CONNECTING
JAPAN &THE NORDICS
Newsletter #10
December 18, 2020

Looking back at 2020 and planning for 2021
This week Innovation Lab Asia proudly presents the first of a new series of publications presenting
specific Nordic verticals to a Japanese audience. The Nordic Healthtech report is published in both
Japanese and English, and showcases 15 startups all looking to engage with the Japanese market.
Nordic Healthtech solutions are highly relevant, not just in the face of the ongoing COVID-pandemic, but also on a deeper level: The Nordics and Japan face many of the same challenges interms of an aging population and a dwindling workforce, necessitating innovative solutions inhealthcare technologies. We hope this report may pave the way for new collaborations between
our two regions.
The report is a natural extension of the insights gained by the Innovation Lab Asia team since
our visit to Japan in February 2020. We experience a real Japanese interest in the Nordics, and astrong need for this information to be presented in Japanese - and in a Japanese context.
This was the motivation behind our first Japanese language report “Nordic Innovation - Europe’s
unicorn factory”, and - naturally - also this very newsletter. It is also the driving force behind ournew Japanese language website launched last week. The website includes the first comprehensive overview of all Japanese VC and CVC funding activities in the Nordics since 2013, and will
evolve into a repository of information for Japanese stakeholders wanting the latest news on theNordic tech ecosystems.
All these initiatives are just the beginning! In January 2021 we expect to launch an updated version of the Healthtech report, that includes an additional five Nordic startups (the English version
report is also creating a greater awareness of Japan in the Nordic ecosystem) and video pitches
specifically tailored to the Japanese audience, all with Japanese subtitles.
Additionally we are launching a joint Healthtech event with Trusted Corporation at Mori building inTokyo on 22nd January, and in March we hope to travel to Japan to visit our friends and partners,
and present our findings in person and print.
Early next year we will continue to provide information to our Japanese audience, including at least
two more sector reports on Fintech and Urbantech, and video pitches with Japanese subtitles.
We are also mapping all Nordic tech startups active in Japan and plan to launch a Japanese“Role-model” report, where six select Nordic startups tell their story of how they entered the Japanese market. We hope this report may inspire other startups to follow in their path. Should you
have any other ideas or specific requests for further information, please do not hesitate to contact
us.
Looking further into the future, we would like to invite Japanese stakeholders on a Nordic tour
2021, starting at Latitude 59 in Estonia on 27th May, passing by Helsinki and southern Sweden andending in Denmark with Copenhagen Fintech week on 4th June. Here we hope to introduce someof the Nordic startups showcased in our reports to the delegation, as well as to Nordic investors
and other key stakeholders.
Finally, 2020 has been a year of new partnerships. We are happy to deepen our collaboration with
Trusted Ventures, Startup Bootcamp Osaka and Nordic Innovation House in Tokyo, launching
events, spreading the word, and helping each other on a day-to-day basis. We remain a neutral,
non-profit and non-governmental organization, and welcome anyone that seeks to connect theNordics and Japan.
And with those words, we from Innovation Lab Asia wish you all a Merry Christmas and a Happy
New Year. May you and your family stay healthy and happy in these difficult times. If anything goodhas come out of the pandemic, it must be the clarity, that we all face the same issues and needto solve them together. Let’s hope 2021 allows us to meet these challenges, and do exactly that.

SHORT NEWS FROM THE NORDICS

EE

Skeleton Technologies attracted EUR 41.3 million in series D investments including top European industrial investors EIT InnoEnergy, FirstFloor Capital,
MM Group and Harju Elekter.

DK/SE

The European Institute of Innovation and Technology (EIT) has announced thewinners of the prestigious EIT Awards 2020. Among them are BluSense Diagnostics (Denmark) and Stockholm Water Technology (Sweden).

DK

Teton.ai, developer of contactless monitoring of patients in healthcare receives
EUR 1.1 million in latest funding round.

