July 11, 2019
For General Release
Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.
Information Services International-Dentsu, Ltd.

Joint Venture FINOLAB Inc., Established to Operate FinTech Hub—Combining Online Environment with Physical Facilities
to Accelerate New Business Creation—
Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. (President & Chief Executive Officer: Junichi Yoshida) and Information Services
International-Dentsu, Ltd. (President and CEO: Ryoichi Nawa; hereinafter, “ISID”), announce theincorporation of the operational platform for The FinTech Center of Tokyo, FINOLAB (hereinafter,“FINOLAB”), a FinTech Hub that both companies have jointly operated for some time, and theestablishment of FINOLAB Inc. (hereinafter, “the new company”), on July 11, 2019.
The new company will continue to manage and further strengthen the existing
FINOLAB community, construct the FINOLAB SANDBOX (tentative name),a basis for business creation combining an online environment with physicalNew logo
facilities (scheduled to launch in February 2020) and establish an infrastructurefor quickly introducing and evaluating the latest FinTech services created bystartups as a first corporate user. This is expected to result in numerous innovations as well as to create astarting point for delivering services to the real world. With the establishment of the new company, a leading
FinTech evangelist* in Japan, Makoto Shibata will be appointed as the Head of FINOLAB to further
enhance community activities.
* A specialist whose function is to clearly communicate and enlighten the public regarding advanced technologies and services.
The term “evangelist” has its origins in Christianity, however, in recent years it has become recognized as a new type ofoccupation in the IT industry.

Objective of New Company Establishment
FINOLAB was established by Mitsubishi Estate, ISID and Dentsu Inc. in February 2016 as Japan’s first
FinTech Hub with the objective of building a FinTech ecosystem. In February 2017, it was relocated from its
original location in the Tokyo Banker’s Association Building (at that time located in Marunouchi,Chiyoda-ku) to the Otemachi Building (Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku). It has now grown to be a community
comprised of 49 startup members, 12 corporate members and over 500 individuals registered within themember companies.
When FINOLAB was first established, it was still early days for FinTech in Japan and collaborations
between large corporations and FinTech startups were not common. Over the past few years, FinTech
investment in Japan has grown significantly as services such as smartphone payments and asset management
have expanded to the level of casual use by the general public. In line with the transition to a cashless
economy promoted by the Japanese government, we will expect an acceleration of retailers, manufacturers,telecom carriers and other industries entering more into financial services. While we expect to see furtherexpansion in the FinTech market, we need to admit that Japan is still behind global market trends.
In light of this situation, through the establishment of the new company, Mitsubishi Estate and ISID are
determined to further accelerate open innovation focused on FinTech, connecting with various industries andtechnology areas, establishing a framework that will lead to the rapid creation of new businesse.
About the FINOLAB SANDBOX Concept
The new company will create the FINOLAB SANDBOX , a new business creation platform that leverages
web-based community tools and mobile apps, namely an online version of FINOLAB, through anexperimental site that combines the real community and facility environment of the traditional FINOLAB.
This test site will be used to establish a platform for the rapid introduction, evaluation and provision of
feedback as an initial corpore user with regard to the variety of new services created by the community. By
establishing a test site that meets the existing needs of FINOLAB members, the new company will attempt
to resolve issues surrounding the social implementation of new services and further accelerate the creationof new businesse.
Based on this concept, the new company will move boldly forward with the creation of new businesses andinnovation as it takes up the challenge of creating an environment in which peers can meet to learn about,discover and exalt in business creation.
Overview of New Company
Company name

FINOLAB Inc. (http://www.finolab.co.jp)

Established

July 11, 2019

Location

1-6-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

Capital¥300 million

Shareholders

51% Mitsubishi Estate; 49% ISID

Representative

Chie Ito, CEOBusinessSupport member company (startup and corporate member) FinTech initiatives
and promote open innovation to develop Japan’s FinTech ecosystem.

Overview of FINOLAB CommunityName: The FinTech Center of Tokyo, FINOLAB
URL：http://finolab.tokyo
Location: Otemachi Building, 4th and 2nd floors, 1-6-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Startup members (49 companies as of July 1, 2019)
Authlete, Inc., AI inside Inc., AI Samurai Inc., AI ZEN JAPAN Co., Inc, MFS Inc., Emerada Co., Ltd.,Ostiaries,Inc., Curfex Japan Inc, CAULIS INC., CurrencyPort Limited, CAMPFIRE,Inc.,
Crowd Cast, Ltd., Crowd Realty, Inc., Sasuke Financial Lab, inc., Shift Financial,Inc., justInCase, Inc.,justInCase Technologies Inc., Scalar, Inc., Studio Ousia Inc., Snippet Finance Ltd., ThreatMetrix (ALexisNexis® Risk Solutions Company), Chaintope Inc., Tech Bureau Holdings, Corp., TransferWise
Japan Co., Ltd.,
Navigator Platform Co., Ltd., Nayuta Inc.., Japan Crowdfunding Council, BANQ Corporation, FOLIO
Co., Ltd., Platfield Inc., Playbasis Pte Ltd、Port Holdings Limited, hokan, Inc., MoneySmart Inc.,Moneythor Japan Co., Ltd., Moneytree KK., Money Forward, Inc. (MF KESSAI, Inc.),Preparatory Company for New Bank in Mozambique Co., Ltd., Unitedly Co., Ltd., Real World Games,Inc.,
Liquid Inc., Warrantee Inc., ONE Financial Co., LTD., OneMile Partners, Co. Ltd., others
 Corporate members (12 companies as of July 1, 2019)
FWD Fuji Life Insurance Company, Limited, KDDI Corporation, Sumitomo Life Insurance Company,Seven Bank, Ltd., Chubu Electric Power Co., Inc., Tokio Marine & Nichido Life Insurance Co., Ltd.,
Tokio Marine & Nichido Fire Insurance Co., Ltd., The Norinchukin Bank, The Higo Bank, Ltd.,Fujitsu Limited, Mizuho Financial Group, Inc., MUFG Innovation Partners Co., Ltd.
Profile of Makoto Shibata
Co-founder of General Incorporated Association, FINOVATORS. Formerly a Principal Analyst and Head ofGlobal Innovation Team of Digital Transformation Division at The Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ.
Executive Fellow at Japan Digital Design.
He was leading R&D initiatives of MUFG in emerging technology and innovation for over 20 years. Activeas a leading evangelist of FinTech in Japan, he also served as a judge panel for various innovationcompetitions, including EFMA-Accenture Innovation Awards, Future Ideas, and FIBC.
He holds a Bachelor of Economics from University of Tokyo and a Master of Science in Development
Economics from University of Oxford, where he recently stayed as an Academic Visitor.
Facility Interior

Entrance

LoungeMapContact:<For Media Contacts>
Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd.
Corporate Communications Department TEL. +81 3-3287-5200
ISID Corporate Communications Office TEL. +81 3-6713-6100 E-mail：g-pr@isid.co.jp
Note: Company and product names in this release are the trademark or registered trademark of each company respectively.