Empowering Innovation: Mitsubishi Corporation Supports University of Tokyo Startups to Enhance Japan's Competitiveness

Mitsubishi Corporation's industry–academia initiatives serves as a foundation for future Corporate Venture Capital activities and investments in emerging technologies, driving innovation and contributing to the growth of both existing operations and new business development.

Teruo Fujii, president of the University of Tokyo, left, and Mitsubishi Corp. President Katsuya Nakanishi at the university’s Campus in Tokyo

Tokyo, April 2025

Mitsubishi Corporation announced a donation of 600 million yen to the University of Tokyo to support the establishment of the “University of Tokyo–Mitsubishi Corporation Tech Incubation Palette.” This new start-up support program will accelerate the creation of start-ups originating from the University of Tokyo by providing end-to-end support, covering everything from the identification of promising technologies to their commercialization. Through this program, Mitsubishi Corporation and the University of Tokyo will collaborate to expedite social implementation of these technologies.

The University of Tokyo has been actively pursuing start-up support and has already begun to achieve results in certain fields. However, a comprehensive program that leverages private-sector expertise and networks to uncover and incubate technologies across the entire university is a first time initiative for the institution.

In this newly established program, the University of Tokyo will broadly identify and explore promising technologies across various fields, and at the same time introduce prospective entrepreneurs and provide business start-up assistance suited to each stage of development. In addition to the aforementioned donation, Mitsubishi Corporation will offer access to its industry insights, global corporate network and other capabilities to fully realize the University of Tokyo's potential in research and technology.

By visualizing promising technologies through mapping techniques, leveraging industry know-how to develop technologies, and working together in other ways, this program aims to create a new model of industry–academia collaboration that will help to address the following key challenges facing Japan:

Key Challenges in Social Implementation of Research & Technology in Japan

• Insufficient industry insights and evaluation resources within universities to uncover technologies with high market demand

• Start-up activities concentrated in specific areas (e.g., AI), rather than across the broader spectrum of university research

• Tendency for reliance on multiple decentralized, external programs to support social implementation

  • Lack of an internal, comprehensive mechanism at universities to direct researchers toward diverse external funding or support

  • Limited frameworks for nurturing globally competitive start-ups

    
    

Mitsubishi Corporation has been strengthening its initiatives with various universities, as evidenced by the establishment in April 2023 of the “Kyoto University–Mitsubishi Corporation Startup Catapult,” which provides funding for research projects aiming to launch start-ups. Moving forward, Mitsubishi Corporation continues to reinforce these collaborative efforts with universities in order to address societal issues and enhance Japan’s industrial competitiveness by identifying promising research projects and promoting their social implementation.

Moreover, Mitsubishi Corporation recognizes that as rapid technological innovation dramatically reshapes business environment, it is essential to understand the latest developments in cutting-edge technology. Insights and networks gained through this program and other industry–academia initiatives will also be used to collaborate with Mitsubishi Corporation’s future Corporate Venture Capital activities and other investments in new technologies, thereby contributing to the advancement of both existing businesses and new business development.