Press Release



March 11, 2021

Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International(ATR)
XBorder Innovations
Public Foundation of Kansai Research Institute

Collaboration with India’s premier NPO in IT industry “NASSCOM”
- Supporting to accelerate an open innovation between India’s deep tech startups and Japanese enterprises -

 Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (“ATR”), XBorder Innovations, Inc. (“XBI”), and Keihanna Research Complex promotion committee (secretariat: Public Foundation of Kansai Research Institute) have started to cooperate with the National Association of Software and Services Companies (“NASSCOM”), the apex body for IT industry in India that has been promoting to nurture Indian startups. This time, ATR and XBI signed a memorandum of understanding (MOU) to promote collaboration.

 Since the start of the Keihanna Research Complex Project in October 2016, Keihanna Science City has been building cooperative networks with global organizations and individuals, mainly with Barcelona City in Spain, Israel, Canada, New York City in the U.S., and India, and has been running a global startup acceleration program and supporting business development through the open innovation between the Japanese major companies and startups around the world.
 NASSCOM is a non-profit organization positioned as the apex body in IT industry in India, and has been nurturing startups in AI, machine learning, augmented reality(AR), virtual reality(VR), IoT, robotics, blockchain, natural language processing(NLP), and other deep technology field. It has now expanded its activities and launched “DeepTech Club 2.0” on March 4 to support global expansion of startups in major markets including Japan, in partnership with startup support organizations and majora enterprises in India and abroad.

 Keihanna Science City will strive to further enhance the global innovation ecosystem by ATR and XBI supporting open innovation between Japanese companies and Indian startups participating in NASSCOM’s DeepTech Club 2.0.
■ About NASSCOM and DeepTech Club
 A non-profit industry association positioned as the apex body for IT industry in India, a country well known as an IT superpower, having over 2,800 members and promoting activities at local, national and global levels.
 In 2017, NASSCOM launched India’s first deep tech mentorship program (DeepTech Club) to scale, impact and offer market access for product solutions leveraging deep technology. To date, 78 startups have been supported, with over US$70 million in funding.
 NASSCOM is scaling the DeepTech Club to induct 200 startups every year, partnering with deep-tech focused incubators and accelerators as well as large tech companies in and outside India to help companies go global in prominent markets including Japan.

■ About Keihanna Research Complex (RC)
 Keihanna Research Complex project, called Keihanna RC, is promoted by the Ministry of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST). From October 2016 to March 2020, Keihanna RC supported the construction of a mechanism producing continuous scientific and technological innovations in the regions where universities, research institutes and companies are strategically integrated. 47 organizations in the Keihanna Science City have participated in the project and collaborated with other large enterprises, SMEs, startups, and local residents in the pursuit of world-class innovations and creation of a global innovation ecosystem. In June 2020, Keihanna Research Complex promotion committee was established, carrying on the past achievements and continuing to develop innovation platform that is unique to Keihanna.
URL：https://keihanna-rc.jp/en/

■ Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR)
Location:2-2-2 Hikaridai Seika-cho, Sorakugun, Kyoto, Japan (Keihanna Science City)
President: Tohru Asami
Overview: Aiming to promote innovations and contribute to regional revitalization, ATR pursues world-leading, brilliant research achievements in computational neuroscience, deep interaction science, wireless communications, and life science as well as business developments, in collaboration between industry, academia and government.
URL：https://www.atr.jp/index_e.html

■ XBorder Innovations, Inc. (XBI; “X” read as “Cross”)
Location: 2-2-2 Hikaridai Seika-cho, Sorakugun, Kyoto, Japan (Keihanna Science City)
President: Hiroyuki Suzuki
Overview: Open innovation support, startups support, investment management
URL：https://www.xbi.jp/

■ Public Foundation of Kansai Research Institute (KRI)
Location: Keihanna Plaza, Lab. Building. 3F, 1-7 Hikaridai Seika-cho, Sorakugun, Kyoto, Japan
Chairman: Atsushi Horiba (Vice-Chairman of Kansai Economic Federation)
Overview: KRI is a public corporation established for the purpose of promoting construction of the science city and communication among residents, researchers, and companies there.
URL：https://www.kri.or.jp/en/

■ Contact
・Advanced Telecommunications Research Institute International (ATR)
　Strategic Planning and Publicity Division
　TEL： 0774-95-1176　　　Email： pratr.jp
・XBorder Innovations, Inc. (XBI)
　TEL： 050-7127-9661　　 Email： prxbi.jp
・Public Foundation of Kansai Research Institute (KRI)
　Meta-Comfort Smart Society Promoting Division
　TEL： 0774-95-5047　　Email： kri-rcstaffkeihanna-rc.jp