Startups are increasingly expected to serve as a driving force for sustainable economic growth. The Japanese government designated 2022 as the "First Year of Startup Creation" and formulated a five-year plan to increase the number of startups tenfold, positioning them as key players for innovation.

In particular, expectations are rising for deep-tech startups, tackling deeply rooted social challenges with advanced technologies. These startups typically face long timelines before product launch, require capital on a scale an order of magnitude larger than that of conventional ventures, and often struggle with issues such as mismatches between R&D and management talent, as well as communication gaps between researchers and investors.

This symposium will feature talks addressing topics such as the human-resource challenges surrounding startups, corporate efforts in open innovation, the hurdles faced by academia-origin startups during formation, and the challenges they encounter in scaling their businesses. From the perspective of the Society of Chemical Engineers, Japan, a community where academic researchers with deep-tech seeds gather, we aim to discuss opportunities for fostering startups and driving societal transformation.