Nomura SRI International Innovation Center – NSIC will be located in Menlo, California, dedicated exclusively for R&D in the disruptive technology ecosystem currently trending in Silicon Valley.

Global financial services group Nomura has partnered with leading non-profit research institute SRI International to open new R&D facility for the Japanese companies. The R&D facility is one of its kind institution offering open innovation, experimentation and hands-on experience in disruptive technologies in Japanese companies. NSIC will enable Japanese corporate to stay ahead of the technology trends, mitigating challenges that often startle and jeopardize the growth of many promising R&D labs, incubators and startups in the US.

NSIC will operate on a membership basis for startups and companies located in the US and Japan.

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Why Focus on the Japanese Technology Market?

Japanese market is one of the largest and fastest-growing commerce destinations. It already stands at the pinnacle of the manufacturing and engineering sectors. For a country that has $4.9 Trillion in GDP, it still lags in terms of e-commerce (USD 150 billion) and mobile commerce (~USD 37 billion) sectors.

According to a JP Morgan market intelligence report, mobile commerce alone would be one of the biggest destinations for international investors and domestic startups. By 2021, the market is slated to become a $60 billion industry. Sales analysts studying the consumer electronics market would accept that the growth of eCommerce and mobile commerce sectors for Japanese companies are heavily affected by the recent surge in investments and market consolidation of Chinese, Indian and Malaysian entities.

To enable Japanese to sustain its lead in the competitive technology market, NSIC is an important step forward launching new commitments in the US and North American markets.

NSCI would focus on creating opportunities in research and development, and marketing in these top technologies:

• Deep Learning;
• Quantum sensing and computing;
• Next-generation artificial intelligence (AI),
• Advanced robotics; and
• Analytics.

Other relevant applications include low earth orbit sensing and imaging as well as computational life sciences.

Located on SRI’s main campus in Menlo Park, Calif., NSIC will begin operations in early 2021.

Members of NSIC will have an opportunity to work closely with leading companies in Silicon Valley, in addition to engaging with C-level executives through annual summits and technology conferences dedicated specifically to the latest innovations and commercial trends.

The members can also nominate startups for the NSIC Startup Bootcamp.

Executive Insights

At the time of this announcement, Masahiro Goto, Head of Global Investment Banking, Nomura Holdings, Japan said –

“At Nomura, we are dedicated to facilitating the corporate innovation and growth of our clients in Japan and across the globe. We want to help these companies grow their engagement with Silicon Valley, and SRI has the technological expertise, brand and experience – in both geographies – to make that a reality.”

Neeraj Hora, Head of Innovation and Investment at Nomura Holding America Inc., added “NSIC reinforces our commitment to innovation. Along with our venture debt fund, Nomura Strategic Ventures, this important initiative will allow us to better respond to diverse needs from U.S. and Japanese start-ups as well as large Japanese companies.”

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“SRI has been at the forefront of use-inspired research for nearly 75 years – creating breakthrough technologies ranging from the computer mouse to robotic surgery to Siri,” said Manish Kothari, president of SRI International.

Manish added, “The opportunity to work with Nomura will allow us to foster closer corporate partnerships and help accelerate tech adoption in Japan, where we’ve been supporting innovation for more than 50 years. Corporations today need to understand both the short-term as well as the mid- to long-term technology disruptions as they decide how to invest and innovate; insight few other organizations can offer outside of SRI.”

SRI International has a successful track record of commercializing deep technologies working with Global2000 corporation and launching over 50 ventures with a combined market cap of over $50B. In addition, SRI has built a core team specifically focused on strategic partnerships with Japanese corporate customers.

Source: SRI International