News
2026/05/21
GTIE GAP Fund 5th Explore Course (2026, 2nd term) is now accepting applications ＜Explore Course 3 years＞.
GTIE GAP Fund 5th Explore Course (2nd term in 2026) is now accepting applications
<Explore Course 3 years
Outline of Application:
1. Eligibility:
1. Researchers affiliated with the following universities and other institutions on the GTIE platform
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, Tokyo Denki University, Kogakuin University
(2) All other conditions related to technology seeds must be met (for details, please refer to the application guidelines). 2.
2. application period and selection schedule
[ Application deadline ] Noon, Monday, June 22, 2026 [ Strictly observed ] [ Schedule ] (in Japanese only)
[ Schedule ] [ Deadline for submitting applications, etc.
Deadline for submission of applications Monday, June 22, 2026 at noon
Interview screening August 2 (Sun.) and August 7 (Fri.), 2026 (tentative)
Notification of selection result (informal offer) Within August 2026 (tentative)
Start of the program: Within October 2026 (after the date of JST approval) (tentative)
*The schedule after the deadline for submission of applications and other documents is a schedule and is subject to change.
*Approval by JST is required after the GTIE is adopted. 1.5 to 3.5 months after the submission of the plan to JST is the target time. 3.
3. application course:
Exploratory course: 3 years
R&D period: during October 2026 (after JST approval date) to September 30, 2029 (tentative)
4. Number of applications
Exploratory course: 3 years, about 8 projects
5. R&D expenses (total R&D period, direct expenses)
Exploratory course 3 years: up to 60 million yen
1st year: 15 million yen
2nd year: 15 million yen
3rd year: 30 million yen
(Reference) (Reference)
FY2026: 7.5 million yen (October 2026 – March 2027)
FY2027: 15 million yen
FY2028: 22.5 million yen
FY2029: 15 million yen (April to September 2029)
*Progress evaluations will be conducted on an annual basis, and the results may result in the cancellation of a proposal, an increase or decrease in R&D expenses, or an extension or shortening of the R&D period. 6.
6. R&D Proposals to be solicited:
Research proposals (GAP Fund) to brush up business models, manufacture prototypes, acquire data (experimental and computational results) for hypothesis testing, and conduct market validation, with the aim of commercializing the research results of the research institution.
*This program does not apply to research that does not aim at commercialization or company business and preparation (registration, etc.).
<Guideline for the end of this program
Proposals selected for this program are expected to have reached the stage where venture capitalists can make investment decisions by the end of the program. When applying for the program, please refer to the examples of achievement goals and set appropriate achievement goals, taking into consideration the characteristics of the issue and the field of research. 7.
Application Documents
(1) Application Outline
(2) Application Documents
Applications must be submitted jointly with a commercialization promotion organization. The Principal Investigator and the Commercialization Organization are requested to submit the application form with the confirmation of the organization to which the Principal Investigator belongs. There are two types of application forms: (1) to (5) must be prepared jointly by the project leader and the commercialization organization, and (6) to (9) must be prepared solely by the commercialization organization. For details, please refer to the application guidelines.
Form 0: Confirmation of Requirements for Principal Investigators
② Form 1 Summary of R&D Proposal
GTIE GAP Fund EX5_Form 1_Summary of R&D Proposals
(3) Form 2: Intellectual Property Confirmation Form (if intellectual property is to be utilized in the proposal)
When applying for this GAP Fund, we request that you submit an “Intellectual Property Confirmation Form (Form 2)” regarding intellectual property related to your post-startup. Please note that it may take some time for your institution to prepare the IP Confirmation Form. We ask that you prepare the form as soon as possible at your institution.
