Business / Corporate Aug 5, 2020
SoftBank backs 29-year-old’s venture aiming to become Netflix for fiction
by Sohee Kim
Radish’s growing stable of in-house soap-opera scriptwriters conceive new episodes in various genres every four or six hours.
Business Jul 21, 2020
Tech firms start to leave Hong Kong after Beijing enacts security law
by Felix Tam
About half of U.S. business people say they plan to depart from the territory, according to a recent survey by the American Chamber of Commerce in Hong Kong.
Business / Corporate Jul 10, 2020
Japanese college dropout builds $560 million fortune through AI firm
by Min Jeong Lee and Ayaka Maki
AI inside Inc. has ambitious plans to expand outside Japan and into other business lines.
Business / Corporate Jul 8, 2020
SoftBank-backed DCM eyes China startups with $880 million fund
by Lulu Yilun Chen and Selina Wang
David Chao, a venture capitalist who has been on the ground floor of Asian companies worth a combined $206 billion, has raised money for a new fund with a China focus, a sign that rising U.S.-China tensions aren’t turning off foreign investors. DCM Ventures, which ...
Business / Tech Jun 27, 2020
Japanese startup creates 'connected' face mask for coronavirus new normal
As face coverings become the norm amid the coronavirus pandemic, Japanese startup Donut Robotics has developed an internet-connected "smart mask" that can transmit messages and translate from Japanese into eight other languages. The white plastic c-mask fits over standard face masks and connects via Bluetooth ...
Business / Corporate Jun 19, 2020
SoftBank to invest in 14 startups run by minority founders
by Sarah Mcbride
Companies will receive at least ¥16 million through an accelerator, with further capital available from a ¥10.6 billion fund for founders of color.
Business / Tech Jun 11, 2020
Founder of software company who turned down SoftBank joins ranks of Japan’s billionaires
by Yoojung Lee, Min Jeong Lee and Yuki Furukawa
Masayoshi Son had offered to buy Shunji Sugaya’s business idea for $2.8 million.
Business Jun 4, 2020
SoftBank creates $100 million fund to back companies led by people of color
The effort stems from U.S. and international disgust with the death of George Floyd, who died after a white Minneapolis cop knelt on his neck for over eight minutes.
Business / Tech Jun 1, 2020
E-ticketing platform Zaiko's livestream success sees unwelcome imitators
by Patrick St. Michel
The ticketing company pivoted to livestreaming events when the coronavirus struck, a move that may change how we experience music in Japan.
Business May 21, 2020
Fukuoka startup to tap RNA tech for inhalable COVID-19 treatment
A biotechnology startup in Fukuoka Prefecture is partnering with local authorities to develop a drug to treat COVID-19 using its RNA technology. Bonac Corp., based in Kurume, says only two other companies in the world are trying to develop a nucleic acid medicine for the ...
Business May 21, 2020
'Telecubes' pop up as Japan's workers seek spaces to concentrate
For some, home is not always an ideal place to concentrate with other family members present.
Business / Corporate Apr 23, 2020
Japanese-led online learning startup Manabie expands in Vietnam
Online learning startup Manabie International Pte. Ltd., headed by a Japanese entrepreneur, is stepping up its business in Vietnam, raising ¥520 million ($4.8 million) in its initial year with an eye on future expansion in Southeast Asia. Manabie, established in Singapore a year ago by ...