Software giant SAP launches the first SAP.iO Tokyo cohort to accelerate B2B Japanese tech startups

Back in January, we wrote about SAP when the German software giant and maker of enterprise software announced the launch of its SAP.iO No Boundaries initiative to fund and incubate startups led by women and minorities. Now SAP.io is expanding into Asia.

Today, SAP announced the launch of its first SAP.iO Foundry in Asia called SAP.iO Foundry Tokyo. Over the next 12 weeks, SAP.iO Foundry Tokyo will accelerate five business-to-business (B2B) Japanese technology startups, providing them access to curated mentorship, exposure to SAP® technology and application programmable interfaces (APIs), and opportunities to collaborate with SAP customers. Unique to SAP.iO Foundry Tokyo, the cohort also will have access to the newly opened SAP Leonardo Experience Center and Inspired.Lab.

“We see great potential in Tokyo as a startup hub for SAP customer-centric innovation and look forward to helping these entrepreneurs deliver winning outcomes and delightful experiences for SAP’s customers,” said Ram Jambunathan, senior vice president and SAP.iO managing director.

SAP.iO is SAP’s strategic business unit dedicating to driving startup innovation and new business models for SAP. SAP.iO Foundry Tokyo is the eighth location of SAP’s global network of top-tier startup programs, which include foundries and accelerators that enable startups to build innovative software to deliver value for SAP customers.

The first SAP.iO Foundry Tokyo cohort includes the following startups:

• InstaVR: Provides a no-coding, web browser–based interactive authoring tool capable of creating, distributing and analyzing a 360-degree view of content.
• ZENKIGEN: Provides an artificial intelligence (AI)-powered online platform that enables both live and recorded video interviews, while offering sentiment analysis of a candidate’s voice. This allows efficient recruitment and analysis of facial expressions for real-time interview coaching.
• fuzed.link: Provides a B2B lead generation tool based on social media content that allows companies to build content-driven landing pages for social media traffic.
• estie: Provides a real estate technology platform that offers interactive mapping. Using AI and machine learning algorithms, estie unleashes the potential of Big Data to simplify office search for tenants and analytics for institutional investors.
• Innovia: Provides a software-as-a-service (SaaS) solution that helps manufacturers effectively develop and manage the skills of manufacturing workers to improve productivity and efficiency while ensuring International Standards Organization (ISO) compliance.

SAP.iO is SAP’s strategic business unit to accelerate innovation and drive new business models for SAP. The SAP.iO Fund makes investments in early-stage startups building innovative solutions that enable customers to receive highly incremental value from SAP platforms and applications. The SAP.iO Foundries are our global network of equity-free accelerator programs in strategic startup hubs providing startups access to mentorship, exposure to SAP technologies, and opportunities to meet and collaborate with SAP customers.

Founded in 1972, SAP is a cloud company and a market leader in enterprise application software, helping companies of all sizes and in all industries. 77% of the world’s transaction revenue touches an SAP system. Its machine learning, IoT, and advanced analytics technologies help turn customers’ businesses into intelligent enterprises. Its suite of applications and services enable more than 413,000 business and public customers to operate profitably, adapt continuously, and make a difference.