TOKYO UNICORN SUMMIT - News&Gallery

아시아 스타트업 70여곳 한자리에... 도쿄유니콘서밋 2025 개최아시아 스타트업 70여곳 한자리에... 도쿄유니콘서밋 2025 개최

“Over 70 Asian Startups Gather in Tokyo as Story Protocol CEO Urges Global Mindset in AI Age”

“In the smartphone era, it was possible to start a company and succeed within a specific country or region. But in the age of artificial intelligence (AI), national borders have disappeared. Founders with original ideas must aim for the global market from the very beginning.”

This was the message delivered by Seung-yoon Lee, CEO of Story Protocol, at the Tokyo Unicorn Summit (TUS) 2025, held on the 7th at Azabudai Hills in Tokyo, Japan.
Lee is a serial entrepreneur who founded the web-novel platform Radish and sold it to Kakao for approximately 500 billion KRW. In 2023, he established Story Protocol, an IP-based blockchain platform, in Silicon Valley. The company is valued at 2.2 billion USD (about 3 trillion KRW).
He emphasized, “To target the global market, you must establish a global foothold and become familiar with overseas markets.”

Tokyo Unicorn Summit 2025 is an expanded version of the Tokyo Startup Forum, which The Chosun Ilbo has hosted since 2023. This year, it was co-hosted by the Korea Startup Forum and Startup Island Taiwan. The goal is to bring together Asia’s unicorns—startups valued at over 1 trillion KRW—and fast-growing pre-unicorn companies to foster cross-border collaboration and support their global expansion.

From Korea, leading unicorns such as Karrot Market, Rebellions, Korea Credit Data (KCD), Ohouse (Bucketplace), and ABLY participated.
Japan and Taiwan were represented by unicorns such as TBM, Preferred Networks, and 91APP, while startups from Vietnam and Indonesia also joined—bringing together executives from more than 70 startups across Asia.

Kao Li-Ling, CFO of 91APP— a Taiwanese startup listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange—said,
“We survived a rapidly changing market by detecting technology trends faster than others.”
91APP develops marketing software for online commerce. Kao added, “Startups must pick up signals from the public’s excitement about new technologies,” noting that the company is currently building AI-powered automated marketing solutions.

— By Seoul/Tokyo correspondents Ho-chul Sung and Kyeong-eop Lim, The Chosun Ilbo

“벤처 분야선 한국은 일본에 선배같은 존재… 두 나라가 힘 합쳐야”벤처 분야선 한국은 일본에 선배같은 존재 두 나라가 힘 합쳐야 제2회 도쿄스타트업포럼 열려 韓·日 관계자 140여명 참석

“At Tokyo Startup Forum, Leaders Call for Stronger Korea–Japan Collaboration in the Startup Ecosystem”

“Korea and Japan share similar challenges, such as labor shortages, and this makes the two countries natural partners that can move forward together in the startup sector.”

This was the message delivered by Junichi Nakajima, CEO of DG Daiwa Ventures, at the 2nd Tokyo Startup Forum, held on September 22 at Azabudai Hills in Tokyo. Nakajima remarked, “In the venture space, Korea is like a senior to Japan,” noting that Korea has 16 unicorn companies—far more than Japan’s six—demonstrating stronger performance in the startup arena. He added, however, “Compared to the United States, which has 644 unicorns, both countries still fall far short. This is why Korea and Japan must join forces and work even harder together.”

Nakajima also pointed out that cross-border co-investment is already accelerating, saying:
“Korean startups like Branderzine and Rebellions, as well as Japan’s Zehitomo, are examples where capital from both countries is jointly invested.”

The event—co-hosted by The Chosun Ilbo and the Tokyo Startup Forum Executive Committee, with support from Mori Building—brought together around 140 participants from Korean and Japanese startups and venture capital firms.

From Korea, 35 startups joined, including Karrot Market, The Pinkfong Company, Spoon Radio, Healing Paper (Gangnam Unni), Caplix (Jeju Pass), Megazone Cloud, Channel Talk, Bespin Global, and Rebellions, along with 10 Korean VCs such as LB Investment, Stonebridge Ventures, Premier Partners, SBI Investment, GS, and Altos Ventures.