DK

The smart waste solution developer WasteHero, lands EUR 1 million in funding
from Squares and the two Silicon Valley VCs Anorak and Momenta.

SEVeat Foods providing locally made fresh plant-based foods sold via vendingmachines, attracts EUR 490.000 from Pale Blue Dot and others.

SEXertified developing security solutions for safer IoT attracts EUR 970.000, fromKarolina Ventures, Almi and angel investors.

FI

Rundit has now raised EUR 1.6 million, including EUR 1 million in seed funding
led by angel investors Pierre Weimerskirch and the LPEA Luxembourg Private
Equity Association.

NO

Spacemaker acquired by U.S. Autodesk for its AI-supported software for urban
development for EUR 202 million.

INTERVIEW WITH VENTURE CAFÉ TOKYOCould you tell us about Venture Café Tokyoand its relation to the Japanese innovation
ecosystem? Venture Café Tokyo opened inMarch 2018. We are an innovation community
builder in Tokyo; the first of its kind in Asia. Oursignature event is called Thursday Gathering,which is aimed to maintain our mission of “connecting innovators to make things happen”.
How has COVID-19 affected Venture Café
Tokyo’s operations and what is the outlookfor 2021? We were one of the first groups totake action in the ecosystem. We quickly transformed Thursday Gatherings from a physicalmeeting into a digital experience via online
platforms such as Zoom and Remo. Since October 2020, we have moved some of the activities
to CIC Tokyo, entering a physical-digital hybrid
operation. Amidst the pandemic we were able
to expand operations to Nagoya and Tsukuba.
We are excited to see how the communities willgrow in 2021.

Name:		Takuo Urushihara

Position: 		

Director of Operations

Organisation:		

Venture Café Tokyo

Ecosystem location:

Tokyo, Japan

Contact:

tak@venturecafetokyo.org

Do you have any success stories in your network of Nordic organizations / governments/ people who are leveraging their success inJapan? In September 2019 we invited someFinnish startups to our platform where theygave a talk and enjoyed networking. The Nordic embassies from Finland, Norway, Icelandand Sweden have also been active with us. The
most fun part for the participants of Thursday
Gathering is that they are able to extend their
network internationally, including the Nordicregion.
What initiatives has / or are Venture Café
Tokyo planning to undertake in the near future to support the Nordic innovation community? In 2021 we want to revive Thursday
Gathering with a new theme of becoming more
playful. We are engaging with the Nordic Innovation House and the Nordic embassies todiscuss new initiatives for Venture Café Tokyo.
With the Tokyo Olympic Games approaching, wewould like to leverage it to get even more attention to the startups in our network.
What are the main barriers for Nordic techcompanies to enter the Japanese market?
There are the cultural and language barriers
for companies entering the Japanese market.
Therefore, having a mutual understanding is extremely important. Unlike other Asian countries
it is relatively easy to find reliability in Japan.
However, you must build connections slowly as
most Japanese stakeholders are skeptical ofoutsiders. And so it may require some preparatory steps to make sure they will listen to you.
What type of Nordic stakeholders would you
like to reach out to? We are an open, flat andinclusive community and we would like to support innovators and entrepreneurs wanting tohave a big change from within. This includes
startups, entrepreneurs and young professionals. We are here for everybody who wants tocreate a positive impact on Japan and the restof the world.

BULLETIN BOARD
ACCELERATOR

Hitachi Innovation Challenge for Circular Economy for startups wanting toscale to the japanese market through collaboration with a focus on sustainability of water resources, creating a zero waste society, and reducing
food waste in Southeast Asia. Deadline is 8th of January 2021.

EDITORSPeter Johansen
Project Manager
pj@asia-house.dk
Julian Morié Hara Nielsen
Japanese Consultant
jni@techbbq.org

Innovation Lab Asia is a project collaboration
between Asia House and TechBBQ funded bythe Danish Industry Foundation.
For more information:

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