Decoding innovation from around the world,
and building it into new businesses for Japanese companies.

RouteX is a think tank that researches startup ecosystems and frontier technologies worldwide. Starting from leading examples abroad, we work alongside companies on new businesses, from concept to execution.

Global insight,
for your next business.

01 — MANIFESTO

C L O S E T H E G A P . F I N D T H E E D G E . D E L I V E R T H E B E S T .

We close the information gap, find the edge that only you have, and deliver the best results.

Large information gaps still exist between overseas markets and Japan, and between large corporations and startups. RouteX goes on the ground to gather primary information and closes those gaps, uncovering value unique to each client. We then work alongside them from concept to execution to deliver the best outcomes.

02 — WHAT WE DO

For every player in the ecosystem.

An ecosystem has four kinds of players: large corporations, startups, government, and overseas players. At the core of RouteX is the ability to research ecosystems worldwide and turn that knowledge and network into businesses. We apply that same capability to the needs of each player.

03 — FRONTIER

The global frontier,
built into your business.

Logistics, infrastructure inspection, disaster response. We connect the drone business models being deployed abroad with your company’s assets.

Robotics that is transforming manufacturing, logistics and services. We compare deployment cases across countries side by side and carry them through to PoC.

We break down the models of fast-growing overseas generative-AI startups and rebuild them into business concepts that can win in the Japanese market.

Quantum, advanced materials, biotech. We support the commercialization and international expansion of deep tech that turns research into business.

We analyze ecosystems worldwide in parallel to identify the cases, markets and partners worth referencing, and work alongside you from concept through partnership negotiation, PoC and execution.

OUR EDGE

Three Areas of RouteX Expertise

We turn the global frontier into new businesses for Japanese companies. To do so, one team brings together the three capabilities it requires: knowing overseas markets, building businesses, and assessing technology.

Experts in global startup ecosystems

We have researched startup ecosystems city by city around the world by going there in person. Which companies and technologies are growing in which countries and cities is something we verify not only through public information but through interviews with people on the ground.

• On-the-ground research in more than 50 ecosystems
• Produced the Japanese editions of the 2022 and 2023 “GSER,” the annual report of global ecosystem research firm Startup Genome
• Our CEO has traveled to 115 countries

Experts in new business creation

Rather than starting from scratch, we start from business models already proven abroad and build business concepts tailored to your strengths and the Japanese market. The same team works with you from developing proposals for internal approval through partner negotiations and proof of concept (PoC).

• Supporting new businesses and collaborations for large corporations, government and startups (examples in “CASE STUDIES”)
• Responsible for everything from partnership negotiations with overseas startups to driving PoCs
• Handles about 100 founder consultations a year at Startup Hub Tokyo, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s startup support center

Deep knowledge of technology in Japan and abroad

We cover major global tech conferences such as TechCrunch Disrupt, Google I/O and Slush with media passes, tracking the latest developments in drones, robotics, generative AI and deep tech on the ground. Beyond research, we also develop our own AI products.

• As a partner operator of the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, planned and ran GLOBE-X, an international expansion program for deep tech companies (Oct 2024 – Mar 2026)
• Produced a research report on China’s robotics industry (117 pages, 428 sources)
• Developed Ameiro, an in-house generative-AI product for confectionery makers

04 — SERVICES

Global insight,
built in.

New business, global expansion, generative AI and Japan market entry, built to global standards.

05 — APPROACH

Leading overseas cases × your company’s Will.

Rather than starting from scratch, we start from models already proven around the world. We combine them with the Japanese market and your strengths to achieve both distinctiveness and commercial viability.

1. Mapping Your Assets

   First, we take stock of your technologies, products, services, customer base and sales channels. Together we identify which strengths can power a new business and in which markets you can win, and narrow down the areas to pursue.

2. Overseas Startup Research

   In the selected areas, we broadly identify overseas startups and business models that are already delivering results, by country, business model and technology. We then compare them against criteria such as market potential and feasibility in Japan, and select the cases to learn from.

3. Your Own Business Concept

   Rather than importing a chosen overseas model as is, we combine it with the realities of the Japanese market and your distinctive strengths to shape an original business concept. We lay out the objectives, revenue outlook and approach so it can be presented in your internal decision-making forums.

