Cross-Departmental Team Promotes Collaboration with Startups at CIC Tokyo Innovation Campus!

Tokyo Metropolitan Government Promotes Innovation in Public-Private Partnerships at CIC Tokyo

The TMG occupies a 29.8 square meter, 13-seat office space and has been staffed by five TMG employees since August 26. The office is being used by several cross-functional teams from different departments from the TMG to interact with innovators from the private sector and promote public-private partnerships.

CIC Tokyo has established communities by theme, such as the "Environmental Energy Innovation Community," the first community in Japan dedicated to the environmental energy field (https://jp.cic.com/news/announce/ee_community/), which is operated by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG). This community is part of the Tokyo Bay eSG Project, an initiative of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (https://www.tokyobayesg.metro.tokyo.lg.jp/The two companies have already collaborated on a number of projects, including hosting a pitch for startups seeking to utilize the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's demonstration test field at the Tokyo Metropolitan Government (TMG).

We will continue to develop startup-based communities and accelerate the creation of innovation in multiple fields, including environmental energy.

Also today, a talk session was held in the CIC Tokyo with Governor Koike and Vice Governor Manabu Miyasaka and Tomoko Namba, Vice Chairman of Keidanren and Chair of the Startup Committee, discussing startup support. This was followed by an award ceremony for the "Tokyo Metropolitan Government DX Award," which is presented to TMG employees who have contributed to DX promotion. During the talk session, Ms. Namba presented Keidanren's proposal "Startup Breakthrough Vision: Toward 10X10X" (https://www.keidanren.or.jp/policy/2022/024.html(to be released in March 2022) was handed to Governor Koike, and opinions were exchanged on public-private partnerships to accelerate the promotion of startups.

As a hub for players in the startup ecosystem, CIC will continue to support the growth of startups and expand its diverse innovation community.

About CIC (Cambridge Innovation Center)

CIC operates a world-class innovation campus that offers a strong startup growth accelerator community, flexible office space, and a global network. CIC currently has offices in eight cities in four countries, and since its founding in 1999, more than 8,400 startup-related companies and organizations around the world have moved into CIC. The total amount of funds raised by CIC's tenants from venture capitalists and other investors over the 20-year period from 1999 to 2021 is approximately $14 billion.

CIC brings together various startups, venture capitalists, universities and research institutes, government and local governments, lawyers and accountants from Japan and abroad. Based on the belief that we can impact society through the creation of innovation, we aim to build an ecosystem that accelerates the growth of startups. In addition, our sister organization, Venture Cafe, supports the innovation community through its flagship event, Thursday Gathering, held every Thursday.

In 2020, CIC Tokyo, Asia's first innovation campus and the first of its kind in Japan, opened on the 15th and 16th floors of the Toranomon Hills Business Tower (totaling approximately 6,000 square meters). Today, CIC Tokyo is home to more than 200 startup companies, as well as supporting companies and organizations, and serves as a hub for innovation creation in Japan.