4) Form 3 Proposed Budget
(5) Supplementary Explanation of Technology Seeds (maximum of 10 PowerPoint pages) (optional)
⑥Form 4 Outline of commercialization promotion organization and commercialization promoter (person in charge)
(7) Form 5_Financial status of the commercialization promotion organization
(viii) Financial reports (for the most recent three fiscal years) or annual securities reports (for the most recent three fiscal years) of the commercialization promotion organization
9) Certificate of tax payment (national tax)
*Only Form 4 should be submitted for organizations that have been adopted as GTIE project promotion organization candidates and have already completed the procedures for renewal in FY2026. (Form 5 and financial reports are not required.)
8. how to submit application documents
Please fill out the application form below and upload the documents downloaded and prepared in “7. Documents should be converted to PDF format and each file size should be less than 10 MB (multiple files can be uploaded).
Principal investigators should submit application documents (1) through (5) using the “Form for Principal Investigators” below. The commercialization organization should submit application documents (6) to (9) from the “Form for Commercialization Organizations” (both documents must be submitted by the application deadline).
Form for Principal Investigators (URL):
Application form for commercialization organizations (URL):
*The application form will be available around June 1.
The Principal Investigator form includes fields for entering the e-mail addresses of the “Principal Investigator,” “Research Organization Contact Person,” and “Commercialization Organization Contact Person.
The “Principal Investigator” and “Contact Person at the Commercialization Organization” e-mail address input boxes are provided on the form for the Commercialization Organization.
An e-mail (excluding attachments) will be automatically sent to the e-mail address you entered regarding the information you entered in the application form.
It is recommended that you prepare the information to be entered in advance to facilitate the entry process.
Reference: Preparation of information to be entered in the application form
Preparation(for Principal Investigators) ・ Preparation (for Commercialization Agencies)
9. Application Restrictions
JST has established restrictions on duplicate applications for JST projects for the same Principal Investigator, and if applicable, the applicant will not be able to apply for this project. Please refer to the application guidelines for details.
The same Principal Investigator cannot simultaneously conduct the “Fund for New Industry Creation from Universities” and “New Industry Creation from Universities Program for Research Results Deployment”. Also, with the exception of the final year of the program, it is not possible to apply for one fund while implementing one of the other funds.
If you have applied to more than one fund, you will be asked to choose whether to implement the fund that has been selected and withdraw from the fund for which you have applied, or to withdraw from the fund that has been selected in order to wait for the results of the review of the fund for which you have applied.
The same PI is not allowed to apply for more than one proposal in the same fund.
In principle, there are no restrictions on applications by commercialization organizations.
10. Contact
If you have any questions, please contact the “Contact” of the university to which you belong, as indicated in the application guidelines. 11 .
11. Notification of Selection Results
GTIE will notify all applicants of the results of the written review by e-mail approximately 3-4 weeks after the submission deadline to the Principal Investigators, the person in charge at the commercialization promotion organization, and the person in charge at the research institution. At that time, applicants who have passed the written screening will also be notified of the interview schedule. The results of the final selection will be notified by e-mail in August 2026.
Purpose and Intent:
The GAP Fund Program is designed to support the research and development activities of startups belonging to universities and other organizations that participate in the GTIE platform, through the GreaterTokyoInnovationEcosystem (hereinafter referred to as “GTIE”), which is entrusted by the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) with the Startup Ecosystem Co-creation Program of the New Industry Creation Fund for University Startups. GTIE will provide support to researchers affiliated with participating universities through the GAP Fund Program.
In the 5th GTIE GAP Fund Exploratory Course (2nd term in 2026), GTIE will provide support for research projects aimed at creating university-launched startups that have the potential to generate a significant impact on society and the economy based on innovative technology seeds from universities participating in the GTIE platform and to achieve significant business growth, including international expansion. The selected research projects are those that have the potential for significant business growth, including international expansion.
The selected research projects will be jointly conducted by the principal investigator responsible for the research and development and the commercialization promotion organization (VC, etc.) responsible for the business development of the technology seeds, and the research and development will be promoted under the project management of the commercialization promotion organization. In promoting the project, milestones (interim milestones and business and R&D milestones) will be set, and business development and R&D will be conducted in an integrated manner to achieve these milestones.