4. Partnership, PoC & Execution

   To bring the concept to life, the same team stays with you to the end: from first contact with potential partners such as overseas startups, to clarifying the key points of partnership terms and contracts, to designing and running a small-scale proof of concept (PoC).

06 — AI-NATIVE CONSULTING

Researched with generative AI,
verified with primary information on the ground.

When researching overseas markets and companies, generative AI makes it possible to gather information in many languages, including English, Chinese and French, in a short time. But AI has weaknesses. Content can be wrong even when it cites plausible-looking sources; it tends to skew toward English-language information and miss what is published only in local languages; and the deeper the research goes, the more errors creep in.

That is why RouteX combines the speed of AI with human verification. People decide what to research through discussion with clients, AI handles information gathering, and the results are verified both by checking with local contacts and by a system that automatically checks each source one by one. Our final reports separate verified “facts,” our interpretations as “hypotheses,” and what we could not confirm as “unverified,” so you can see at a glance how far each point can be trusted.

Research and recommendations follow five steps.

We define in advance which steps people handle and which are left to AI.

1. 01 Issue Framing

   Decide what to research

   We speak directly with clients to determine which questions, once answered, will move internal decision-making forward. As the most important step in setting the direction of the research, it is handled by people, not AI.

   Handled by people
2. 02 Comprehensive Collection

   Gather information broadly

   We use generative AI to gather information published in many languages, including official announcements from governments and companies, local news, patents and app usage trends. AI translates it into Japanese and organizes it in a form that is easy to compare.

   Handled by AI
3. 03 Primary-Source Verification

   Verify facts on the ground

   We never use AI-compiled content as is. We contact the companies and experts in RouteX’s networks in each country directly to confirm whether things are actually as stated.

   Verified by people and AI
4. 04 Source Verification

   Check each source one by one

   For every source cited in a report, our in-house program automatically checks that the link still opens and that the stated content actually appears in that document. Statements that cannot be substantiated are removed.

   Automatically checked by program
5. 05 Production & Recommendations

   Compile the report

   We finalize reports and proposal materials, along with translated versions when needed. Verified “facts” and our interpretations as “hypotheses” are written separately, and points we could not confirm are clearly marked “unverified.”

   Assisted by AI

We don’t just use AI well.
We build AI products ourselves.

RouteX doesn’t only use AI in its work; we also develop our own AI products. We build them, check the latest information from the developer, and codify what we learn into internal procedures. The hands-on sense this cycle gives us of what AI can do and where it struggles informs the AI proposals we make to clients.

Developing our own products

Using the AI development tool Claude Code, we developed Ameiro, a generative-AI product for confectionery makers, in-house. It took about one month from start to the first prototype (MVP), and it has been deployed in a proof of concept (PoC) with an actual company.

Ameiro was selected for both TOKYO Re:STARTER (Restart Entrepreneur Support Program), the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s acceleration program for entrepreneurs aiming to start again, and the entrepreneurship project of the University of Oxford Executive MBA. It has been refined with advice from a range of external mentors.

Checking the latest information directly with the developer

We attended by invitation “Code w/ Claude” (June 10–11, 2026, Tokyo), a conference Anthropic held for AI developers. In sessions led by the developer’s engineers, we heard firsthand how to apply new features and how to think about design, and resolved questions that had arisen during Ameiro’s development on the spot.

Insights from the conference are published as an event report on our CEO’s note. We also cover major global tech conferences with media passes, continuing to track the latest AI developments on the ground.

Codifying usage into internal procedures

AI is a useful tool, but output quality tends to vary depending on who uses it. So rather than leaving AI usage to individual ingenuity, RouteX has documented it in a 12-page internal guide, the “Claude Usage Guide,” and everyone follows the same procedures.

Rules such as source verification and separating facts from hypotheses are applied consistently across all projects in line with this guide.

Ameiro A generative-AI tool for product developers at confectionery makers

Ameiro generates new product ideas based on trends and existing products, and compiles everything into a single proposal: product name, concept, ingredient formulation, manufacturing process, quality control standards, marketing strategy and package images. By loading each company’s recipes, brand guidelines and meeting minutes, it produces proposals that stay true to that company’s identity. At its core is Anthropic’s AI, Claude, combined with image-generation AI.

