Final Call for Real Estate & Construction-Related Startups to Join Japanese Onlab Resi-Tech Accelerator

Open Network Lab Resi-Tech supports co-creation by utilizing its partners’ assets and know-how in startup support and business creation cultivated by the Digital Garage Group for more than 10 years. The opportunity to co-create with several major players in the Japanese real estate and construction industries allows global startups to gain feedback and traction from multiple perspectives.

This year, the global accelerator program is looking for real estate and construction-related startups to bring them together with major Japanese real estate and construction companies. This way, both sides can work across corporate boundaries to create new values that will be essential in the coming era.

Unique Values that Only Onlab Resi-Tech Can Provide

Cross-Industry Approach

Onlab Resi-Tech is the only consortium made up of major companies in Japan’s real estate and construction industries. Therefore, the program allows you to propose and implement cross-industry business ideas involving multiple major companies, which is unachievable in other programs.

Tailored Support

Every startup has different needs and ideas, such as product introduction, new business partnerships, or Japanese localization. Onlab Resi-Tech offers flexible support to help you achieve your goals.

Communication

Differences in corporate culture, communication errors, and a lack of resources often hamper co-creation between startups and major companies. The Digital Garage Group, which has supported startups for more than 10 years, will be the project hub to support communication between startups and partner companies.

How US-based Startup Leela AI Successfully Used Resi-Tech for Getting into the Japanese Market

Over two batches, Onlab Resi-Tech has already successfully accelerated many program alumni active in various regions.

For example, 2nd Batch participant, Boston-based startup Leela AI, offers the “understand.video”, a new AI system designed to overcome some of the technical limitations of machine learning systems in the world today. Their PoC was conducted to show how the technology can be used in construction sites, shopping malls, and office buildings. Leela AI worked to improve safety and work efficiency in these PoC projects.

Cyrus Shaoul, CEO of Leela AI, shares details: “We had three partners in our Resi-Tech PoCs, an office building, a shopping mall, and construction sites. We took videos from their locations in Japan, we took them back into our cloud processing system, and we applied our software to understand their problems. They wanted to make their video cameras much smarter and understand the complicated behavior that the camera was observing.”

(c) Leela AI

In construction sites, we looked at very different situations: Are those people working efficiently? Are they doing their job safely? Are they working at an above-average speed? That was one of the great discoveries of working with our partners. The customers wanted to know about workers’ safety, but they also wanted to know about efficiency. We were able to measure both things and provide compelling data.

How did Onlab help Leela AI in the project?

“They were accommodating. I don’t think we could have had the success we did without their help. The Onlab staff was crucial to our success. First of all, they wanted to understand our product and our business. Once they understood, they helped us find the best partners for us. They did a great job as matchmakers. In every meeting, they were always there. They were tracking the progress of our project with the Japanese corporate entities. They made sure that there was always excellent communication. Also provided a translator, and that translator was an excellent translator who could translate between Japanese and English and English and Japanese. They would advise on the best way to create the project, on the best way to measure the value for the customer”, says Shaoul.

“It’s a valuable program, and I was delighted to take part in the 2nd Batch. It benefited my company in many ways. We met our first customers in Japan through this program. We learned, changed, and improved our business because of what we learned from those customers. They told us things that we use to improve our solution. So that was very valuable to us. We also got to share our information on the Onlab website. We had some public relations and marketing that we got through this program that we’re also very valuable to us. During this program, we started talking to our investors in America. And that investor was very impressed with the success of our project; they decided to invest in our company.”

To read more about Leela AI’s experience with Onlab Resi-Tech, read the full interview.

Your Key Benefits of Joining the Global Accelerator

This year, the benefits have extended event further to enable your growth:

• Mentoring: Receive advice on services and products by invited specialists, investors, and established entrepreneurs in various fields from Japan and abroad.
• Community: The program provides chances for you to form connections, and to receive advice from established entrepreneurs who have moved into the next stages, as well as experts and multiple companies in various fields.
• Corporate Support: Resi-Tech you by forming an ecosystem where you can build relationships with major, excellent companies, something that is not easy to do.
• PoC Cost & Funding*: Assistance is provided for expenses to carry out proofs of concept in the program as required. Funding for participating startups will be considered in certain cases.

Key Themes for Onlab Resi-Tech 2021

Life & ways to improve the quality of life:

▼Examples

• Ways to live, work, and spend time in response to lifestyle diversification
• Living within the new normal
• New entertainment

Urban Development & ways to improve city environments:

▼Examples

• Healthy, safe, and secure cities
• City development with universal design
• Disaster-resilient cities
• Constructing a city OS

Environment & ways to facilitate a de-carbonized and recycling-oriented society:

▼Examples

• Creating a de-carbonized society
• Improving/addressing climate change
• Smart grids
• Development of environmentally friendly materials

Digital Technologies & ways to drive DX adoption in the real estate and construction industries:

▼Examples

• New systems that use data from real estate companies
• Digitization and streamlining of real estate operations (construction, design, contracts, transactions, management, etc.)

Innovation in collaboration with the real estate and construction industry: Any idea for open innovation with the real estate and construction industries that is not limited to the above themes

Explore the Program Timeline & Apply by 26 August 2021!

© Onlab Resi-Tech

Think your business is the right fit for Onlab Resi-Tech’s 3rd Batch?

To seize the opportunity to work together with major Japanese real estate and construction companies, apply now!

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*This is not guaranteed and will be evaluated on a case-by-case basis.