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Ajinomoto Co., Inc.
Hiroyuki Saito

This was my first time attending such an event, and not only did I establish connections with other CVCs, but I also had the opportunity to engage with multiple Deep Tech startups, which was a great harvest.

For example, we were able to start discussing potential synergies with a startup that could offer existing business products for collaboration, which was a very fruitful opportunity.

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Feedback from Participating Startups

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KOALA Tech, Inc.
CFO, Shinobu Ito

Events focused specifically on Deep Tech are rare, and opportunities to meet with various investors are limited. Therefore, I was very grateful to meet so many CVCs who could also explore synergies with us.

I would love to participate again in the future.

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Sonus, Inc.
CFO, Nobuhiko Ichiki

Having the opportunity to have two rounds of discussions in small groups was extremely helpful as it provided us with broad meeting opportunities and allowed us to have deep conversations.

We had already met online with one corporate partner several times, but it was a pleasure to finally meet them in person at this event.

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Intelligent Surface, Inc.
CEO, Yoshihiro Kiritsubo
CFO, Shoichi Furukawa

Going into the event, we didn't have high expectations as we weren't sure where there might be a good industry match. However, we were pleasantly surprised by the opportunity to have meaningful discussions with several business companies in a comfortable, small-group setting.

It was a very valuable experience that we wouldn't have known about unless we participated.

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A big thank you to all the CVCs and startups who participated!

We will continue to create opportunities for collaboration synergies, considering ease of understanding for startups, and will keep setting themes for future events. We look forward to seeing you at our upcoming events!

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September: AI-focused CVC Special is coming soon.

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↓↓↓ You can register through the following forms ↓↓↓

Startups: https://zfrmz.com/BoBasvRmrSzpb3rQqRfj

CVCs: https://zfrmz.com/m0JBSku5WYiHSFod5UfM

*Please note that some sessions may be fully booked.

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