Intralink’s UK-Japan deeptech event drives cross-border partnerships
Japanese business leaders, investors and government representatives highlighted significant commercial opportunities for UK startups in Japan at a deeptech event in London this month, hosted by international business development consultancy Intralink.
The event brought together more than 70 representatives from Japanese corporations, UK deeptech startups, investment firms and government organisations.
Speaking during a panel discussion exploring how UK-Japanese collaboration is evolving, Atsushi Nishikawa, Managing Director at Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group – one of Japan’s largest banking institutions – highlighted the close fit between UK startups and Japanese corporates, noting that UK companies can often offer Japanese companies advanced, commercially viable technologies, even at an early stage in their growth.
“The UK is a highly attractive market, underpinned by world-class universities and research institutions,” he said. “Japanese companies often look first to the US when exploring startup collaboration, but the UK offers many promising partnership and investment opportunities.”
He also pointed to growing interest from UK companies in Japan, not only as a market for collaboration but as a strategic launchpad for wider expansion across Asia.
Fellow panellist Jessica Reilly, incoming Head of Trade at the British Embassy Tokyo, highlighted the strength of the wider UK-Japan economic relationship, noting that bilateral trade has reached around £33 billion and that Japanese investment continues to make an important contribution to the UK economy.
She said she believes there are significant untapped opportunities for UK companies entering the Japanese market and encouraged greater use of bilateral support schemes in areas including AI, quantum technologies and nuclear energy.
She added: “Even in a period of growing global uncertainty, the UK-Japan relationship remains stable, collaborative and full of growth potential. This event came at the right time to deepen engagement between the UK’s innovation ecosystem and some of Japan’s globally leading corporates.”
Graham O’Keeffe of Amadeus Capital Partners, said: “Structural funding gaps in the UK scaleup market create an opportunity for Japanese companies to play a broader strategic role, not only as investors, but as commercial and technology partners that can help businesses scale.
“For Japanese companies looking to engage with UK startups, the VC ecosystem is a highly effective place to start. VC portfolios offer efficient access to high-potential businesses.”
The panel discussion was followed by one-to-one meetings and networking sessions between the participating UK startups, investors and Japanese corporates, focused on strengthening innovation ties between the UK and Japan.
Flow Collingwood, co-founder and CEO of spacetech startup Pan Galactic, said: “This event was a fantastic opportunity to accelerate growth in our business, as understanding the business and cultural landscape is crucial to success in new markets. The panellists explained the nuances and recommended key approaches to working with Japanese corporates. We left with several follow up actions and are already exploring new relationships.”
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Intralink
Intralink is a business development consultancy specialising in international markets. It helps companies secure customers, partners and investors overseas; it enables corporates to thrive through global collaboration; and it helps governments to grow their exports and attract foreign investment. Founded in 1990, the company has more than 20 locations including Shanghai, Beijing, Tokyo, Seoul, Taipei, Singapore, Silicon Valley, LA, Boston, Washington, Toronto, Oxford, London, Paris, Düsseldorf, Helsinki, Poznan and Tel Aviv.
