News
2025/09/08
GTIE GAP Fund Entry Course No. 4 (1st period in 2026) is now open for applications.
GTIE GAP Fund Entry Course No. 4 (1st term in 2026) is now accepting applications.
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
(2) All other conditions must be met (see application guidelines for details). 2.
2. application deadline
Noon, October 8, 2025 (Wed.) [strictly enforced] 3 .
3. schedule
Preliminary briefing September 17, 2025 (Wed.) 2:00 – 3:00 p.m.
Deadline for application submission Noon, Wednesday, October 8, 2025
Document review Mid to late October 2025 (tentative)
Interview Screening Early to mid November 2025 (tentative) *Online interview scheduled
Notification of interview results Mid to late November 2025 (tentative)
Program start: January 2026 (after JST approval date) (tentative)
*Approval by JST is required after the GTIE is adopted. 1 to 1.5 months after the submission of the program plan to JST is the target. 4.
4. number of proposals to be adopted
about 10
*If there are outstanding proposals, they will be adopted regardless of the number of proposals above. On the other hand, if there are only a few proposals that meet the selection criteria, the number of proposals may be less than the expected number. Therefore, the number of proposals adopted may increase or decrease. 5.
5. research and development expenses (total R&D period, direct expenses)
Maximum 5 million yen per proposal
*Maximum amount, direct expenses only.
*The R&D expenses may be increased or decreased as a result of the screening process. 6.
6. R&D proposals to be solicited:
This program is designed to support research and development led by the Principal Investigators and aiming to return research results to society through the creation of university-launched start-ups aiming for the global market based on innovative technology seeds from universities participating in the GTIE platform, and university-launched start-ups with high social impact that also contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. The program is open to R&D projects that aim to return the results of their research to society. R&D proposals at the basic research stage (purely scientific research without direct consideration of specific applications) and R&D proposals that require a considerable number of years and funds before they can be launched are not eligible for support under this program.
<Guideline for the end of this program
Proposals selected for this program will be considered for application to the GAP Fund at the STEP2 stage or other entrepreneurship support programs, with the aim of starting a business after determining the potential for practical application and appropriate strategies at the end of the program. When applying, please refer to the examples of achievement goals in the application guidelines and set appropriate achievement goals while taking into consideration the characteristics of the issue and the field. 7.
Application Documents
(1) Application Guidelines
(2) Application Documents
Forms 1-4 *For students Forms 1-5
(When submitting, the created file should be in PDF format)
1) Form 1_Application Form Outline of the research and development proposal
2) Form 2_Proposal Budget Proposal
(3) Form 3_Proposal Briefing Material (maximum 10 PowerPoint pages, PDF of the prepared file) *Optional
4) Form 4_Intellectual Property Confirmation Form
GTIE GAP Fund EN4_Form 4_Intellectual Property Confirmation Form
(5) Form 5_Student Acknowledgment Form
*Please refer to the “ Student Acknowledgment Form” when you see the word “Guidelines for Public Offering” in the Student Acknowledgment Form.
8. how to submit your application
Please fill out the following application form and upload the documents downloaded and prepared in “7.
Submission address Application form URL: (The application form is not yet open to the public, but will be available around September 17)
Each file (PDF file) of the application documents can be up to 10 MB. Please ensure that each file is no larger than 10 MB.
In the application form, there are fields for entering the “Principal Investigator’s E-mail address” and “E-mail address of the person in charge at the research institution. 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.
You may submit the application form only once per proposal. Please prepare the information to be entered in advance to facilitate the entry process.
Reference: Preparation of Application Form Entry Information
9. 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.
The same Principal Investigator cannot simultaneously conduct the “Fund for New Industry Creation from Universities” and the “New Industry Creation from Universities Program for Research Results Development”. Also, with the exception of the final year of the program, it is not possible to apply for one fund while implementing the other fund. There are no restrictions at the application stage, but 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. 10.
Advance Briefing (online )
Advance Briefing (online) will be held for Principal Investigators and Entrepreneurship Support Personnel.
If you wish to participate, please register by noon on Tuesday, September 16 (participation in the briefing is optional).
Those who have pre-registered will be notified of the date, time, and other details.
Pre-briefing (online) Date: Wednesday, September 17, 2025, 14:00-15:00 *Registration deadline: Tuesday, September 16, noon
Registration form URL: https: //gtie.form.kintoneapp.com/public/2025en4orien17
*Sunday, September 14, 1:00-7:00 (JST) due to maintenance of the database used,
Due to maintenance of the database used, you will not be able to submit your registration form during the above time. Thank you for your understanding.
11. Inquiries
If you have any questions, please contact the “Inquiries” of your university listed in the application guidelines.
12. Notification of Selection Results:
Final selection results will be notified via email in mid to late November 2025.
Purpose and Intent:
In this GAP Fund Program, the GreaterTokyoInnovationEcosystem (hereinafter referred to as “GTIE”), entrusted with the Startup Ecosystem Co-creation Program of the Japan Science and Technology Agency (JST) New Industry Creation Fund for University Startups, will provide the GTIE platform to GTIE will provide support through the GAP Fund Program to researchers affiliated with universities participating in the GTIE platform.
The GTIE GAP Fund Program “Entry Course No. 4 (1st term of 2026)” will support the creation of (1) university-launched start-ups aiming for the global market based on innovative technology seeds and (2) university-launched start-ups with high social impact that contribute to the achievement of the SDGs. The program is open to R&D projects that aim to return the results to society through the creation of (1) university startups that aim for global markets based on innovative technology seeds and (2) university startups with high social impact that also contribute to achieving the SDGs.
The selected proposals will be promoted under a system in which the principal investigator responsible for the research and development is supported by the entrepreneurship support personnel of the university to which the principal investigator belongs. Milestones (interim milestones and business and R&D milestones) will be set for the promotion of the proposal, and business development and R&D will be conducted in an integrated manner to achieve these milestones.