Go to Market
Two investment deals secured
Nine start-ups, two deals, one dense cluster
Two Fukuoka delegations, curated by Merito, turned nine start-ups into two closed investment deals in Boston.
The Challenge
The Governor of Fukuoka's office needed to put the prefecture's biotech and medtech innovators in front of the world's densest life science cluster, twice.
What Merito Did
Merito designed both delegations end to end: target selection, meeting curation with Boston pharma, medtech corporates and investors, and the pitch coaching that got nine Fukuoka start-ups ready to be taken seriously in the room.
The Outcome
Two investment deals closed, with further business development discussions still ongoing.
Events & Ecosystem
Three separate engagements and counting
Building the bench for Japan's ARPA-style deep tech engine
Renaissance Philanthropy has now hired Merito three times to help build Japan's ARPA-style deep tech engine.
The Challenge
Renaissance Philanthropy needed innovators, investors, mentors, and partner companies for the Cabinet Office's Global Startup Campus, Japan's flagship effort to build a world-class innovation district.
What Merito Did
Merito found innovators, investors, mentors, and companies to partner with the Startup Campus' Big if True Science (BiTS) accelerator, a next-generation deep tech commercialization effort modeled after ARPA.
The Outcome
Merito's work is helping radically reshape how deep tech is funded and brought to market in Japan.
Investor Relations
Term sheet closed with U.S. investors
From a Tokyo lab to a Boston capital table
A Japanese biotech founder closed U.S. funding through a network Merito built over seventeen years.
The Challenge
A Japanese biotech founder needed U.S. investors who understood the science and had the capital to fund real growth, not just curiosity.
What Merito Did
Merito built the target list, rebuilt the pitch around what U.S. life science funds actually underwrite, and ran the introductions through a network built over 17 years of business diplomacy.
The Outcome
The company closed funding from U.S. investors and now holds a standing relationship with the American capital base its competitors still cannot reach.
Corporate Partnerships
Osaka's go-to soft-landing point for global start-ups
Turning an Osaka facility into a global soft-landing point
Merito turned an Osaka innovation floor into a landing point for start-ups from around the world.
The Challenge
Futrworks, the innovation space inside Hankyu Hanshin Properties, had the real estate and the ambition but not enough international clients.
What Merito Did
Merito connected Futrworks to founders and investors from outside Japan, turning it into the go-to soft-landing point for global start-ups in the Kansai area.
The Outcome
Futrworks became one of Merito's two innovation-space clients, alongside CIC and Nippon Life's O-Nexus.
Tech Transfer
Direct access to two elite Tokyo universities
Unlocking Japan's hidden licensing upside
Merito connected a global AI patent company directly to the leadership of Japan's top research universities.
The Challenge
XLScout, a global AI patent search and drafting company, arrived in Japan wanting inroads with the academic institutions where its product unlocks the most IP value.
What Merito Did
Merito opened direct lines to the leadership of two elite Tokyo universities, framing the technology around what Japanese universities are measured on: licensing revenue and confidentiality of unpublished inventions.
The Outcome
Japanese licensing income runs roughly 65 times below the U.S. Merito enabled XLScout to capitalize on that gap.
Corporate Partnerships
Six new client discussions within two months
Opening Japan's defense and deep-tech doors
Merito opened Japan's defense and deep-tech doors for a global geopolitical risk advisory.
The Challenge
WestExec Advisors needed commercial traction in Japan across defense, space, financial services and digital assets.
What Merito Did
Merito ran the origination: mapping targets, writing the entry thesis for each one, and securing meetings with Japan's leading AI and defense-tech firms.
The Outcome
Six new client discussions in Asia followed within the first two months.
