News
2026/04/01
GTIE GAP Fund Future Offering Schedule (FY2026 onwards)
Purpose and Objectives
The Greater Tokyo Innovation Ecosystem (hereafter referred to as “GTIE”) is a platform for the creation of university-launched ventures that aim for the global market based on innovative technology seeds from universities* participating in the GTIE platform, and university-launched ventures with a high social impact that also contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. The GTIE GAP Fund is a research and development program (GTIE GAP Fund) for researchers belonging to GTIE’s lead and startup creation collaborating organizations (SU creation collaborating organizations).
1. eligibility
Research proposals (GAP Funds) to bridge the gap between research results and commercialization at research institutes by brushing up business models, manufacturing prototypes, acquiring data (experimental and computational results) for hypothesis testing, and conducting market validation in Japan and the U.S., with the aim of commercialization.
-Research projects that do not aim at commercialization or company business/preparation (registration, etc.) are not eligible for this fund.
2. Outline of the GAP Fund
(1) Courses to be offered
( 1) Overseas Market Development Practice
( 2 ) Explore Course (2 years)
( 3 ) Explore Course (3 years)
( 4) Entry course
( 5) Increased recruitment
(2) Research and Development Period
The following periods from the date of adoption
( 1 ) Overseas Market Development Practice: Maximum of about 1 year
( 2 ) Explore course (2 years): Maximum of about 2 years
( 3 ) Explore Course (3 years): Maximum of about 3 years
4）Entry course: Maximum of 1 year
( 5) Incremental application: Same as the remaining period of each of 2) and 3)
– “ Adoption date” refers to the date when the plan is submitted to JST and approved, not the date when GTIE is notified of the selection result.
-In the case of a multi-year course, stage-gate review will be conducted every year.
(3) Research and development expenses (GAP Fund)
Per proposal
( 1) Overseas Market Development Practice: Maximum of 28 million yen
( 2 ) Explore (2 years): Up to 60 million yen (30 million yen in the first year)
3）Explore (3 years): Up to 60 million yen (15 million yen for the first year)
( 4 ) Entry course: Maximum of 5 million yen
( 5 )Increased application amount: Up to a maximum of 100 million yen in total (the difference from the amount adopted for the Exploratory Loan)
(4) Eligibility
For 1) to 3) and 5) ,
(1) Researchers belonging to the lead institution of the GTIE platform or to each institution that is a joint institution for SU creation
(2) Researchers who fall under (1) above who can apply jointly with a commercialization promotion organization (VC).
( 3) Researchers and graduate students belonging to the lead institution of the GTIE platform or the joint SU-creating institution for (4) above.
*Lead Institutions and SU Creation Joint Institutions
The University of Tokyo, Waseda University, Tokyo University of Science, 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, Shibaura Institute of Technology, Tokyo University of Science, Ibaraki University, University of Electro-Communications, Tokai University, RIKEN, Yokohama National University, AIST, Kogakuin University, Tokyo Denki University
(5) Recruitment schedule (tentative)
| Course name | Start of application | Screening (Interviews scheduled) |
Adoption (in GTIE) |
Start of research (JST approval) |
| 1) Overseas market development practice | Dec. | Late Feb. | Late Feb. of the following year | following Apr. |
| (2) Explore (2 years) | Late Nov. | end of Jan. following | Late Feb. following | the following April |
| (3) Explore (3 years) | Same as above | Same as above | same as above | Same as above |
| Late May | July/August | July/August | Oct. | |
| (4) Entry course | Early Sept. | Nov. | Nov. | Jan. |
| Early Mar. | May | May | Jul. | |
| 5）Increased subscription | Jan. | Feb/Mar | Feb/Mar | Jul. |
-The above application period is scheduled from April 2026 to March 2028.
-The above is a schedule and subject to change.