On the Japanese side, more than 40 companies participated, including Lotte Holdings (represented by CEO Genichi Tamatsuka), Salesforce Ventures, Oricon, U-NEXT Holdings, i-nest Capital, and Mori Building.

Siwon Choi, CEO of Channel Talk, emphasized the importance of expanding globally from day one:
“A startup should go global from the very first day. The strategy of moving from Korea to Japan and then to the global market—what we call ‘Japan to Global’—is a smart and effective path.”

He explained further:
“Korea has fast product development cycles and customers who readily adopt new offerings, making it ideal for testing.
Japan, on the other hand, is a large market where, once customers are acquired, they are unlikely to leave.”

Lotte Holdings CEO Genichi Tamatsuka and LB Investment CEO Kiho Park also shared the stage, stating:
“Korea and Japan have a deep historical connection. Forums like this can transform that connection into collaboration—and eventually into real business results.”

— By Tokyo Correspondent Ho-chul Sung, The Chosun Ilbo

日투자사 “한국 스타트업의 글로벌 정신 인상적, 진출 돕겠다”日투자사 한국 스타트업의 글로벌 정신 인상적, 진출 돕겠다 도쿄스타트업포럼 성황리 열려

“Korean startups are remarkable in the way they aim for global expansion from the moment they are founded. Along with active investment in Korean startups, we will leverage Global Brain’s network of more than 300 major Japanese corporations to fully support their entry into the Japanese market.”
— Yasuhiko Yurimoto, CEO of Global Brain

On the 11th, more than 30 Korean startups and around 60 Japanese investors and startup leaders attended the Tokyo Startup Forum, co-hosted by The Chosun Ilbo and the Embassy of the Republic of Korea in Japan, and held at the Korean Embassy in Tokyo.
Leading Korean startups—including Karrot Market, Upstage, Spoon Radio, H2O Hospitality, and MOIN—shared their insights on entering the Japanese market, while Japanese VCs and startups offered feedback and advice. Major Japanese venture capital firms, such as Global Brain (with nearly 2 trillion KRW in AUM), Z Ventures, DG Daiwa Ventures, and PKSHA Capital, along with globally active firms like Xenon Partners, Alois Ventures, and Shinhan Future’s Lab, joined the event to engage with Korean startups. Korean startup support organizations such as D.CAMP, Startup Alliance Lab, and KOTRA were also in attendance.

The event featured keynote speeches by Global Brain CEO Yasuhiko Yurimoto;
Hyuk-jae Choi, CEO of the personal audio broadcasting platform Spoon Radio;
and Daichi Yamaguchi, Chief Strategy Officer of TBM, one of Japan’s unicorn companies.

Hyuk-jae Choi, whose company generates more than half of its revenue in Japan, shared his experience:
“After hiring local talent, we had them work at our Seoul headquarters for at least three months to evaluate their work attitude. For the Japanese service, Korean developers and planners only provided support—we never intervened. Everything was entrusted entirely to the Japanese team.”
He added, “It is difficult to get Japanese customers to open their wallets at first, but once they do, they become incredibly loyal.”

Daichi Yamaguchi, CSO of TBM—known for developing limestone-based materials that replace plastic—described Japan’s market approach:
“Even if you have new technology, you shouldn’t try to compete head-on with existing industry players. You need to find win-win points and propose collaboration. That’s how you enter the Japanese market.”

Yoon Deok-min, the Korean Ambassador to Japan, said:
“President Yoon Suk-yeol recently called himself Korea’s ‘No. 1 salesperson’ when speaking with business leaders. Likewise, the Korean Embassy in Japan will serve as a reliable partner for startups—your ‘sales office in Japan’—to support your entry into the Japanese market.”

— By Tokyo Correspondents Ho-chul Sung and Kyeong-eop Lim, The Chosun Ilbo