Energetic Atmosphere, Comfortable Space, and Community
CIC Tokyo is committed to fostering a strong community that truly cares about being “Innovation Leaders”. The hallways are intricately designed to encourage unexpected encounters, and the atmosphere is conducive to starting a casual converstation with other CIC members.
A variety of events are held each month in hope to create a community where residents are not only connected through business, but also their personal interests like food, sports, beauty, wellbeing and other activities.
We run a number of events that are attended by CIC members as well as many non-members; some are hosted by CIC, others by residents, and about a dozen are held each month. We believe that a wide variety of participants is key in creating an open and vibrant environment.
CIC Tokyo is designed to be a space where “innovation is around the corner” and “new encounters are effortless”. “Roji-corners (a small sitting area)” are set up in the corridors to ease conversation with anyone you meet, and the corridors are designed to give the passerby a glimpse of the path ahead to encourage them to explore their neigbors.
We aspire to create a space and environment that feels like working in one large company, where people gradually get to know each other and say hi, or get in a casual chat with the staff around the reception area.
At CIC Tokyo, we value DEIB, which stands for Diversity, Equity, Inclusion, and Belonging, respectively, and are committed to building a diverse community that is not binded by nationality, religion, or gender.
Recognising and sharing social issues amongst related fields and companies, and an environment where you can easily find partners to tackle these together, is crucial in nuturing innovation. CIC Tokyo works with a variety of companies, organizations, and government agencies to build a community specializing in fast-growing business fields, and to support startup innovation from a variety of perspectives.
Building an "Innovation Culture"
CIC is dedicated to fostering an “Innovation Culture.”
The term “Innovation Culture” refers to a culture that promotes innovation and creativity, and at CIC, we are actively working to create such a culture. We operate an innovation campus where various key players come together to support the growth of startups. CIC Tokyo, as the first Asian base, is a shared office space that houses not only startups but also investors, venture capitalists (VCs), large corporations, local governments, and administrations, all of whom support these startups.
Furthermore, at CIC, we place great emphasis on building a strong “Community” that connects residents and various businesses in the spotlight. While CIC Tokyo takes the lead in promoting activities, each company and individual participating in the community actively contributes to its vitality. Our ultimate goal is to create an active community that continues to generate new possibilities.
By having multiple players and supporters actively involved and complementing each other’s strengths in this culture and community, even challenging innovations that might be difficult for a single company become achievable. We believe that this approach will not only benefit startups within the country but also lead to the birth of successful startups that can make a global impact.
CIC Institute
CIC Institute is a team based in CIC Tokyo that is dedicated to supporting the growth of Deeptech related startups in Japan that can achieve global success in collaboration with national and local governments, universities and like minded organizations. The new business unit of CIC has been created to build on the success CIC Tokyo has had working with national, regional and local government entities, universities and the private sector, and connecting them with entrepreneurs to ignite innovation.
CIC Tokyo forms a community related to “life science,” which is expected to become the science and technology that lead to people’s health and the creation of new markets. The community brings together researchers and startups in the life science field, companies in the pharmaceutical and medical device fields, and experts in intellectual property and regulatory affairs to address issues such as the realization of healthy longevity, countermeasures against infectious diseases, problems faced by an aging society, and food-related issues. The community focuses on Biotech, MedTech, and healthcare, and in cooperation with JETRO, local governments, and universities, supports startups’ overseas expansion and business growth and holds a variety of events.
The Environment and Energy Innovation Community was launched by CIC Tokyo and U3 Innovations with the aim of promoting innovation in the environment and energy field. Along with the growing interest in sustainability and carbon neutrality in recent years and expectations for solving social issues through innovation, our to objective is to generate innovation through collaboration among startups, large companies, research institutions, government agencies, and by bringing together stakeholders in the innovation ecosystem to engage in a variety of activities throughout the year.
With the pandemic and the increasing attention to DX in education, and the rising expectation for the evolution of education through the use of technology, it is essential to stimulate discussions on the use of the latest technology and the possibilities for new forms of education. CIC Tokyo provides events and regular networking opportunities for stakeholders to discuss the digitalization of education.
Since there are high expectations for the role that academia is likely to play in nuturing innovation, CIC operates and participates in programs in collaboration with academia (universities, national research institutes, etc.) to support activities aimed at solving social issues and creating an ecosystem.
CIC's Diverse Members
CIC is home to not only leading startups, but also large corporations, local governments, venture capitalists, professional firms, and other players necessary for startups to succeed.
