Digital Garage Strengthens Its Support Structure for the “Open Network Lab” Startup Nurturing and Investment Program

– Digital Garage, Inc. (DG) announces that Open Network Lab (Onlab), which nurtures and invests in globally active startups, will strengthen its support for the social implementation of advanced technologies under a new structure, using the experience and know-how accumulated over the past 10 years.

■New structure of Onlab
●Open Network Lab　ー Seed Accelerator ー
Invest and nurture the seed and early-stage startups that are active globally
●Open Network Lab　ー Open Innovation ー
Implementing startup technology into society through co-creation with various industries

Open Network Lab will promote the social implementation of the smart city concept by building startup ecosystems and encouraging local innovation in major cities and areas, such as Hokkaido and Fukuoka.

Click here to watch an introduction of Onlab.

■Comments on the new support structure
Kaoru Hayashi, Representative Director, President Executive Officer and Group CEO, Digital Garage, Inc.
We launched The Open Network Lab (Onlab) 12 years ago as “Japan’s first” accelerator program to create a startup ecosystem similar to Silicon Valley. As Japan’s ecosystem has evolved with the times, and startups are now at the core of national strategy, Onlab will build on its existing programs to support global entrepreneurs in the web3 era. Onlab will continue contributing to Japan and the next generation of Internet communities.

Joichi Ito, Director, Senior Managing Executive Officer and Chief Architect, Digital Garage, Inc.
Since the establishment of DG, we have supported many startups in the Web 1.0 and Web 2.0 eras. Now, as we are entering the era of web3, Onlab is strengthening its support structure. In the future, we aim to create a better society with technologies by supporting Born in Japan & Unlock Japan (startups born in Japan and startups from overseas that attempt to enter the Japanese market) to create businesses that can be linked to Japan’s strategy.

■About DG’s support for startups
As a pioneer of accelerator programs in Japan, Onlab has held more than 30 programs since its launch in April 2010 and has produced more than 130 startups, including IPO and unicorns companies. In 2018, Onlab have expanded the scope of its activities by launching an open innovation-type program in addition to its seed-stage startup support.
Open innovation-type programs have contributed to the creation of new businesses by enterprises and startups with innovative solutions, such as “Resi-Tech,” which brought together all of Japan’s leading major real estate companies to create value beyond corporate boundaries, and “BioHealth,” in which leading companies in the “biotechnology and healthcare fields” from Japan and abroad participated as partners.

In 2021, a startup investment fund, Open Network Lab & ESG I “Earthshot Fund” (Earthshot Fund^*1), was established in collaboration with Open Network Lab. In partnership with this fund, Onlab will provide supports to promising domestic and overseas startups in terms of funding and business. In addition, through the TV program “Earthshot,” we have introduced many companies that are changing the world through technology.

【Onlab Alumni Companies and Services (examples)】

*Please click here to read the stories and voices of participating Onlab entrepreneurs.

In addition, “onlab web3^*2,” which supports next-generation businesses utilizing blockchain technology, was launched in September of this year with the participation of leading web3 experts from Japan and abroad to build a global web3 ecosystem originating from Japan.

■About Open Network Lab ー Open Innovation ー
The newly established “Open Network Lab – Open Innovation (Onlab Open Innovation)” was created to achieve new value creation through co-creation with existing industries by leveraging the experience and knowledge of startups that have implemented their technologies in society.
The program will recruit partner companies and startups to participate in the program and provide an environment for considering collaboration, mentoring for planning and promoting demonstration experiments, business development support, and working on demonstration experiments and business alliances^*3.

If you are interested in this program and would like to discuss sourcing or collaboration with startups, please contact the Onlab Open Innovation office using the form.

■Onlab’s future development
Onlab will support the global expansion of startups and the participation of global startups in this program through DG’s expertise in Internet business and startup support in Japan and abroad and its “Global Incubation Stream,” a global network connecting the United States, Europe, and Asia.

*1 Related Press Release: “Digital Garage Establishes Open Network Lab & ESG I “Earthshot Fund” for Startups in the ESG Field” (June 2, 2021)
*2 Related Press Release: “Digital Garage Launches “onlab web3,” a Global Incubation Program for Next-generation Businesses on web3” (September 8, 2022)
*3: The application period for startups to participate in this program is scheduled for late November 2022. Details will be posted on the Onlab website as soon as they are determined.