EIC and JETRO stage Multi-Corporate Day in Tokyo, connecting 17 EIC-backed deep-tech companies with DNP, Fujitsu, MCC and MHI
- ›The European Innovation Council and JETRO brought 17 EIC-backed companies to Tokyo for a Multi-Corporate Day with Dai Nippon Printing, Fujitsu, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries.
- ›Selected companies underwent months of tailored preparation and pitched to senior R&D and corporate strategy teams, aiming to progress to pilots, co-development and market entry in Japan.
- ›Organisers commit six months of post-event support to convert conversations into scoped trials and agreements, but historical conversion rates for such programmes vary and close monitoring will be needed.
- ›The programme included a pre-mission stop in Osaka, briefings from Japanese institutions and private roundtables with investors and the Scaleup Europe Fund.
EIC Multi-Corporate Day in Tokyo: what happened and why it matters
This week the European Innovation Council (EIC), together with the Japan External Trade Organisation (JETRO), ran a targeted international business acceleration activity in Japan. Seventeen EIC-backed companies from 13 countries travelled to Tokyo on a programme tailored to connect European deep tech with four major Japanese industrial groups: Dai Nippon Printing (DNP), Fujitsu, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation (MCC) and Mitsubishi Heavy Industries (MHI). The day combined reverse pitches from the corporates, curated founder presentations, structured one-to-one meetings, and a sequence of stakeholder briefings and investor roundtables.
Event format, timeline and key participants
The activity built on a pilot edition in 2025 and included a preparatory phase of months of coaching, pitch dry runs and business proposal reviews. The delegation started in Osaka (5-6 October), attending the Global Startup Expo and meeting investors and regional stakeholders including the EU Delegation and the EU-Japan Centre for Industrial Cooperation. The Tokyo Multi-Corporate Day took place on 7 October at JETRO HQ with follow-up visits to corporate sites, innovation centres and R&D labs on 8 October.
Senior corporate representatives on the programme included Koichi Kishi (DNP), Masatomo Goto (Fujitsu), Curtis Schickner (Diamond Edge Ventures, Mitsubishi Chemical Corporation) and Akinori Kochi (MHI). EIC delegations included Dr. Andreas Schwarz (Head of Cabinet to Commissioner Ekaterina Zaharieva) and Agnieszka Stasiakowska (Head of Sector, EIC Business Acceleration Services Global Offer). The event opened with remarks from JETRO President Susumu Kataoka and Giorgio Aliberti, EU Ambassador to Japan, with contributions from Mami Fukuchi of Japan’s Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry.
Why this programme is positioned as a bridge between EU deep tech and Japanese industry
The mission is embedded in the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme under EIC Business Acceleration Services (BAS) and aims to accelerate practical partnerships: pilots, co-development, strategic partnerships and routes to market in Japan. Organisers argue the initiative shortens the often slow and opaque route European start-ups face when trying to reach decision-makers inside large Japanese firms. The week also offered exposure to the wider Japanese innovation ecosystem through briefings by NEDO, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, JETRO and the EUIPO and a private roundtable with investors.
What the corporate partners were looking for
How companies were prepared and what they gained on the day
Selected EIC awardees received tailored preparation including group sessions with corporate partners, one-to-one business expert coaching, pitch deck feedback, dry runs and business proposal reviews. On the day, founders had direct access to senior decision-makers and technical specialists and discussed technical integration, qualification, scalability and local market conditions. EIC and JETRO committed to supporting follow-ups and to monitor progress over the next six months.
Organisers emphasised the efficiency of pre-vetting technologies to corporate priorities so conversations could move rapidly from introductions to technical questions and pilot scoping. For many startups, meeting the right in-house technical and procurement stakeholders in a single day compresses what would otherwise take months of outreach.
