japan-startup
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Ryo Chikazawa
Ryo Chikazawa is the co-founder and CEO of Autify, an AI-powered software testing automation company based in San Francisco and Tokyo. A software engineer who worked in Japan, Singapore, and the US, he kept running into the same problem everywhere: testing software takes too long. After eight pivots and interviewing 70+ prospects, he built Autify into a no-code test automation platform used by companies like Unity, DeNA, and ZOZO, raising roughly $32M through Series B and launching Autify Genesis, an autonomous AI testing agent.
CoA Nexus, Inc.
CoA Nexus, Inc. (formerly Srust, Inc.) is a Tokyo- and Menlo Park-based deep-tech HR startup that uses proprietary AI to read tens of millions of research papers and patents, visualize a scientist's real skills, and match R&D talent with companies - from university spinouts to large manufacturers. Its flagship platform, CoA Researcher, is billed as Japan's largest researcher-matching platform, supporting full-time roles and side work across biotech, chemistry, medical science and semiconductors. The company raised a roughly ¥300 million Series A in October 2025 to expand its global researcher database and go beyond the reach of conventional job ads.
Kazuhiko Nishioka
Kazuhiko Nishioka is the co-founder and CEO of Sun Metalon, a Japan-origin, Chicago-area climate-tech company decarbonizing the metal industry. A former Nippon Steel engineer with a materials science background from Northwestern University, he built a patented, near zero-emission heating technology that turns metal scrap, sludge and swarf into clean, reusable metal pucks on-site. Founded in 2021, Sun Metalon has raised roughly $42M in total funding, partnered with Toyota on aluminum recycling, and drawn Nippon Steel's first venture investment in its 100-plus-year history.
AT Nakanishi
AT Nakanishi (Atsushi Nakanishi) is the founder and CEO of Triple W, the company behind DFree, the world's first personal wearable ultrasound sensor that predicts toilet timing. He launched the company in 2015 with high school and college friends, took it from Tokyo to Berkeley, and steered it to a Best of CES award and Series D funding. A self-described non-engineer who built a hardware company from zero, Nakanishi blends business pragmatism with a stubborn focus on solving an unglamorous, very human problem.