NAGARA Inc., Developer of AI SaaS 'Nagara Kaigo', Wins Grand Prize at 'Gogin Startup Fes 2026'
NAGARA Inc. won the Grand Prize at the Gogin Startup Fes 2026 for its AI SaaS 'Nagara Kaigo'. The conversational AI automates legal care records in real-time, significantly reducing the operational burden on nursing care staff.
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- 📰 Published: March 30, 2026 at 19:00
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NAGARA Inc. (Headquarters: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture; Representative Director and CEO: Kazuki Okada; hereinafter 'NAGARA'), which develops AI SaaS for the nursing care industry, announces that it won the Grand Prize at the 'Gogin Startup Fes 2026' (Organized by San-in Godo Bank) held in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture on Friday, March 27, 2026. As a result of a pitch screening by 5 finalist companies selected from across the country, the business concept of 'Nagara Kaigo', which transforms recording tasks in nursing care facilities using AI, received the highest evaluation.
## About Gogin Startup Fes 2026
The 'Gogin Startup Fes' is one of the largest startup events in the San-in region, organized by San-in Godo Bank (President: Yutaka Yoshikawa). This year, which marks the second iteration, more than 700 people including startups, venture capitals, and local business leaders gathered in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. Five finalists selected from nationwide gave pitches, and as a result of the screening, NAGARA was awarded the Grand Prize.
President Yutaka Yoshikawa praised NAGARA's model, stating that it is 'particularly well-suited for regions experiencing advancing aging, like Shimane.' The approach of solving regional nursing care challenges with AI was supported for having high social significance.
## Background of the Award: Severe Burden of Recording Tasks in Nursing Care
While the Japanese nursing care industry has a market size of approximately 16.1 trillion yen, it faces structural challenges of severe talent shortages and increasing operational burdens.
In particular, nursing care recording tasks pose a significant burden on the front lines. Under the long-term care insurance system, the creation of care records is mandatory, and care workers spend much of their daily working hours writing records. While it is necessary to accurately record changes in each user's condition, care details, and vital information, manual input via paper or keyboard remains mainstream, leading to voices from care facilities nationwide lamenting, 'We cannot secure enough time to interact with the users.'
NAGARA was founded based on an original experience where Representative Okada's grandmother complained at a nursing facility, 'The care workers won't listen to me.' Through interviews with over 150 nursing care facilities nationwide, they became convinced that the essence of this problem lies not in 'care workers' awareness' but in the 'operational structure,' leading to the development of 'Nagara Kaigo.'
## Overview of the Award-Winning Solution 'Nagara Kaigo'
'Nagara Kaigo' is an AI-native nursing care recording software based on voice conversations. Simply by having care workers converse with users while holding a smartphone, the AI transcribes the dialogue in real-time and automatically generates legal documents such as care records, handover notes, and daily logs.
This is not mere 'voice input' but 'conversational input.' Whereas conventional voice input means 'speaking for the sake of recording,' 'Nagara Kaigo' takes a completely new approach where 'talking to the user itself becomes the record,' simultaneously improving care quality and operational efficiency...
## About Gogin Startup Fes 2026
The 'Gogin Startup Fes' is one of the largest startup events in the San-in region, organized by San-in Godo Bank (President: Yutaka Yoshikawa). This year, which marks the second iteration, more than 700 people including startups, venture capitals, and local business leaders gathered in Matsue City, Shimane Prefecture. Five finalists selected from nationwide gave pitches, and as a result of the screening, NAGARA was awarded the Grand Prize.
President Yutaka Yoshikawa praised NAGARA's model, stating that it is 'particularly well-suited for regions experiencing advancing aging, like Shimane.' The approach of solving regional nursing care challenges with AI was supported for having high social significance.
## Background of the Award: Severe Burden of Recording Tasks in Nursing Care
While the Japanese nursing care industry has a market size of approximately 16.1 trillion yen, it faces structural challenges of severe talent shortages and increasing operational burdens.
In particular, nursing care recording tasks pose a significant burden on the front lines. Under the long-term care insurance system, the creation of care records is mandatory, and care workers spend much of their daily working hours writing records. While it is necessary to accurately record changes in each user's condition, care details, and vital information, manual input via paper or keyboard remains mainstream, leading to voices from care facilities nationwide lamenting, 'We cannot secure enough time to interact with the users.'
NAGARA was founded based on an original experience where Representative Okada's grandmother complained at a nursing facility, 'The care workers won't listen to me.' Through interviews with over 150 nursing care facilities nationwide, they became convinced that the essence of this problem lies not in 'care workers' awareness' but in the 'operational structure,' leading to the development of 'Nagara Kaigo.'
## Overview of the Award-Winning Solution 'Nagara Kaigo'
'Nagara Kaigo' is an AI-native nursing care recording software based on voice conversations. Simply by having care workers converse with users while holding a smartphone, the AI transcribes the dialogue in real-time and automatically generates legal documents such as care records, handover notes, and daily logs.
This is not mere 'voice input' but 'conversational input.' Whereas conventional voice input means 'speaking for the sake of recording,' 'Nagara Kaigo' takes a completely new approach where 'talking to the user itself becomes the record,' simultaneously improving care quality and operational efficiency...