Scrum Studio and Tokyu Land Corporation Announce 13 Startups Selected for Full Bloom 2026, a Business Co-Creation Program Driving Creative Deeptech from Shibuya
Kickoff Week brings together the selected startups as they begin collaboration with corporate partners.
TOKYO, Aug. 6, 2026 /PRNewswire/ -- Scrum Studio Inc. and Tokyu Land Corporation today announced the selection of 13 startups to participate in Full Bloom 2026, a business co-creation program based at SAKURA DEEPTECH SHIBUYA, a global innovation hub within Shibuya Sakura Stage.
The selected cohort includes startups from Japan, Israel, the United Kingdom, the United States, and New Zealand. The companies bring a wide range of technologies, including AI, XR, avatars, holograms, audio, energy-generating flooring, cooling materials, skincare, biosensors, and next-generation communications. The three focus areas are Entertainment & Media, Fashion & Beauty, and Food & Urban Innovation.
Full Bloom is a deeptech business co-creation program that builds on its predecessor, the Sakura Deeptech Shibuya Accelerator. The name "Full Bloom" reflects the hope that cutting-edge technologies from startups around the world will take root through co-creation with Japanese companies, cities, and culture, and ultimately flourish globally from Shibuya.
Centered on the theme of "Creative Deeptech," Full Bloom leverages Shibuya's position as a global hub where diverse cultural fields - such as media, gaming, music, fashion, food, and art - intersect and reach global audiences. Using Shibuya as a field for experimentation, the program aims to translate deeptech into valuable consumer experiences, greater urban vibrancy, and the creation of new content industries.
Full Bloom 2026 Kickoff Week
From June 29 to July 3, 2026, Scrum Studio and Tokyu Land Corporation hosted Full Bloom 2026 Kickoff Week, welcoming the selected startups. Centered at SAKURA DEEPTECH SHIBUYA, the week featured sessions designed to deepen participants' understanding of the Japanese market and Shibuya's urban and cultural assets, along with networking opportunities and initial discussions around business co-creation.
On June 30, the startups attended a kickoff event where they introduced their businesses and exchanged views on potential opportunities for co-creation. On July 2 and 3, the startups participated in IVS2026, one of Japan's largest startup conferences held in Kyoto. Scrum Studio and Tokyu Land partnered with Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd. to host an exhibition booth and session. The startups also joined a co-hosted official IVS side event with Kyoto Chiesangyo Sozonomori, an organization dedicated to advancing Kyoto's economy and creating new industries.
The startups also visited sites to explore potential locations for technology deployment, such as Shibuya Real Squid Game, an immersive experience held at Shibuya Fukuras, and ROKU KYOTO, LXR Hotels & Resorts, a luxury resort in Kyoto, to learn about the importance of carefully understanding the nuances of tradition and local culture when applying technologies to create memorable experiences. Through these visits, the startups explored Tokyu Land properties as potential sites for co-creation initiatives.
Going forward, the selected startups will use SAKURA DEEPTECH SHIBUYA as their base and collaborate with Japanese companies, local governments, investors, and industry experts to advance business development, pilot projects, and real-world implementation in the Japanese market.
Selected Startups
(Thirteen startups were selected for the program, 12 of which are listed below. One participant remains in stealth mode.)
AVITA (Japan) https://avita.co.jp/
Category: Entertainment & Media
AVITA develops services powered by avatars and AI, as well as humanoid robots and Physical AI. Built on more than 20 years of research by Hiroshi Ishiguro, a pioneer in android research, and a portfolio of more than 70 avatar-related patents, the company is advancing the real-world adoption of avatars across society.
bitBiome (Japan) https://bitbiome.co.jp/
Category: Fashion & Beauty
bitBiome operates a BIO x AI platform that accelerates next-generation bio-manufacturing backed by the world's leading microbial database. Leveraging its unique single-cell genomics engine, the company translates vast biological data into actionable insights, enabling rapid enzyme and strain engineering to solve complex challenges across industrial sectors.
Brelyon (United States) https://www.brelyon.com/
Category: Entertainment & Media
Brelyon is an MIT spin-off adding a layer of immersion and AI to screens for headset-less immersion of screens all the way to automation via screens. By integrating its displays with AI, the company is advancing next-generation visual experiences and workflow automation with applications spanning entertainment, simulation, and teleoperations.
