The Future of Financial Services Lies in the East--but Not Where (And Not Why) You Might Think

Trips to other parts of Tokyo's technology centers helped round out the impression that Japan was becoming a major player--albeit quieter than its neighbors--within the global startup ecosystem. Visiting ZMP Inc. demonstrated the future of mobility, as this company is focused on the goal of being the "robot of everything" driving a more convenient lifestyle for everyone. This means level-four completely autonomous self-driving vehicles (a 2020 goal of Prime Minister Abe and Information Technology Minister Hirai), mass deployment of logistics robots (automated delivery) and focus on the needs of the country's aging society. Spending time with Shift Technology, I saw the well-demonstrated results of its partnership with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government to innovate within Japan's second largest insurance market by leveraging technology to make insurance claims more efficient. Peter Haslebacher of Shift said, "If you succeed in Japan, you can make it in any market", referring to the complexity and homogeneity found within the Japanese ecosystem--a great challenge for any ambitious startup.