Increasing expectations; the movement of people and things as “Mobility”; and the ever expanding, multifaceted development of AI, IoT, 5G, and VR technologies
Third Term “KEIKYU ACCELERATOR PROGRAM” Participating Companies Announced
On Tuesday, June 2nd, 2020, private transportation company Keikyu Corporation and venture capital firm Samurai Incubate Inc. held an online press conference showcasing the third round of participating startups in their “KEIKYU ACCELERATOR PROGRAM.” This program supports new companies looking to provide a variety of unexplored customer experiences through novel business models aimed at combining our current reality with the most advanced technology.
This is the third iteration of Keikyu Corporation’s “KEIKYU ACCELERATOR PROGRAM” which was started in 2017, but the first in collaboration with Samurai Incubate Inc.
So far, 12 different companies have been accepted into the this program, with the Keikyu Group performing a series of test marketing (specifically demonstrations) for these companies.
With these innovative business models geared towards keeping up with the modern age, Keikyu Group presented their vision of “the creation of rich and fulfilling lifestyles centered around the theme of mobility” through the startups they’ve collected that are aimed at providing those new, customer focused experiences and heavily recommended a need for open innovation.
In addition to introducing ten startups that they had selected for this round of the “KEIKYU ACCELERATOR PROGRAM”, the contents of the seminar also concentrated on the themes of “with Corona (COVID-19)” and “after Corona” and specifically the kinds of flexible business plans that modern startups needed when thinking both of business profitability and the “mobility” innovations that define the current age.
Keikyu Corporation had two starting platforms; (1) Adding new experiences to areas along the railway line, and (2) Updating existing business models with digital technology. From these two points, they set six themes of “Mobility”, “Living”, “Working”, “Retail”, “Entertainment”, and “Connectivity”. Once the themes had been decided, applications were opened in December of 2019. At the end of the application period, 92 companies had applied, and ten of those companies had been selected and invited to participate in the program. This conference was the first time these ten companies got a chance to display their capabilities and goals as part of the Keikyu Group.
With the world working to prevent the spread of COVID-19, active social distancing and remote working situations have increased, making “mobility (specifically the ability to move people and things)” and moving toward a new variety of lifestyles major focuses for business. The inclusion of IT company MaaS Solutions has been arranged to assist different companies and locales with plans like the automation of different job sectors and the increasing use of digital technologies. The goal, restated often, is to aim to innovate towards this new normal.
As such, we will most likely be hearing more and more from the companies exhibited through the “KEIKYU ACCELERATOR PROGRAM” and their ideas from our “with COVID-19” “after COVID-19” era.
The ten companies from the third term of the “KEIKYU ACCELERATOR PROGRAM” are as follows:
AI Travel Inc., Elaly Inc., COUNTERWORKS Inc., Carstay Inc., SEQSENSE Inc., Synethesias Inc., JX Express Inc., scheme verge Inc., Mira Robotics Inc., and Liberaware Inc.
We will continue to follow the progress of these ten startups as they establish themselves, and keep an eye on their various developments. If you’d like to follow along, you’ll be able to find out more on the “KEIKYU ACCELERATOR PROGRAM” here at Viaggio Yokohama in the near future!
【Keikyu Corporation Overview】 Company Name: Keikyu Corporation, Established: June 1948 (Originally Incorporated February 1898) HQ Location: 1-2-8 Takajima, Nishi-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa, Representative: President Harada Kazuyuki, URL: https://www.keikyu.co.jp/
【Samurai Incubate Inc. Overview】 Company Name: Samurai Incubate Inc., Location: 1-3-50 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Established: March 14, 2008, Representative: CEO Sakakibara Kentarou, URL: https://www.samurai-incubate.asia/
【KEIKYU-ACCELERATOR-PROGRAM Official Site】 URL：http://openinnovation.keikyu.co.jp/