Decart (Israel) https://decart.ai/
Category: Entertainment & Media
Decart is a frontier AI research lab. Our real-time world models and ultra-optimized infrastructure power immersive experiences and physical AI. Video that transforms as people watch. Worlds generated in real time. Robots trained in simulation before entering the physical world. Decart is the engine that real-time AI runs on.
Delavie Sciences (United States) https://www.delaviesciences.com/
Category: Fashion & Beauty
Delavie Sciences develops science-backed skincare products focused on improving skin health, rejuvenation, and protection through advanced research and proprietary ingredients. Founded by Dr. Kyle Landry and Dr. David Sinclair from Harvard Medical School, Delavie presses the boundaries of longevity and aims to bring these advances to market.
Edge Sound Research (United States) https://www.edgesoundresearch.com/
Category: Entertainment & Media
EDGE Sound Research builds intelligent audio infrastructure for sports, entertainment, venues, and immersive media. Its platform automates how sound objects are captured, processed, rendered, and delivered, enabling personalized content, spatial experiences, and scalable sound workflows for broadcasters, leagues, venues, and technology partners.
Eztia (United States) https://www.eztiamaterials.com/
Category: Fashion & Beauty
Eztia develops advanced passive-cooling materials that deliver powerful, electricity-free heat relief, integrated directly into clothing, uniforms, and PPE. Its HydraVolt™ technology cools skin without power, batteries, or electronics—recharging with water alone. Validated in field pilots across Japan and Singapore with construction, logistics, and defense partners, Eztia makes heat protection accessible everywhere.
GATARI (Japan) https://gatari.co.jp/
Category: Entertainment & Media
GATARI develops Auris, a "game engine for the real world" that enhances the experiential value of venues, retail locations, and urban spaces, helping improve revenue, visitor traffic, and engagement. Using only a smartphone, users can scan a space and create, edit, deploy, and experience content without coding, allowing immersive content to be introduced without physically modifying existing facilities.
meleap (Japan) https://meleap.com/
Category: Entertainment & Media
meleap is a Japan-based company developing AR sports experiences that blend physical activity with digital technology. Its flagship platform, HADO, has expanded to more than 40 countries and has been experienced by over 10 million people worldwide. The company works with schools, businesses, and entertainment venues to create the future of sports.
Pavegen (United Kingdom) https://www.pavegen.com/
Category: Entertainment & Media
Pavegen is an award-winning global cleantech leader pioneering smart city engagement and kinetic-solar technology. By harvesting human footsteps and sunlight, Pavegen converts everyday movement into off-grid electricity and actionable data. The platform empowers enterprises and engages citizens globally, building a connected, greener world where every step counts.
Scentian Bio (New Zealand) https://www.scentianbio.com/
Category: Food & Urban Innovation
Scentian Bio is digitizing smell. Its chips mimic the incredible power of insect olfaction (smell) to provide real-time chemical sensing. They combine synthetic biology and AI to produce an 'insect nose on a chip' - providing quantitative chemical measurement in near-real-time. This is a platform technology and the first focus is the $8b food quality market where Scentian has strong commercial traction. Scentian Bio is a spin-out from New Zealand's Bioeconomy Science Institute and is led by co-founders Jonathan Good, CEO, and Dr Andrew Kralicek, CTO.
VISBAN (Japan) https://visban.com/
Category: Entertainment & Media
VISBAN develops advanced network technology to accelerate the adoption of millimeter-wave communications and support high-speed, high-capacity connectivity. Without requiring additional base stations, its V-Mesh™ technology coordinates multiple RF-on-Glass™ repeaters along optimized multi-hop routes, enabling stable millimeter-wave coverage around obstacles and corners and across indoor and outdoor environments.
From the Program Mentors
Ian Condry, Professor, Comparative Media Studies / Writing, MIT
"This year's cohort is a supremely fascinating range of startups focused on some of the most important challenges for deeptech in the 21st century. I am eager to see how they develop their products and visions. This is a truly promising group."
