Tag - startups

 
 

STARTUPS

A SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket carrying Ispace's Resilience lunar lander lifts off from the Kennedy Space Center in Cape Canaveral, Florida, on Wednesday.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 15, 2025
Japanese space startup launches second bid for historic moon landing
A successful landing would make Ispace the first private Asian company to touch down on the moon.
Ispace CEO Takeshi Hakamada with the countdown clock for the launch of the startup's lunar lander, in Tokyo's Chuo Ward on Thursday
JAPAN / Science & Health
Jan 10, 2025
Japanese space startup readies for second lunar lander launch
Ispace's Resilience lander will lift off aboard a SpaceX Falcon 9 rocket from NASA’s Kennedy Space Center in Florida.
Toyota Chairman Akio Toyoda speaks during the 2025 CES event in Las Vegas on Monday.
BUSINESS / Companies
Jan 7, 2025
Toyota invests in Japanese rocket startup as SpaceX races ahead
The investment is the latest sign of progress in the Japanese government’s push to nurture the country’s private space sector.
Yasushi Dozen, chief investment officer at Kepple
BUSINESS
Jan 2, 2025
Japan's ¥10 trillion startup investment target more improbable than ever
Investors and startup supporters say Japan is still in the seed-planting phase of startup development and must address some structural issues.
The Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market 250 Index is down about 11% so far this year and set for its fourth yearly loss.
BUSINESS / Markets
Dec 24, 2024
Japan startups set for longest rout on record as rate hike looms
A rate hike by the Bank of Japan would make it more expensive for new companies to finance research and development.
A close up of EV batteries at the production unit of Inobat, a Slovakian battery maker in Voderady, Slovakia, on Dec. 11
BUSINESS / Tech
Dec 23, 2024
After Northvolt, Europe's battery hopes heavily rely on China
The norm in the future may be joint ventures that rely on China's low-margin electric vehicle battery dominance.
People gather to view a rocket launch test by AstroX in the city of Minamisoma, Fukushima Prefecture on Nov. 9.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 22, 2024
Fukushima startup aiming to launch rocket from flying balloon
Since the method does not require large-scale ground facilities, the cost can be reduced to one-third of that on the ground, according to the company.
Space One's Kairos No. 2 rocket is launched in Wakayama Prefecture on Wednesday. The launch subsequently failed.
JAPAN / Science & Health
Dec 18, 2024
Tokyo startup's second satellite launch attempt ends in failure
Space One was again bidding to become the first private Japanese company to place a satellite into orbit.
A United Nations panel on space traffic coordination in late October said that urgent action was necessary to track and manage objects in low Earth orbit because of the rapid increase in satellites and space junk.
BUSINESS / Companies
Dec 17, 2024
Japan and India startups to study using lasers to tackle space debris
Japan's Orbital Lasers is building a system that will use laser energy to stop the rotation of space junk by vaporizing small parts of its surface.
SoftBank Group will make a tender offer allowing OpenAI employees to cash in shares if they choose.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 28, 2024
SoftBank seeks to buy $1.5 billion OpenAI shares from employees
SoftBank will make a tender offer for the stock, allowing OpenAI employees to cash in shares if they choose.
A view of the city skyline and Huangpu river in Shanghai on Feb. 24, 2022
BUSINESS / Markets
Nov 25, 2024
China's startups suffer as investors exercise redemption rights
The situation conflicts with the government's resolve to foster innovation and achieve technological self-reliance in systemically important industries.
Elon Musk during a campaign event at Madison Square Garden in New York on Oct. 27
WORLD / Politics
Nov 10, 2024
Silicon Valley’s Trump supporters envision ascendant startups and Vance 2028
The surge of GOP support and contributions set records in the largely left-leaning tech industry, splintering once-clubby relationships.
Japan controlled half or more of the global chips market through the 1980s but has less than a tenth of the market today.
BUSINESS / Companies
Nov 5, 2024
Japan taps U.S. chip startup Tenstorrent to help train new wave of engineers
The contract is part of Japan's effort to reinvigorate its semiconductor industry.
Tech entrepreneur, investor and philanthropist Masayoshi Son made his fortune by becoming a bridge between California's technology culture and Japan.
COMMENTARY
Oct 31, 2024
Masayoshi Son may be the oddest of the oddball billionaires
Masayoshi Son made his fortune by becoming a bridge between Californian tech culture and Japan.
Capsule hotels were created as a way to deal with the amount of overwork employees tend to do in Japan. Can't commute home? Then spend the night in an tiny, affordable sleeping space.
BUSINESS / Tech / Longform
Oct 12, 2024
Japan wakes up to the market for a proper sleep
After years of sleep deficits and drowsy mornings, a growing number of products and services are being developed to help us rest easier.
A factory operated by metal processing company Iwanuma Seiko, which has been entrusted with work involving the space industry for the first time
BUSINESS / Companies / Regional Voices: Tohoku
Sep 17, 2024
Small firms in Tohoku showcase technologies in growing space sector
The government plans to boost the space technology market, leading to hopes of a space industry ecosystem in the region.
An Nvidia Quantum-X800 InfiniBand Platform designed for artificial intelligence on display in Taipei in June
BUSINESS / Companies
Sep 9, 2024
Nvidia-backed Sakana AI eyes strategic partnerships in Japan
Growing geopolitical risks are heightening interest in the Tokyo-based startup.
U.S. Vice President and Democratic presidential candidate Kamala Harris (center) and her running mate, Minnesota Gov. Tim Walz, disembark from their campaign bus in Savannah, Georgia, on Wednesday.
WORLD / Politics
Aug 29, 2024
VCs want Harris to prioritize abortion rights and pro-tech policies
Of about 800 venture capitalists who signed an open letter of support, 225 detailed their reasons for endorsing Harris and the policies they favor in a survey.
An artificial intelligence process sign in the Samsung Electronics hall at the IFA Consumer Electronics and Home Appliances trade fair in Berlin in 2022
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 27, 2024
Is that voice real or AI? One startup says it can tell the difference
The latest wave of artificial intelligence technology can mimic the voice of almost anyone.
Sarvam AI, often described as India’s OpenAI, introduced software for businesses that can interact with customers using spoken voice rather than just text.
BUSINESS / Tech
Aug 26, 2024
Cheap AI voice bots are suddenly everywhere in India
Startups may turn India into a proving ground for what could be the next frontier of generative artificial intelligence products.

Longform

Atsuyoshi Koike, the president and CEO of Rapidus, says there is a “sense of urgency” when it comes to Japan’s efforts in manufacturing semiconductors. “We have to make sure we are successful,” he says.
Atsuyoshi Koike’s big game: Fourth down and 2 nanometers to go