Are you a founder, investor, or innovator?

AccelerationSprint

October 01–26, 2026 · Kobe, Japan

Apply Now Talk to us first

Applications reviewed on a rolling basis

  1. 01 · Why join
  2. 02 · Why Japan
  3. 03 · Who it's for
  4. 04 · The month
  5. 05 · What it costs
  6. 06 · Demo Day

With support of

KBIC HekaBio Asagi Labs Ventures Broken Symmetry Capital Vitalist Bay LEVFoundation Augmentation Lab Biopunk

STN 01The offer

Why join this program?

ACC Frontier Tech: Bio, Longevity, MedTech.

01 · Get ready to start fundraising

Get pitch-ready. Our coaches have taken companies from a first deck to millions raised.
Define your growth strategy in less than 30 days. One month, one plan, tested against people who have done it.
Learn to use Japan's fast-tracks and its regulatory frameworks, and reach the global venture resources that fund them.

02 · Access global VCs, angels and partners

Startup Demo Day, October 26th at Orbis Hall, alongside curated frontier-bio companies.
  • One company will be able to join Antler.
  • Top companies get priority review to participate in Meet the Drapers 2027 in Japan.
Terminus · STN 06

STN 02The pathway

Why Japan

A month inside Japan — the best global ecosystem for frontier biotech.

Cell and gene therapy, AI-designed drugs, N-of-1 medicine, brain-computer interfaces. Trillions of dollars, and the definition of human biology itself.

Japan · Regenerative medicine fast track

  • First-in-human — Phase 1 safety dataYear 0
  • On market — self-pay launch under the ASRMMonth 6–12

Standard route

  • Phase 2, Phase 3, FDA review, approvalYears 1–6
  • On market~Year 7
10× fasterto first revenue
100× cheaperthan the Phase 3 route
+61%more commercial value from the same patent
<1 monthStart fundraising

Capital × Science × Infrastructure · In one single place

壱

Commercialization in as little as a year

six to twelve months

Under the Act on the Safety of Regenerative Medicine, a cell or gene therapy can be sold on a self-pay basis once it has Phase 1 safety data — six to twelve months. Conditional Early Approval does the same nationally for small molecules, biologics and devices, around four years ahead of the FDA.

弐

Nobel-grade science, FDA-bound data

the FDA and EMA accept the data

Nobel-winning researchers at Kyoto and Osaka, RIKEN's labs, purpose-built clinical clusters, and iPS cells — the field Japan invented, whose first therapies reached market here in 2026. Every patient is followed for life in one national database, and the FDA and EMA accept the data.

参

Propose your own regulation

ten National Strategic Special Zones

Sandboxes, ten National Strategic Special Zones and two Super Cities, where regulation can be proposed by private entities, tested in the open, then spread nationally once proven.

肆

One of the world's most attractive markets

$146 billion a year (¥23.8 trillion)

Third largest pharmaceutical market and third largest R&D spender on earth: $146 billion a year (¥23.8 trillion), 3.7% of GDP, with biotech R&D up 32% last year. AMED matches registered venture capital two to one in non-dilutive grants. National insurance pays 70 to 90%, with a monthly cap on what any patient pays.

STN 03Branch lines

Who is this program for?

Built for early stage startup founders in ideation, pre-seed, & seed stages.

BR · 1生

Bio

  • Regenerative medicine — iPS, stem cells, tissue engineering
  • Gene therapy and gene editing
  • Cell therapy and immunotherapy
  • Biologics, antibodies and RNA therapeutics
  • Small molecules, including senolytics
  • Epigenetic and partial reprogramming
  • Organ and tissue replacement

The first three go to market via the Act on the Safety of Regenerative Medicine. The rest via Conditional Early Approval.

BR · 2機

Human-machine interfaces

  • Brain-computer interfaces
  • Neurotech and neuromodulation
  • Bionics, prosthetics and exoskeletons
  • Surgical and care robotics
  • Implantable sensors and diagnostics
  • Sensory augmentation

No brain implant for paralysis holds full market approval anywhere, because the standards for judging one are still being written. Japan's conditional approval route covers devices.

BR · 3知

AI & digital twins

  • AI-driven drug and protein design
  • In-silico trials and synthetic control arms
  • Patient digital twins
  • N-of-1 and personalized therapies
  • Continuous preventive medicine and monitoring
  • Biological foundation models
  • Data sovereignty and AI agent rights

A therapy built for one patient's mutation cannot run a thousand-patient trial. Every patient in Japan is followed for life in one national database, to a standard the FDA and EMA accept.

STN 04Timetable

The month

  1. Oct 01

    Boarding — the city opens

    300+ builders on the ground.

  2. Oct 17–18

    Summit I · The Science & Tech Augmenting Life

  3. Oct 24–25

    Summit II · From East to West

  4. Oct 26

    Startup Demo Day

    At Orbis Hall, alongside curated frontier-bio companies.

The experts

Aubrey de Grey
Aubrey de GreyLEV Foundation
Motoshi Hayano
Motoshi HayanoKeio University
Yuki Hanyu
Yuki HanyuIntegriCulture
Adam Gries
Adam GriesVitalist Bay

Four of 40+ leading experts across the month

STN 05The fare

A proven program designed to unlock growth and get your product to market

Fare table — at market8 stops

  1. One month of coaching with founders who have raised millions$3,000
  2. Resources and materials from elite accelerators$1,500
  3. Introductions to global VCs, angels and accelerators$4,000
  4. Both summits — four days, world-leading$1,800
  5. Regulatory consulting on the PMDA pathway$7,500
  6. Lab and co-working access$1,500
  7. Accommodation and the social agenda$2,000
  8. Yoga, onsens, fitness$300
Total, at market$21,600

Market-rate estimates — startup coaches bill $300–500/hr; PMDA pathway assessments run $10,000–25,000.

Mirai Tech CityAdmit one

Instead of $21,600

You pay $2,500

Applications reviewed on a rolling basis
Apply Now Talk to us first

One fare covers every stop on the line above.

STN 06Terminus · Oct 26

Startup Demo Day

Startup Demo Day, October 26th at Orbis Hall, alongside curated frontier-bio companies.

Acceleration Sprint · October 01–26, 2026 · Kobe, Japan

Go to market in one year

October 01–26, 2026 · Kobe, Japan. Regulators, scientists and capital in one place.

Apply Now Talk to us first