PoC with Bon Toraya, a Japanese and Western confectioner founded in 1951

Starting April 18, 2026, we ran a proof of concept of about three months with Bon Toraya, which operates 12 stores in the Higashi-Mikawa region centered on Toyohashi, Aichi Prefecture. Bon Toraya’s recipes and brand materials were loaded into Ameiro, and the new product ideas generated by AI were evaluated on brand fit, ease of execution, originality, sales potential and image quality. Flavors such as “shiso” and “natsumikan soda” were selected as candidates for new versions of its signature product, “Pirene.”

07 — WHY ROUTEX

Why RouteX.

Three strengths that come not from scale, but from how our team is structured.

Multiple markets,
measured against one standard.

Because no market is siloed with a separate team, we can capture structural differences as comparisons—differences that studying any single market in isolation would miss.

From setting up overseas entities to winding them down,
we have run them end to end.

Incorporation, local hiring, legal and tax, local sales, and liquidation. We have firsthand experience of running a business abroad.

Our CEO leads every engagement,
from kickoff through execution.

Our direct network of local players abroad sits with the CEO. The person who makes the proposal is the one who travels with you on the ground.

An organization that assesses startup ecosystems worldwide. We produced the Japanese editions of its annual GSER report for two years: 2022 and 2023.

As a Tokyo Metropolitan Government partner operator (Oct 2024 – Mar 2026), we designed and ran GLOBE-X, a program supporting the global expansion of deep-tech companies.

As an entrepreneur member of the British Chamber of Commerce in Japan, we take part in the UK–Japan business community.

08 — GLOBAL FOOTPRINT

Tokyo, Paris, Moscow.
Through a three-city network,
we have connected Japan with the world.

In addition to our Tokyo headquarters, RouteX established local subsidiaries in Paris and Moscow, building a network in which the three locations worked together. Building relationships with startups, investors, government agencies and large corporations in each market, we have delivered think-tank research and professional consulting. We have firsthand experience of every stage of an overseas business, from incorporation and local hiring to legal and tax matters and local sales. We continue to apply that operational experience and local network to our clients’ global expansion and new businesses.

New business creation, ecosystem research, overseas expansion support, and the design and operation of government and public programs.

Supported two-way market entry between Europe and Japan and collaboration with VCs and startups on the ground, including helping European VCs enter the Japanese market.

Promoted collaboration between Japanese and Russian startups. Working with the Embassy of Russia in Japan, supported Russian startups entering Japan.

* The Paris and Moscow subsidiaries have been liquidated. We now operate from our Tokyo headquarters and support clients through our local networks in each country.

09 — TRACK RECORD

With government, large corporations and overseas ecosystems,
a track record built over time.

Government & public sector

• 2025— Tokyo Metropolitan Government TOKYO SUTEAM “GLOBE-X for DeepTech” — growth support for deep-tech companies expanding into Europe
• 2024 Selected as a partner operator for the Tokyo Metropolitan Government’s TOKYO SUTEAM
• 2024—26 SusHi Tech Tokyo Ambassador (three consecutive years)
• 2024 JETRO “J-StarX” judge and speaker
• 2022 Co-hosted “Kyoto Startup X” with Kyoto Chie Sangyo Sozo no Mori
• 2021 Co-hosted a YOXO global session for the City of Yokohama Economic Affairs Bureau with Galvanize (US)
• 2020— Startup Hub Tokyo startup concierge / Kawasaki-NEDO Innovation Center startup advisory supporter
• 2020 Hosted a pitch event for seven startups, under the auspices of the Embassy of Sri Lanka in Japan

Corporate new business

• 2026 Supported a smart city PoC for a major company
• 2026 Launched Ameiro, a generative-AI SaaS for confectionery, and ran a PoC
• 2024— Provide an Innovation Training Program for corporations
• 2023 Supported French ecosystem research for Dawn Capital, the CVC of Akatsuki
• 2022 Partner in AstraZeneca’s open innovation program i2.JP
• 2022 Partner company for REACH REACH, run by MBS, Hakuhodo and others (three companies)
• 2021—22 Mentoring support at NTT DOCOMO’s Open Innovation Office
• 2021—23 Monthly sponsor and co-host of NTT DOCOMO Ventures’ startup trend events
• 2020 Mentor, Shueisha “Manga Tech 2020”
• 2019 Hosted Seiko Epson’s “Epson Hack Trek”

