News
2025/11/27
GTIE GAP Fund 2026 - Overseas Market Development Practice Course - Now Open for Subscriptions
Purpose and Intent:
This GAP Fund Program provides support to researchers affiliated with universities participating in the GTIE platform through the Greater Tokyo Innovation Ecosystem (GTIE), which was commissioned by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) to conduct the Startup Ecosystem Co-creation Program as one of the programs under the New Industry Creation Fund for University Startups (NIFS) program. GTIE (Greater Tokyo Innovation Ecosystem), which was commissioned by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) to conduct a startup ecosystem co-creation program as one of the programs under the New Industry Creation Fund for University-Based Innovation, will provide support to researchers belonging to universities participating in the GTIE platform.
As part of the “GTIE GAP Fund Program 2026,” the “Practical Course for Overseas Market Development (hereinafter referred to as the “Course”)” has been established. The course is designed to provide a practical course for developing overseas markets. This course will provide support for research and development proposals for overseas expansion to create university startups that aim to expand into global markets based on the innovative technology seeds of universities participating in the GTIE platform.
Adopted proposals will be jointly implemented by the principal investigator responsible for the R&D and the commercialization promotion organization (VC, etc.) responsible for the business development of the technology seeds, and will be supported by the project management of the commercialization promotion organization, with the aim of creating startups with the potential for significant business growth, including international expansion. The project will promote initiatives aimed at creating deep tech startups with the potential for significant business growth, including international expansion, under the project management of the commercialization promotion organization. In promoting the project, milestones (interim milestones: business development and R&D milestones) will be set, and business development and R&D will be conducted in an integrated manner to achieve these milestones.
This course is a program to set R&D goals to meet the requirements of the assumed overseas markets (customers and partners) as milestones and conduct R&D to achieve them. Possession of data, prototypes, and their intellectual property to elicit requirements is a prerequisite. Overseas mentors who are familiar with the business and technology involved and who will connect you to potential customers, partners, and experts in this business will also support the team, making this program suitable for those who are serious about overseas business development.
Outline of this course:
[ Objective ].
To develop a business that can be accepted overseas,
To contact overseas KOLs (Key Opinion Leaders) and potential partners, and clarify the specifications required for collaboration.
Conduct R&D to realize the specifications, collect the required data, and develop prototypes.
Based on the overseas market development strategy, create clues for overseas business development by negotiating partnerships with partners utilizing the above R&D results.
[Main Activities ]
R&D period: 1 year, but if the milestone at the end of the first half of the fiscal year is not achieved, the project will be terminated at that time.
The project will be conducted in collaboration with StartX, an accelerator at Stanford University in the United States. Screening sessions will be conducted in English by U.S. judges.
First semester of the fiscal year:
May – September:
Boot camp at StartX in the U.S., mentoring by U.S. mentors, and interviews with overseas KOLs and partners.
With the cooperation of the U.S. mentors, contact with KOLs and potential partners to identify requirements for collaboration (necessary data, prototypes) and formulate an activity plan.
Based on the requirements from the above partners and the status of data and prototypes that can be realized in the future, we will formulate a partner strategy for market development with the overseas mentors.
Conduct R&D activities for data collection and completion of prototypes required for collaboration with partners.
At the end of September, teams will be selected to move on to the second half of the fiscal year based on the status of milestone achievements.
Second half of the fiscal year:
October to February:
R&D activities are conducted toward the re-set R&D targets. Visit prospective partners, present data and prototypes obtained through R&D, and negotiate with them to establish business partnerships.
February-March:
Participate in the final pitch and Demo Day in the U.S.
Outline of Application:
1. Eligibility
Faculty members and researchers affiliated with the following universities and other organizations on the GTIE platform
The University of Tokyo, Tokyo University of Science, Waseda University, University of Tsukuba, Chiba University, Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology, Yokohama City University, Kanagawa University of Health and Welfare, Keio University, Tokyo Metropolitan University, Tokyo University of Science, Shibaura Institute of Technology, University of Electro-Communications, Ibaraki University, Tokai University, RIKEN, Yokohama National University, AIST.
(2) In the above, the team must be a team of researchers from a pre-startup university that meets the following criteria
Deep-tech teams in the fields of biotechnology, medicine, healthcare, agriculture, materials, etc.
The team must have a prototype or data showing the performance of the product at present.
Have English language skills and aim to expand their business overseas (U.S.).
Have applied for patents related to technology and business
The team has obtained a domestic commercialization promotion organization to support the team’s activities.
*If the Principal Investigator is a student (master’s or doctoral course), he/she is not eligible to apply.
*Teams that have been selected in the past are eligible to apply, as long as they are working on a different R&D project.
*Even teams that have already started their own business may apply if their R&D proposal is based on different technological seeds from those of the startup they have already established. If the purpose of the proposal is to transfer technology to a startup that has already launched its own business, the applicant will not be eligible to be a Principal Investigator, as this is not the purpose of this program.
Application period and selection schedule
[Application Deadline ] Noon, January 5, 2026 (Monday)
[ Schedule ]
| Overseas Market Development Practice | |
| Application Submission Deadline | Noon, Monday, January 5, 2026 |
| Interview Screening | Late January to early February 2026 |
| Notification of interview results | Week following the interview screening |
| Approval by JST | Approximately 1.5 to 2 months after submission of project plan to JST |
| Start of project | Around April 2026 |
Number of projects to be adopted
Up to 3 projects
4. R&D expenses (direct expenses)
The maximum adopted unit cost is 22 million yen (10 million yen in the first half of the fiscal year and 12 million yen in the second half of the fiscal year).
The amount will be determined based on the number of applications received, and the amount for the second half of the fiscal year will be determined based on the number of applications received.
Application Documents, etc.
(1) Application Outline
GTIE Overseas Market Development Practice Course 2026 Application Guidelines
(2) Submission Materials
The materials to be submitted are Form 1, Form 2, Form 3, PowerPoint for presentation (written in English), and Form 4.
Form 1_GTIE Overseas Market Development Practice 2026_Application for R&D Proposals
Form 1_GTIE Overseas Market Development Practice 2026_Application for R&D Proposals
Form 2_GTIE Overseas Market Development Practice 2026_Intellectual Property Confirmation Form
Form 2_GTIE Overseas Market Development Practice 2026_Intellectual Property Confirmation Form
Form 3_GTIE Overseas Market Development Practice 2026_Proposed Budget
GTIE Overseas Market Development Practice 2026_Presentation Template
Form 4_Outline of GTIE2026 Commercialization Promotion Organization and Commercialization Promoter
6. How to submit application documents
Please fill out the following application form and upload the documents downloaded and prepared in “5.
Submission: Application Form https://forms.gle/Wh2qzoJb2fUFg4h68
7. Application Restrictions
JST has established restrictions on duplicate applications for the same Principal Investigator for JST projects. Please refer to the application guideline for details.
If the same Principal Investigator applies for more than one fund, he/she will be asked to choose whether to apply for the fund that has been selected and withdraw from the fund for which he/she is applying, or to withdraw from the fund for which he/she has been selected and wait for the results of the review of the fund for which he/she is applying. The same principal investigator is not allowed to apply for multiple proposals to the same fund.
Contact: GTIE Office, The University of Tokyo E-mail: utgtie@ducr.u-tokyo.ac.jp