The Future of Community and Mobility Week
AI Solutions Shaping the Future of Urban Innovation
Startup Island TAIWAN
Discussion
- AI and Smart City
| Transmission of simultaneous interpretation | Not provided |
|---|---|
| Language of interpretation | Japanese and English |
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Theme Weeks CONNECT
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Time and
Date of
the event -
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2025.08.20[Wed]
13:00 ～ 17:00
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- Venue
- Theme Weeks Connect (Outside Venue)
- Inside Hankyu Hanshin MEETS, 1-1-3 Shibata, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0015
©2025 by Startup Island TAIWAN
Programme details
This presentation event is designed to align with the vision of the Osaka-Kansai Expo, "Designing Future Society for Our Lives," and serves as a platform to explore innovative social experiments aimed at enhancing the welfare of human society. Focusing on startups from Taiwan, it will showcase cutting-edge innovations in fields such as autonomous driving, artificial intelligence, ESG (Environmental, Social, and Governance), and smart cities, with the goal of realizing a sustainable future. Leveraging the Expo as a catalyst, the event aims to establish news normals and establish an international co-creation platform.
Reports
【Reflection】
1. Observations
On August 21, 2025, Startup Island TAIWAN organized an
exhibition at “NORIBA 10 Umeda” in Osaka, introducing 29
Taiwanese startups. This event, held under the official
endorsement of the Osaka–Kansai Expo 2025, provided a valuable
opportunity to showcase Taiwan’s cutting-edge technologies and
solutions for social challenges to a global audience.
Covering diverse fields such as AI, next-generation
communications, energy management, smart living, and fintech,
the exhibition enabled visitors to directly experience the
products and services, which proved to be a significant
achievement.
2. Achievements
Creation of tangible results
Yallvend: Introduction of smart vending machines into the
Japanese market
NextDrive: Achieved the No. 3 market share in Japan’s
residential energy storage sector
TMY Technology: Promoted 5G proof-of-concept trials with
Japanese telecom operators
Turing Drive: Undertook the social implementation of
autonomous shuttle services in Okinawa
USPACE: Contributed to improving parking efficiency in urban
areas
Deepening international collaboration
Through a panel discussion featuring investors from Korea,
Australia, and Malaysia, the event fostered stronger
international ecosystem exchanges centered on the Kansai
region.
Building ties with the Kansai region
With participation from Osaka Prefecture, Sumitomo Mitsui
Banking Corporation, Hankyu Hanshin Holdings, and the Osaka
Chamber of Commerce and Industry, expectations for future
collaborations and new business opportunities were
heightened.
3. Future Outlook
The outcomes of this initiative resonate with Osaka
Prefecture’s “International Financial City” vision,
highlighting the proactive engagement of Taiwanese startups in
Japan’s policy and societal goals.
With continuous efforts since 2023 now bearing concrete
results in 2025, Startup Island TAIWAN intends to further
establish Osaka as a hub for collaboration, advancing
Taiwan–Japan startup cooperation from digital transformation
to cutting-edge technology partnerships.
【Post EXPO Initiatives】
Follow-up on business opportunities
A post-event survey has been conducted for the 29
participating startups to track outcomes from business
meetings and networking sessions. Promising matches are being
followed up in collaboration with Taiwanese support
institutions and Kansai-based partners to ensure
continuity.
Establishing a sustainable collaboration platform
To maintain and expand exchanges between Taiwanese startups
and Kansai enterprises/investors, we are preparing regular
online meetings and information-sharing sessions, ensuring
that the network extends beyond the Expo period.
Alignment with policy and urban strategies
Building on Osaka Prefecture’s “International Financial City”
initiative and smart city development, joint projects are
being explored in fintech, energy, and mobility—fields where
Taiwanese startups have demonstrated strength.
Future programs
Leveraging the experience from this year, we plan to continue
organizing exhibitions and co-creation programs in the Kansai
region from 2026 onward, thereby fostering long-term
Taiwan–Japan startup collaboration.
Cast
Speakers
David Bae
BIG Impact VC
David Bae is a venture capitalist and board member at BIG Impact VC, a Japan-based fund focused on supporting early-stage tech startups in sectors such as AI, robotics, healthcare, and mobility. Through his work with BIG Impact VC, he has played a key role in driving innovation and cross-border collaboration, particularly in the Kansai region, including partnerships with Hyogo Prefecture and Kobe City. With a background in cross-border consulting and fund management, David actively supports startups entering the Japanese market, providing hands-on assistance with fundraising, business development, and government-led innovation programs.
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Joshua Flannery
Innovation Dojo group
Joshua is a recognised innovation ecosystem leader in
both Japan and Australia, as the co-founder and CEO of
Innovation Dojo group, including operations in both
countries. His experience includes leading the Japan
expansion efforts for both European open innovation
firm Rainmaking (later acquired by Bain &
Company), and Australian SaaS company StudyLink (later
acquired by Flywire). As an employee of the New South
Wales government, Joshua has held the Lead director
position for the largest startup hub in the Southern
Hemisphere, Sydney Startup Hub, and was the first hire
and penned the initial plans for the University of New
South Wales startup programs, which grew to become the
leading university for entrepreneurs in APAC.
Aside from managing Innovation Dojo, Joshua personally
mentors science-based ventures at Osaka University,
consults large Japanese corporations on startup
engagement strategy participating in the J-Bridge
program, and holds an Adjunct Professor role in
Entrepreneurship at the Kansai University of
International Studies. Joshua is recognized by METI
Kinki as an Official Startup Recommender under the
J-Startup Kansai initiative, is a Board Director for
the Australia Japan Business Council of Victoria, and
sits on the Innovation, Technology & Startups
(ITS) Sub-Committee for the Australia Japan Business
Cooperation Committee.
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Brian Lim
Encognize GK
Brian is the COO of Encognize GK, where he oversees
market expansion initiatives which support startups,
scale-ups, and SMBs in expanding internationally by
helping them identify new markets, design go-to-market
strategies, and facilitate key business
introductions.
He was the former APAC Head of Startup Programmes /
Expand at Rainmaking, where he
worked extensively with scaleups, industry-leading
corporations and government agencies
to drive new commercial opportunities and search for
new sources of growth. He also launched offices in
Singapore, Malaysia and Japan where he recruited and
trained > 30
core team members.
When Brian started his career, he spent time at Intel
in Malaysia and Portland, Oregon,
where he spearheaded an international benchmarking
exercise to identify operational gaps
and proposed recommendations, yielding a 20% increase
in engineering workforce
efficiency while optimizing business processes and
overseeing a budget of >$100M,
resulting in organisation-wide cost savings of $1M /
quarter and time savings of > 1,000
hours.
Brian is inspired by visionary founders who build and
create transformative businesses, and
always seeks to deliver meaningful impact to their
growth story. His sector specialisation
includes semiconductors, electric mobility, energy,
TravelTech, construction and has a
passion for SportsTech.
In addition to the presentations, an exhibition
highlighting Taiwan's advanced technologies will
be held at the same venue from August 19th to August
27th.
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The Future of Community and Mobility Week
AI Solutions Shaping the Future of Urban Innovation
-
2025.08.20[Wed]
13:00～17:00
(Venue Open 13:00)
- Theme Weeks Connect (Outside Venue)
©2025 by Startup Island TAIWAN
OTHER PROGRAM
The Future of Community and Mobility Week