Research & thought leadership

• 2023 Co-published the Japanese edition of Startup Genome’s GSER 2023 as an official partner
• 2023 Published the mini-report “Co-creation Opportunities with French Startups”
• 2022 Published the first-ever Japanese edition of GSER 2022 as an official partner
• 2022 Briefing seminars on overseas conferences such as CES and Hello Tomorrow
• 2022 Explained Japan’s ecosystem at Malaysia MRANTI’s “Global Market Fit in JAPAN”
• 2021 Published Overseas Startup Trends 2021–2022 (overview and country editions)
• 2021 Contributed to Nikkei Business coverage of Latin American startups
• 2021 Presented on the Latin American ecosystem at the Osaka Chamber of Commerce and Industry’s GIF Osaka

Overseas presence & network

• 2025 Hosted a deep-tech workshop in Paris / Media partner, Step Dubai 2025
• 2024 Joined the French Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Japan (member of CEFJ)
• 2023 Established local subsidiary RouteX Europe SAS in Paris
• 2023 Partner, PARIS-SACLAY SPRING and IVS2023 KYOTO
• 2022 Press attendance at seven conferences across Europe and Asia, including VivaTech, London Tech Week and South Summit
• 2020— Launched Japan–Russia startup collaboration support (in partnership with LikePay).Established a local subsidiary in Moscow
• 2020—22 Japan’s only media partner for Step (Saudi Arabia, UAE); media partner, Hello Tomorrow
• 2020 Ecosystem partner, Hello Tomorrow Japan
• 2019 Led operations for the Tokyo edition of the AngelHack Global Series

10 — CASE STUDIES

Case studies

11 — CLIENTS & PARTNERS

Collaborations & partners

From operating companies and government bodies to universities and international startup support organizations (selected; honorifics omitted).

12 — FOUNDER & CEO

Our Founder

Takayuki Omori TAKAYUKI OMORI

As a student, he helped run startup communities at Deloitte Tohmatsu Venture Support and Coral Capital. In 2018, while at Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Management, he founded RouteX Inc. as a student startup, based on a business plan that won an award at the university. Specializing in research on overseas startup ecosystems, he analyzes the business models and technologies of startups around the world. He led the establishment of RouteX Inc.’s Russian subsidiary (withdrawn due to the war) and French subsidiary, and has extensive experience launching businesses and negotiating abroad.

13 — INSIGHTS

The latest global business trends,
on our CEO’s note and X.

Drawing on firsthand observations from the field, our CEO writes about startup ecosystems, robotics and deep tech in the UK, China and other countries.

14 — COMPANY

Company Profile

Company name

ルーテックス株式会社 / RouteX Inc.

Incorporation

July 9, 2018

Representative

Takayuki Omori, Representative Director

Address

〒100-0005
1-1-3 Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Nippon Life Marunouchi Garden Tower 3F

Corporate Number

9120901040132

Capital

JPY 400,000

Main banks

Mizuho Bank, docomo SMTB Net Bank

Business

Media / research / consulting / product development / other work related to startup ecosystems

Memberships

British Chamber of Commerce in Japan (BCCJ), Entrepreneur Member
Tokyo Metropolitan Government TOKYO SUTEAM partner operator (FY2025)

Eliminate information asymmetry and unlock the potential of every player in the startup ecosystem

Bringing one innovation after another to the moment anyone can change the world

• Move Fast, Take a RiskBridging to the future
• Done is better than nothingAnswers are found by moving forward
• Think LogicallyFind cause and effect, and create what comes next
• Be a Leader, Be a FollowerSucceed as a team
• Ownership for the best performanceAim for the best, and lead

15 — CONTACT

New business and global expansion:
we welcome your inquiry.

Whether you are exploring new business themes, collaborating with overseas startups, entering overseas markets, or bringing an overseas company into Japan, we welcome inquiries at any stage. We start by understanding your challenges and where you are in your thinking, then work with you to shape the approach, drawing on relevant cases from abroad. Consultations are available in Japanese and English.