RAYVEN Representative Yoshihiro Suzuyama Wins Top Prize at METI-Sponsored "Shido Next Innovator" DEMO DAY

RAYVEN Inc. (Headquarters: Osaka City, Kita Ward), which develops a governance platform for AI agents, announces that its representative, Yoshihiro Suzuyama, has won the Grand Prize at the DEMO DAY of the "Shido Next Innovator" entrepreneur development program, sponsored by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and JETRO.

In this program, where approximately 100 entrepreneurs selected from across the country honed their businesses for about six months, and 10 individuals dispatched to Silicon Valley participated in the final pitch, Suzuyama's proposal of a "mechanism enabling companies to control the authority and actions of AI agents" received the highest evaluation.

Yoshihiro Suzuyama, winner of the Grand Prize

AI Agent Adoption is Halted at "Security Review"

While the business utilization of AI agents is expected to become widespread in 2026, cases where adoption is halted at the security review stage are rapidly increasing. This is not limited to industries with stringent security requirements such as finance, manufacturing, and public sectors. Even in general companies that have begun incorporating AI into their operations, adoption plans are stalling due to the inability to answer questions like, "To what extent should AI be granted access?" and "Who is responsible in case of an accident?"

The standard protocol "MCP (Model Context Protocol)" used when AI agents connect to internal systems and external tools has identified vulnerabilities that directly lead to management risks, regardless of industry.

・ Execution of Unintended Operations (Tool Poisoning) Risk of AI executing deletion or fraudulent processing of customer data due to malicious tool definitions.

・ Access to Information Beyond Authority (Privilege Escalation) Risk of AI accessing confidential information that should not be viewable, leading to information leaks.

・ Absence of Action Logs Risk of inability to identify causes or respond to audits in case of an incident, as records of "who instructed what" are not kept.

A survey by Equixly in March 2025 found command injection vulnerabilities in 43% of major OSS MCP servers. OWASP also points out security issues with MCP servers, making the establishment of governance an unavoidable management challenge for all companies adopting AI.

Yoshihiro Suzuyama's "AI Employee ID" Concept

Human employees are issued ID cards upon joining, restricting access to systems and recording their activity logs. However, AI agents lack this mechanism.

Suzuyama is leading the development of a governance platform that provides "authentication, authorization, and auditing" for AI agents at the same level as human employees. While traditional AI tools and API management focus on controlling the "entry" and "exit," RAYVEN's technology intervenes in the MCP communication itself, verifying, controlling, and recording in real-time what tools the AI calls, what data it accesses, and what it attempts to execute.

Four Technical Features

・ Enforced Permissions - Defines AI operations as corporate policies, preventing Tool Poisoning and privilege escalation. Clearly delineates "what AI can do" and "what AI cannot do."

・ Logging and Auditing of All Communications - Records who executed what, when, on which AI client. Can be directly used for incident cause identification and internal audits.

・ Split-Plane Configuration to Prevent Data Leakage - Prompts, API keys, and personal information remain within the customer's environment, with only the management screen provided via the cloud. Allows adoption while maintaining company security policies.

・ Automatic PII Masking - Automatically detects and masks personal information in data accessed by AI. Achieves information leak prevention independent of human error.

Technical Features of RAYVEN

About "Shido Next Innovator"

"Shido Next Innovator" is an entrepreneur development program launched in 2015 (organized by the General Incorporated Foundation Shido Next Innovator, sponsored by METI and JETRO). With support from companies like Google, WiL, and AlphaDrive, it has fostered approximately 1,150 innovators over the past decade.

100 entrepreneurs gathered from across the country hone their businesses over about six months, narrowed down to 50 in the mid-term selection, with only 10 dispatched to Silicon Valley. These 10 then pitch at DEMO DAY, where judges decide the Grand Prize winner. Suzuyama was selected for the Grand Prize, recognizing the potential of the new AI governance market through this selection process.

Shido Next Innovator Official Website: https://sido.jp/

DEMO DAY Presenters and Judges

Pitch Session in Progress

Future Outlook

Leveraging this award, Suzuyama will fully launch the enterprise deployment of RAYVEN's governance platform. Aiming to commence introductions to enterprise clients within 2026, the company will build an environment where all companies adopting AI agents, regardless of industry, can operate with peace of mind. Utilizing the network built during the Silicon Valley dispatch and PCT international patent-pending technology, RAYVEN will also begin exploring the global market.

CEO Yoshihiro Suzuyama

CEO's Comment

The era where AI agents autonomously execute tasks is just around the corner.

However, if adoption proceeds in a state where "it's impossible to explain who did what," companies, regardless of industry or size, will face incidents. What we are developing is a platform to stop these risks before they occur.

Fueled by the Grand Prize from Shido, we will certainly realize an environment where Japanese companies can utilize AI agents with peace of mind.

Information for Businesses

For companies considering internal adoption of AI agents and facing challenges in establishing security and operational rules. RAYVEN's governance platform offers a comprehensive solution for "permission management," "action auditing," and "policy enforcement" during AI agent adoption.

・ 【Limited to the first 3 companies】Seeking Pro Bono PoC Partners: Verify adoption in your own environment free of charge.

・ Enterprise Explanation Materials: We have prepared materials summarizing technical overview and implementation flow.

・ Request for Individual Demos: We will provide demonstrations tailored to your company's operational environment.

Inquiries: info@rayven.cloud

Book a Free Consultation:https://calendar.app.google/ofenKi99u36gVo1Z6

About RAYVEN Inc.

Company Name: RAYVEN Inc.

Address: Hankyu Grand Building 26F, 8-47 Kakuta-cho, Kita-ku, Osaka 530-0017, Japan

Representative: Yoshihiro Suzuyama, Representative Director and CEO

Business Activities:

- Development and provision of AI governance platform Tumiki

- Construction of custom MCP servers

- AI agent development

Patents Held: Patent No. 7731114 (MCP-related management platform technology)

Company Website: https://rayven.co.jp/

Tumiki: https://www.tumiki.cloud/jp

Other Recent Awards:

・ Kohnan Business Model Contest Grand Prize (March 2026)

・ 26th New Business Subsidy Excellence Award, ICT Division (March 2026 / Ikeda Senshu Bank)

・ Miraino Pitch 2025 NICT Award / Director-General of Kinki Bureau of Telecommunications Award (December 2025 / Osaka Innovation Hub)

Keywords: Generative AI, AI, Osaka, Startup, SaaS, ChatGPT, Claude, MCP, DX, App