Marc Lechanoine, Founder & CEO, ATOUT PARTNERS
"It was a true privilege to serve as a mentor for the 2026 SDS session, where I was deeply impressed by the high caliber, immense potential, and vibrant energy of the participating startups. The kickoff's unique environment, centered within Tokyo's dynamic ecosystem at the intersection of entertainment, technology, and design, proved to be an ideal catalyst for fostering cross-cultural synergy and collaboration. I thoroughly enjoyed helping these entrepreneurs bridge the diverse innovation landscapes of Japan, the US, New Zealand, and Israel, accelerating their capacity to operate as a cohesive unit. I am fully confident that this week has set the entire cohort on an exceptional trajectory to achieve their strategic goals by December."
Eran Egozy, Professor of the Practice in Music Technology, MIT
"This year's Full Bloom companies are really exciting. We have a great variety of ideas, technologies, and home countries. I am looking forward to working with them over the next several months and can't wait to see the final results on demo day."
Square Enix and Spotify Japan Join Full Bloom 2026 as Partners
Square Enix Co., Ltd. is an entertainment company that has delivered a wide range of content to users worldwide, centered on games within the digital entertainment space. In Full Bloom 2026, Square Enix will explore co-creation opportunities with the selected startups from the perspectives of games, IP, fan communities, immersive experiences, and next-generation entertainment.
Yurie Iino, North America Director, Group Investment & Business Development Office, Square Enix Holdings Co., Ltd.:
"We're excited about Full Bloom 2026 as an opportunity to meet outstanding startups from around the world and co-create new value together. Through collaboration with startups gathered from across the globe, we look forward to encountering diverse ideas as we explore the future of entertainment together. Drawing on the expertise we've built through games and IP, Square Enix looks forward to working with the selected startups to create new experiences."
Spotify Japan brings extensive expertise rooted in music and audio culture, spanning music, podcasts, creators, fan communities, and data-driven listener experiences. In Full Bloom 2026, Spotify Japan will explore how the selected startups' technologies and services can be combined with music, audio, fan experiences, and brand communication to create new content experiences and support for creators.
Fumi Otsuka, Head of Strategy and Operations, Spotify Japan:
"We are delighted to join the SDS program. By combining the startups' new technologies and services with our expertise in music and audio culture, we hope to pioneer new forms of content experiences and creator support together."
With the participation of both companies, Full Bloom 2026 will expand opportunities for business co-creation spanning music, gaming, IP, media, and urban experiences.
Program Overview
Name: Full Bloom 2026
Location: SAKURA DEEPTECH SHIBUYA, 12F, Shibuya Sakura Stage Central Building, 1-2 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Operated by: Scrum Studio Inc.
Focus areas: Entertainment & Media, Fashion & Beauty, Food & Urban Innovation
Website: https://fullbloom.sakuradeeptechshibuya.com/
About SAKURA DEEPTECH SHIBUYA
SAKURA DEEPTECH SHIBUYA is a global innovation hub established at Shibuya Sakura Stage, dedicated to nurturing and supporting deeptech startups. Working with top-tier industry, government, and academic partners from around the world, it drives growth support, business co-creation, community building, and proof-of-concept opportunities for deeptech startups. Website: https://www.sakuradeeptechshibuya.com/en/
About Tokyu Land Corporation
Tokyu Land Corporation promotes area value enhancement and vibrancy across the greater Shibuya area by creating new industries and cutting-edge businesses in co-creation with startups.
SAKURA DEEPTECH SHIBUYA, the stage for Full Bloom 2026, is a global innovation hub established by Tokyu Land Corporation within Shibuya Sakura Stage, dedicated to nurturing and supporting deeptech startups. Leveraging its expertise in urban development and facility management, its business foundation in Shibuya, and its network across industry, government, and academia, Tokyu Land Corporation supports business co-creation between startups from around the world and Japanese companies. URL: https://www.tokyu-land.co.jp/
About Scrum Studio Inc.
Scrum Studio Inc. drives new business and value creation between Japanese companies and startups around the world. Leveraging open innovation methodologies, the company operates business co-creation programs, including Hokkaido F Village X and Full Bloom, that facilitate collaboration among leading corporate partners, startups, and municipalities across industries. It also operates an incubation business that supports overseas startups entering the Japanese market. URL: https://scrum.vc/ja/studio/
Contact: Ken Varhama
Email: [email protected]
SOURCE Scrum Ventures
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