WE AT CHALLENGE 2025 Announces Award Winners at One of Asia’s Largest Well-being Innovation Events
The general incorporated association WE AT, which aims to advance the global well-being industry through solutions to societal challenges, hosted “WE AT CHALLENGE 2025” on November 27. Designed to become one of Asia’s largest festivals dedicated to Well-being, the pitch contest was held for the second consecutive year.
This year’s event brought together academia, investors, startups, government representatives, and experts across diverse fields for a full day of discussions and pitch sessions exploring the future of the well-being ecosystem.
WE AT aims to build a global innovation ecosystem that connects academia, government, corporations, and investors to support mission-driven startups addressing social challenges. As part of this initiative, WE AT CHALLENGE 2025 was held for the second consecutive year in collaboration with Singapore’s TEMASEK Foundation, positioned as one of Asia’s largest Well-being–focused pitch events.
This year, WE AT received nearly 600 applications from 32 countries, including Japan. Following the selection process, 16 finalists were invited to present their pitches. The presenters included startups, students, and entrepreneurs from various sectors, each outlining their vision for addressing global social issues and contributing to the realization of well-being.
「WE AT AWARD 2025」
For each track, WE AT welcomed leading professionals as judges, who selected the winners of the WE AT BEST AWARD. In addition, all finalists received the WE AT AWARD. To further recognize diverse forms of challenge, four special awards were also presented:
Four Special Awards
- WE AT Selected Student Entrepreneur
- WE AT Selected Intrapreneur
- WE AT Selected Researcher Entrepreneur (newly introduced this year)
- WE AT CAMP Special Award (newly introduced this year)
WE AT refers to all winners and finalists as “WE AT CHALLENGERS,” reflecting its commitment to supporting those who take on the challenge of solving social issues and advancing well-being. WE AT will continue to engage with the broader ecosystem and work collaboratively to promote the development of the well-being industry.
Comments from the judges included:
“The evaluation process was highly challenging, and all proposals demonstrated significant potential.”
“There were active discussions regarding how each initiative could be meaningfully supported and how future collaboration could be expanded, reflecting the expectations across the ecosystem.”
「WE AT BEST AWARD」
Track1：Planetary Well-being
Rhinoflux Inc. Co-founder & CEO Atsushi Mazawa
Rhinoflux unlocks the value of Earth’s abundant biomass resources through the societal implementation of next-generation power generation technology, contributing to the supply of clean energy, and the reduction of both CO2 emissions and waste.
Track2：Human Well-being
YStory, Inc. CEO Janet Yu
We aim to empower 24 million menopausal women in Japan with AI-driven personal care and medical science. Supporting both daily well-being and workplace productivity, it enables women to thrive, embrace challenges, and live healthy, confident, and self-directed lives at every stage of life.
Track3：Social Well-being
Dots for Inc. CPO Rie Tonomura
Providing digital services tailored to the challenges of rural residents through decentralized digital hubs that bridge the digital divide in African villages.
Challenge Track：Creativity Well-being
BHQ Corp. Vice President Maya Okamoto
Building upon foundational research with Kyoto University demonstrating that Kawaii enhances BHQ, we have verified that introducing Kawaii into the workplace improves employee well-being. Moving forward, we will combine Kawaii with Japanese cultural practices such as the way of incense, tea ceremony, calligraphy, and flower arrangement to eliminate mental distress and burnout from workplaces worldwide, revitalizing employees.
