On September 25, the Japan Startup Awards 2026 were announced. The Prime Minister's Award went to Mujin. Oishii Farm, Regional Fish, Rapyuta Robotics, Ubie, SkyDrive, Sakana AI, and Oceanic Constellations received ministerial awards, while Iris and Acompany received special jury awards. Out of 317 applications, 10 companies were selected. Congratulations to all the winners.
On the day of the announcement, I posted that "In the past five years, not a single company has won without raising funds." After writing it, another question came to mind: What happens to startups after they are recognized by the government?
So, I investigated the status of all 66 award-winning startups from the inaugural Japan Venture Awards in 2015 through the 10th edition this year, comparing their state at the time of winning versus now. This is based on public information such as IR materials, press releases, news reports, and official gazettes, with a reference date of September 25, 2026. Large corporations that won joint awards (such as KDDI and Yamato Holdings) are excluded.
Where Are the 66 Companies Now?
Listed: 23 companies
Still private and operating: 36 companies
Acquired or merged: 3 companies
Delisted after IPO: 2 companies
Bankrupt: 2 companies
However, 16 of the 23 listed companies were already public when they won the award. In earlier editions, many post-IPO companies like Euglena, Cyberdyne, and Peptide Dreamer received awards.
Also, recent winners haven't had much time pass, so it's natural that many remain private. The real insight comes from looking at "companies that won while private and have since aged."
The 7-11 Year Trajectory of 17 Private Winners
Of the 17 companies that won while private between 2015 and 2019 (Editions 1-5), here is their current status:
Listed: 5 companies (Mercari, BizReach/Visional, SORACOM, Visaask, Suraranet)
Acquired/Merged: 3 companies (Coiny/STORES, Genequest, Rootrek Networks)
Bankrupt: 2 companies (Spiber, Seven Dreamers Laboratories)
Still Private & Operating: 7 companies (Preferred Networks, WHILL, READYFOR, Farmnote, ZMP/ROBO-HI, Nanoegg, Armarin Kindai)
Only 5 out of 17 reached an IPO, about 30%. Honestly, that was fewer than expected. Even with government endorsement, the numbers are modest. On the other hand, 40% continue to operate privately for nearly a decade. The timeline of startups is much longer than it appears from the outside.
Companies That Grew Significantly
Mercari and Visional grew substantially. As of September 2026, Mercari's market cap is approx. ¥587.1 billion, and Visional's is approx. ¥344.3 billion. Mercari won twice (2016 and 2018), listing just four months after its second win.
Among private companies, Preferred Networks is reported to have a valuation exceeding ¥300 billion. Sakana AI, which won this year, announced a valuation of approx. ¥432 billion with total funding raised of approx. ¥66 billion.
Few M&A Deals; Buyers Are Strategic Corporates
Out of 66 companies, only 3 were acquired or merged. Genequest became a subsidiary of Euglena, and Rootrek Networks became a subsidiary of Kubota. SORACOM became a KDDI subsidiary before listing in 2024. All buyers were strategic corporate entities.
Two companies delisted after IPO: Userbase (acquired by Carlyle in 2023) and Rakul (MBO with Goldman Sachs-affiliated partners in 2026).
Awards and Funding Do Not Guarantee the Future
Spiber was the most thought-provoking case. It won the first award in 2015, amazed the world with artificial spider silk, and raised over ¥100 billion cumulatively. Yet, unable to repay ¥35 billion in debt, it entered private restructuring at the end of 2025. Its business continues under a sponsor.
Seven Dreamers Laboratories, which won in 2017, went bankrupt in 2019 due to delays in shipping its fully automatic clothes folding machine, Laundroid.
Even among listed companies, outcomes vary. Some grew significantly post-IPO, while others saw stock prices fall to half their offering price. Recognition and funding are evaluations at a specific point in time; survival is a different question entirely.
Medical and Biotech Award Winners
As someone working in medical/biotech, I examined this sector too. Listed winners include Peptide Dreamer (market cap ~¥139B), Cyberdyne (~¥32.9B), Tsubota Lab (~¥6.7B), and Chordia Therapeutics (~¥5.3B). Private winners include CureApp, Ubie, Iris, and Fast Doctor.
From drug discovery platforms to digital therapeutics and medical AI, businesses within "healthcare" vary wildly in model and scale. I hope more companies in this field survive for 10 or 20 years.
Winners Without External Capital
I verified my initial claim over ten years. No company could be confirmed as having won without external capital. Since 2022, all winners appear to have raised external funds.
This isn't to say fundraising is bad. Major Japanese companies have emerged from aggressive capital-driven strategies. But the data shows that even with national recognition, long-term success is far from guaranteed.
