INNO-vation Grand Challenge

A problem-solving contest uncovering the clues that lead to outside-the-box methods of competition, cooperation, and solutions!

Task Progress

Progress As of April 1, 2021

Of the 1,617 challengers, 1 Prize Award Recipient and 2 Milestone Award Recipients have been chosen.

See the Recipients

Themes include:
・Small, yet seemingly unthought of fascinating challenges!
・Astonishingly precise objectives that will have the whole world talking!
・Challenges that can deliver huge societal, industrial and scientific impacts!
・Challenges to create a new world in hand-in-hand with enterprises across Japan!
...among others!
This is a problem-solving contest that brings issues out into the light and tracks down solutions using unconventional, mold-breaking techniques, competition, and cooperation.
Fifteen organizations have prepared an array of Grand Challenges. If successful in clearing a challenge, you will receive a monetary reward.

In total, ¥116,530,000 was awarded in the 2019 INNO Grand Challenge

The INNO Grand Challenge is currently only available in Japan in Japanese. For information about the Grand Challenge in Japanese, please visit the Japanese page here.
For information about the Grand Challenge in English, contact us here.

What to expect in the INNO-vation Grand Challenge

Shigenori Nishizawa

IACE TRAVEL Corporation
Shigenori Nishizawa
At our company, we want to change the businessperson's mind toward business trips, and have a more fun experience going overseas! We truly wish to create such a world. We're looking forward to the creation of an app absolutely filled with creativity that will undoubtedly "change the future of businesspeople".

Chigusa Suzuki

WILLER, Inc.
Chigusa Suzuki
What our company aims for is "a world in which anyone can move about safely anywhere", using a new technology not just for our company, but for the creation of open innovation. We are always acting with our customers in mind first. Through this program, we are eagerly awaiting a groundbreaking, unheard of idea that will be used in all sorts of people's lives.

Hiroki Nagayasu

HRK Co., Ltd.
Hiroki Nagayasu
As even the culinary industry continues to evolve into a more IT-oriented form, so-called food innovation, or "FoodTech", is also evolving.
Using IT technology in Curry House, we are gathering ideas, proposals and developments for the creation of an application or service that allows its users to create a curry just to their liking.

Satoshi Fukuda

NTS Inc.
Satoshi Fukuda
The application of technology in education has just begun. The possibilities are infinite.
An unconventional way of thinking just may be the key to problem solving.
We're hoping for an idea bursting with passion that will get anyone excited about and easily accustomed to learning about programming.
For the sake of our children's future, let's endeavor in the development of this new service together!

Yoshinori Sasaki

GaiaX Co.Ltd.
Yoshinori Sasaki
When you hear the words "capitalism" or "societal issues", you can't help but feel like they concern difficult topics. But isn't it that these problems can only be recognized as such as they close in?
When looking at it from an entrepreneurial point of view, that's the monumental first step. For those with interest in start-ups or commercialization, first you need only to apply.

Yuuichi Suzuki

Suntory Holdings Limited
Yuuichi Suzuki
In order to implement "everyday individual continuous health management", we are developing technology that can estimate a person's health condition as well as indices that can help manage one's own personal health. We are sponsoring this plan to discover people with the high level of peculiarity and technological strength required to take on these developments. We hope that these high hurdles can be overcome by someone with unique ideas and advanced technology.

Chitoshi Shiroiwa

Syncline Co., Ltd.
Chitoshi Shiroiwa
Co-existence and co-prosperity between birds and beasts is not limited to the primary sector of industry, it is also becoming very important in service industry. Park golf is no exception to this. We would like to normalize the use of drones in controlling different species of animals and collecting data corresponding to temperature and the landmass. Disasters as a result of changes in the enviroment are found in every country. We would like to apply these findings to personnel rescue and geographical surveys.

Taiki Komoda

JINS Inc.
Taiki Komoda
JINS MEME, the company behind the glasses with built-in sensors, aims to improve hands-free operation of devices through head and eye movements as well as utilize mental and physical water level data over long periods of time to improve the users lifestyle. We look forward to redefining the function of glasses with the aid of everyone who applies.

Katsuya Takasu

Medical Corporation Welfare Association Takasu Hospital
Katsuya Takasu
At first glance, this may seem like an impossible task. However, the combination of out-of-the-box ideas of men and women of all ages in combination with recent innovations may lead to never-before-imagined method of achievement. Let's all enjoy trying to take on this challenge together.

Kei Takamoto

Radiotalk Inc.
Kei Takamoto
Radiotalk is a user-generated content voice platform. The audio industry is currently lacking in "hit content". We believe one way to revitalize this industry is to take advantage of the ear's disposable time during the daily commute. We look forward to turning the once thought to be depressing time of commuting into an enjoyable experience.

Contests still accepting entries

IACE TRAVEL Corporation

Develop apps useful for overseas business travelers to change the future of businessmen
IdeaTechnology

Prize: 5,000,000 yen

▶ Click here for details

WILLER, Inc.

Proposal of the world's first service utilizing self-driving vehicles
Idea

Prize: 100,000 yen

▶ Click here for details

HRK Co., Ltd.

Development of an automatic curry spice blending app for the world's first curry entertainment service
IdeaTechnology

Prize: 1,000,000 yen

▶ Click here for details

NTS Inc.

Creating the future of programming, and developing community services for educators to smoothly facilitate programming education.
IdeaTechnology

Prize: 1,000,000 yen

▶ Click here for details

GaiaX Co.Ltd.

Creating businesses that solve problems by connecting people
IdeaTechnology

Prize: 10 million yen

▶ Click here for details

Suntory Holdings Limited

Development of as-of-yet unconceived biometric technology , streamlining usability to improve health
Technology

Prize: 30,000,000 yen

▶ Click here for details

Syncline Co., Ltd.

Wildlife control using drones
Technology

Prize: 330,000 yen

▶ Click here for details

JINS Inc.

Innovative glasses that eliminate the limitations of text input operations by tracking eye movement to input text.
IdeaTechnology

Prize: 3,000,000 yen

▶ Click here for details

Thinking from scratch "Hands-free operation UI for mobile devices using glasses that understand eye and head movements" contest
IdeaTechnology

Prize: 3,000,000 yen

▶ Click here for details

An unprecedented research scheme idea contest to be able to detect "XX" from blinking and body movement data
Technology

Prize: 100,000 yen (×10 Projects)

▶ Click here for details

Medical Corporation Welfare Association Takasu Hospital

Write “YES” on flowing water
Technology

Prize: Up to 50,000,000 yen

▶ Click here for details

Radiotalk Inc.

Creation of new audio content (excluding music) that commuters will naturally want to listen to.
Technology

Prize: 100,000 yen

▶ Click here for details

Planned Recruitment Tasks in the Future
Junshin Gakuen Group

Development of the world's first medical platform that allows real-time understanding of all medical information worldwide
IdeaTechnology

Prize: Up to 10 million yen

▶ Click here for details

Nihon Enterprise Co., Ltd.

A challenge for developing an application or hardware that supports safe "smartphone use while multitasking"
IdeaTechnology

Prize: 1,000,000 yen

▶ Click here for details

Miraca Holdings Inc. / Catalyna Co., Ltd.

A challenge for the development of a smartphone-based health check method that combines AI and entertainment
Idea

Prize: 1,000,000 yen (total)

▶ Click here for details

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