「WE AT AWARD」
– Track1：Planetary Well-being
EF Polymer Director, Sales and Business Development, USA Daichi Sawa
FloatSync COO & Cofounder Kourosh Atefipour
PINECO COO, Co-founder Sangjoon Kang
– Track2 : Human Well-being
FerroptoCure Inc. CEO Yuji Otsuki
LIFESCAPES Inc. Director, Chief Strategy Officer Masaaki Hayashi
Seven Point One CEO Hyeonjun Lee
– Track3 : Social Well-being
Ashirase,Inc. Director COO Yuka Kayama
CoLab CEO Shinji Kawabata
Metagen Therapeutics, Inc. COO Hiroto Tamura
– Challenge Track : Creativity Well-being
Atmoph Inc. Co-Founder & CEO Kyohi Kang
Mousou Architects Inc. CEO Mizuki Takamatsu
PEEL Lab K.K. CEO Jim Huang
WE AT Selected Student Entrepreneur (for Student application)
– Winner
kotoha（Keio-University etc.）
A project that connects the world’s 7,000 languages with our everyday lives through “untranslatable words.”
Mirei Tomoyama、Junya Tomonari、Mitsuhiro Arai、Konomi Watanabe、Yuto Watanabe、Yuka Kamo、Ryuki Tokuda、Koyu Fuke
– Silver Winner
Manato Un, U-Tokyo, Faculty of Engineering
A business focused on developing sensors and adsorbents based on metal–organic frameworks (MOFs), a class of porous materials, for the detection and removal of PFAS-related water contamination.
WE AT Selected Researcher Entrepreneur (for Researcher application)
– Winner
SACMOTs（Kyusyu University）
Manufacturing and sales of “Memory Seeds” — epigenetically controlled seeds that optimize plant potential.
Shinya Murakami, Representative
– Silver Winner
Tokyo University of Agriculture and Technology SonoSkin Project
We are developing a highly flexible and breathable skin-attachable ultrasound probe that enables continuous monitoring of internal body tissues.
Takumi Noda、Youh Terada、Takashi Azuma、Sho Kawabe
WE AT Selected Intrapreneur (for Corporate application)
– Winner
The Japan Research Institute, Limited
A Platform connecting forests to unlock the true potential
Noda Kenji Center for the Strategy of Emergence, Incubation Producer
Oikawa Daiki Research & Consulting Division Manager
– Silver Winner
Nissan Motor Co., Ltd. – Yokohama Lab, Mobility and AI Laboratory Research Division
Shikoda Yu、Yuki Ito、Takanori Akiyama、Junki Kunioka、Daisuke Saito、Tetsuro Ueda
WE AT CAMP Special Award（WE AT CAMP Special Award）
TEIJIN PHARMA LIMITED
to provide a home-use medical device that rapidly alleviates persistent coughing through near-infrared light stimulation of the cervical vagus nerve
Naoya Ishibashi
Event Details: WE AT CHALLENGE 2025
Name: WE AT CHALLENGE 2025
Organizer: General Incorporated Association WE AT
Date: Wednesday, November 27, 2025
Venue: Tokyo Innovation Base (1-minute walk from JR Yurakucho Station, Kyobashi Exit)
Format: In-person event and online broadcast
Language: All sessions (except for speakers’ pitches) will be conducted in English
Participation fee: Free of charge
Website: https://we-at.tokyo/en/challenge/
Registration: https://weat-challenge2025.peatix.com/
Press inquiries: https://forms.gle/o9hgViMZTnKZibvq6
About WE AT
Legal entity: General Incorporated Association WE AT
Founding members: The University of Tokyo, Kyoto University, Tokyo University of Science, UTokyo IPC, Hakuhodo Inc., Sumitomo Life Insurance Co., Canon Marketing Japan Inc.
Member companies: Kyoto University Innovation Capital, Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Panasonic Holdings, Nissan Motor, Mitsubishi Electric, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, TBS Holdings, ABeam Consulting Ltd.
Established: May 16, 2024
Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Representatives: Co-Representative Directors: Satoshi Yoshizawa & Hiroki Fujimoto; Vice-Representative Director: Daisuke Kanema
Business activities: Discovering and nurturing social entrepreneurs; supporting startup creation and growth; organizing and co-
hosting events; human capital development for ecosystem growth; research, surveys and policy recommendations related to the above.
Official website: https://www.we-at.tokyo/en/