Who pitched: the 17 EIC-backed companies
| Company | Country | Core technology or value proposition |
| Billon | Poland | Sovereign, enterprise-grade blockchain protocol processing data and identity natively on-chain; provenance and auditable identity for trust in AI-era media |
| Cardlab Innovation | Denmark | Offline biometric identity verification on smart credentials for secure digital and physical access without passwords |
| Cramik Additive Solutions | Spain | Universal polymeric binder for extrusion, injection and 3D printing of advanced ceramics enabling solvent-free processing |
| Dcubed | Germany | Flight-proven release actuators and origami-deployed solar arrays for lightweight deployable space structures |
| Echemicles | Hungary | Low-temperature electrochemical conversion of CO2 to carbon monoxide and ethylene for drop-in feedstocks |
| Ekkono Solutions | Sweden | Embedded edge AI that trains on live sensor data for condition monitoring and performance optimisation |
| Endurosat | Bulgaria | Turnkey satellite builder and space infrastructure provider with manufacturing and mission services |
| Enersens | France | Ultra-thin silica aerogel composite barriers for thermal runaway prevention in batteries and aerospace-grade fire resistance |
| Ezmems | Israel | Polymeric MEMS multisensing chip capturing physical, chemical and optical parameters for real-time monitoring |
| Golana Computing | France | Physics-grounded AI assistant analysing raw machine signals at sub-millisecond resolution for anomaly detection |
| Moi Composites | Italy | Digital additive manufacturing platform for thermoset composites enabling direct 3D printing of moulds, tooling and structural parts |
| Nobula | Sweden | Direct Glass Laser Deposition, laser-based 3D printing for precision glass photonics such as microlenses and waveguides |
| Nuada | United Kingdom | Metal-organic framework carbon capture with vacuum-swing approaches offering electrified, solvent-free CO2 separation |
| Process Genius | Finland | Genius Core spatial intelligence platform unifying MES, ERP, IoT and SCADA into live operational digital twins for factories |
| Robotwin | Czech Republic | Wearable no-code devices allowing shopfloor workers to program industrial robots by demonstration |
| Smabbler | Poland | Galaxia deterministic knowledge and reasoning engine that turns enterprise information into traceable, auditable knowledge for enterprise AI |
| Uniscool | Spain | Direct-to-chip liquid cooling with self-adaptive thermal structures that claim up to 70% lower cooling energy for AI data centres |
Practical benefits reported by participants
Startups said the biggest immediate benefit was access to the right people inside large corporations in a compressed time window. Founders reported detailed technical feedback and clearer ideas of integration pathways. Corporate teams valued a time-efficient pipeline to pre-vetted technologies closely matched to their R&D and innovation roadmaps, enabling rapid conversations about feasibility, qualification and pilot requirements.
Follow-up support, expected outcomes and accountability
Beyond the Tokyo sessions, the EIC and JETRO committed to six months of post-activity support to help convert initial conversations into scoped trials and commercial agreements. The EIC will monitor progress to 'capture tangible business impact' and participating companies can draw on EIC Dealmaker Support and other BAS services. The EIC Corporate Partnership Programme's broader portfolio has engaged thousands of companies with hundreds of corporates since 2017.
Skeptic’s view: what to watch and common caveats
These matchmaking events are valuable for introductions but not guarantees of deals. Historically, many engagements progress to pilot projects and only a fraction convert to commercial contracts. Several practical obstacles remain: technical qualification cycles, Japan-specific regulatory and standards requirements, procurement rules, long internal decision cycles inside large corporates, IP and licensing negotiations, and the need for local partners or presence. The event’s success should therefore be measured with clear, time-bound indicators rather than anecdotal optimism.
Practical advice for European startups targeting Japan after this kind of initiative
If you are an EIC-backed innovator participating in this programme or considering similar market-entry missions prepare to: be represented by a C-level executive for commercial conversations; bring clear pilot proposals with success criteria and resource estimates; understand local procurement and certification requirements; protect and clarify IP and licensing expectations early; and plan follow-up resourcing and timelines for on-the-ground technical integration and customer trials. Local language, cultural fluency and a trusted local partner or legal counsel materially reduce friction.
Context: how this fits within the EIC’s wider corporate partnership activity
The Multi-Corporate Day sits under the EIC Corporate Partnership Programme which the EIC markets as a practical route to business development for awardees. The programme has run dozens of initiatives with more than 100 corporate partners since 2017. The stated impacts include thousands of one-to-one meetings, hundreds of deals and investor outreach support. Those headline numbers are significant but require scrutiny as to the nature and size of deals and the timeframe for conversion.
Final read: value and limits
The EIC–JETRO Multi-Corporate Day in Tokyo addresses a real market-access challenge for European deep tech. The curated, pre-vetted approach raises the odds of useful engagement compared with ad hoc outreach. Yet realistic expectations matter. The next six months will test whether the initiative translates into pilots, procurement, investment and durable partnerships. Observers should look for concrete, measurable outcomes and clear accounting of which introductions became commercially productive. For startups, the event is a strong opportunity if they arrive prepared, pragmatic about timelines, and ready to negotiate local operational and regulatory realities.