Abu Dhabi: TECHz – Ashraf Gaber
Hub71, Abu Dhabi’s global tech ecosystem, has welcomed the first group of startups from Japan to its headquarters in the UAE capital as part of its Startup Immersion Programme, delivered with the Japan External Trade Organisation JETRO and Elixir Capital under the J-StarX initiative. The collaboration advances Abu Dhabi’s strategic engagement with Japan’s innovation ecosystem and positions the capital as a launchpad for Asian founders expanding into the Middle East and global markets.
- Seven Japanese Web3 startups join Hub71’s Startup Immersion Programme through J-StarX with JETRO and Elixir Capital.
- Hub71 serves on judging panel at GITEX Expand North Star 2025, reviewing Web3 startup teams at the Japan Pavilion.
- Collaboration deepens Hub71’s growing engagement with Japan, expanding innovation and cross-border growth opportunities.
Through J-StarX, seven Web3 startups from Japan have embarked on the third stage of the Programme on the ground in the UAE. The programme aims to accelerate the growth of Japanese startups by connecting them with the UAE’s dynamic innovation ecosystem and introducing founders to potential investors, partners and customers.
After completing earlier phases in Tokyo and virtual sessions with Hub71, the founders are undertaking a two-week immersion split between a full week at Hub71’s offices in Abu Dhabi and a second week at GITEX Expand North Star. The program reflects Abu Dhabi’s focus on scaling digital-economy ventures and aligns with Japan’s growing momentum in Web3. During their time in Abu Dhabi, the startups engaged with investors, met potential customers, refined their go-to-market strategies, and explored pilot opportunities within the region’s rapidly evolving Web3 and digital-economy sectors. At GITEX Expand North Star, they are showcasing their technologies at the Japan Pavilion and taking part in pitching sessions, with Hub71 serving on the judging panel, positioning Japan’s most promising Web3 founders to scale internationally from Abu Dhabi’s vibrant tech ecosystem.
Divya Nair, Startup Journey Lead at Hub71, commented: “Our partnership with JETRO reinforces our commitment to connecting Abu Dhabi with one of the world’s leading innovation markets to create valuable growth opportunities for Japan’s leading Web3 startups. By immersing founders in the UAE, Japanese founders get to see firsthand the ease of leveraging Abu Dhabi’s open and flexible business-friendly environment to pilot and scale next-generation technologies from a market that aims to be at the forefront of the global Web3 industry.”
The seven startups represent Japan’s most promising innovators in Web3 and frontier technologies. Their participation reflects Japan’s growing momentum in Web3 and the shared ambition to connect with Abu Dhabi’s global innovation ecosystem.
The startups include:
- Curvegrid, a blockchain development company building Japan’s sovereign blockchain infrastructure with $3 million raised and eight years of enterprise experience, including work with Toyota.
- Kyuzan is a Web3 product studio building wallet, payment and gaming tools with $4 million in annual revenue and partnerships with companies such as Square Enix.
- Creatant runs an AI-powered visual workspace platform for the creative industry with over 500 users.
- MIKI is a cross-chain interoperability and DeFi infrastructure provider with more than $10 million in transaction volume and 40,000 users.
- Laplace is a luxury real estate tokenisation platform with partnerships to tokenise over $500 million in properties.
- XENEA provides a storage layer for AI and DePIN infrastructure serving 4 million wallet users worldwide.
- Aniark is an AI-powered content creation platform working with top Japanese anime studios, including MAPPA and KADOKAWA.
Yuma Tanimoto, Founder and CSO of XENEA, said: “Participating in Hub71’s Immersion Programme was a transformative experience that helped me align our purpose with execution. It became a pivotal moment for both myself and XENEA’s global journey, providing clarity and direction for our next stage of growth from Abu Dhabi.”
Goki Kato, Founder and CEO of MIKI, added: “The programme provided valuable insight into Abu Dhabi’s regulatory landscape, giving us the clarity and confidence to scale MIKI’s operations in Abu Dhabi and the UAE and expand into new markets.”
Through partnerships such as JETRO, Hub71 continues to accelerate cross-border innovation, enabling global founders to access the capital, community and connectivity needed to scale from Abu Dhabi. The next phase will focus on supporting Japanese startups to explore opportunities in the UAE capital, particularly in Web3, AI and digital assets. These efforts reflect Hub71’s mission to expand international engagement, reinforcing Abu Dhabi’s position as a leading global technology and investment market.
