Launchpad Seed Winter 2023

IVS, Japan’s largest startup conference run by Global VC Headline - Asia , held a pitch event focused on seed startups, LAUNCHPAD SEED 2023 Winter, in cooperation with Tokyu Land Corporation . Nine startups across various industries pitched, and the winners were:

1st Place — Driver Technologies

Driver Technlogies operates the driver matching platform “Driver Direct”. Founder & CEO Kohei Kawashima (in the picture with Headline founder Akio T. on the right, and current Headline CEO Shimakawa Toshiaki on the left) was the youngest contestant at age 23, and had previously been an intern with Headline .

2nd Place — Fringe

What an amazing day for Fringe Founder & CEO Haruki Kariya ! Not only did the operator of the facility management platform “HoteKan” take second place, he also was awarded the Tokyu Land Sponsor Award, as well as the Audience Award (which included voting by online participants). Kudos to Kariya-san for coming up with three distinct acceptance speeches!

3rd Place — codeless technology

codeless technology operates the service “Photolize”, which automatically generates input forms from physical documents.

Other Contestants

• at FOREST operates “Return to Nature”, a circular funeral service that transforms the death’ that comes to everyone into creating a forest
• Artreoss is taking a new approach to matching platforms for females with the LGBTQ+ app “PIAMY”
• Qlay develops a consumer research tool using Large Language Models (LLMs)
• Flip automates product analysis using AI
• Mission Romantic facilitates literature serendipity through the book selection x matching “Chapters Bookstore”
• medidas supports the Green Transformation (GX) of small and medium-sized enterprises through the web service “Tansoman”

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