In April 2022, Tohoku University and the University of Washington, which jointly established the UW-TU: Academic Open Space (AOS), renewed their MOU for a second term to continue to promote exchanges and collaboration in supporting start-ups and research in fields such as human resilience and chemistry.
On June 7, 2023, the AOS co-hosted a pitch event in collaboration with the Washington State Department of Commerce (WSDOC). Through the 2023 June Washington State Tech Mission to Japan, eleven cutting-edge start-up companies based in the Seattle area that are involved in fields such as AI visited to participate in the pitch event.
Seattle, referred to by some as ‘the AI capital’, is home to cloud computing and AI giants such as Amazon and Microsoft, as well as an innovation ecosystem formed by the University of Washington. The city is a place where many start-ups thrive and aim to become a global standard. Many of these start-ups develop business-to-business (B2B) technologies and are actively seeking to partner with Japanese companies to enter the Japanese market.
The delegation visited NanoTerasu and eagerly listened to the introduction of the facility, given by Prof. Masaki Takata, director of the Photon Science Innovation Center.
The delegation then visited the International Research Institute of Disaster Science and met with AOS co-directors Prof. Fumio Ohuchi and Vice President Masahiro Yamaguchi. Prof. Ohuchi, who also serves as an adjunct professor of physics at the University of Washington, gave a briefing on the AOS philosophy. VP Yamaguchi spoke and expressed his hope that the mission’s visit would serve as an opportunity for U.S. start-ups and Japanese companies to get to know each other better. Thereafter, Tetsuro Eto, Japan Representative for the WSDOC, presented on Washington State’s AI innovation ecosystem. The pitch session then commenced and each company presented. More than 50 people, including students, faculty, and company representatives, participated in this hybrid event.
The purpose of the event was to increase awareness regarding the needs of Japanese companies with whom Tohoku University is well acquainted and to build understanding around the latest innovations and core competencies of global start-ups. The next AOS workshop is scheduled to be held in Seattle on September 21 and 22. The workshop is intended to be an opportunity to network and make mutually advantageous connections. The AOS promotes high-level consultation and has established a “Business to University to Business” (B2U2B) framework for entrepreneurship. The overall aim for the AOS is to create new value and promote the message that companies can experience new things in Sendai and can connect with the world through its activities.
