Relic, a Business Co-Creation Company, Receives National Certification for 'Toyama Co-Accel Fund (T-CAF)' in Collaboration with the University of Toyama

Relic, a business co-creation company (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Takao Kitajima; hereinafter 'Relic'), announced that the 'Toyama Co-Accel Investment Limited Partnership' (commonly known as 'T-CAF'), which is being advanced in collaboration with the University of Toyama (with Relic as the General Partner (GP)), received certification as a 'Project for Supporting the Utilization of Specific Research Results' under the Industrial Competitiveness Enhancement Act from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry on March 27, 2026.

Moving forward, based on the certified project plan, T-CAF is scheduled to be established in June 2026. The University of Toyama will invest in T-CAF after receiving approval from the Minister of Education, Culture, Sports, Science and Technology, thereby promoting the social implementation of research results and technical seeds originating from the university. As the GP, Relic will build a system to provide end-to-end support for the commercialization of research results and growth.

T-CAF aims to create next-generation innovation by utilizing outstanding research results from national, public, and private universities in the Hokuriku region, including the University of Toyama. Beyond mere funding, it aims for a virtuous cycle of economic returns and regional problem-solving through industry-government-academia-finance collaboration and hands-on support. Under the theme 'Solving regional issues with regional technology, from the region to the world,' it will work to create world-class innovation and sustainable regional economic models from the Toyama and Hokuriku regions.

[Main Initiatives Enabled by Certification] VCs and others intending to conduct projects that provide management advice and funding to those utilizing research results related to the technology of national university corporations (university-originated ventures, etc.) can submit a plan to the relevant ministers for certification. Certified operators can receive investment as well as human and technical assistance from national university corporations.

[Comment from the Director of the Deep Tech Innovation Center] 'This certification is a significant step in connecting the research results and industrial base of the Hokuriku region, including the University of Toyama, to the next generation of growth industries. I have personally visited Toyama continuously and have felt strongly that the Hokuriku region possesses not only world-class research results but also an excellent manufacturing base, industrial clusters, and diverse stakeholders supporting the region,' said Kaichi Kaneko, Executive Officer and Director of the Deep Tech Innovation Center at Relic.

'We want to grow the Toyama Co-Accel Fund as a mechanism to accelerate the social implementation of research results by organically linking universities, industry, financial institutions, and local governments. Relic has been engaged in various new business development support and commercialization support in the deep tech field. In T-CAF, we will provide end-to-end support from the conceptual stage to commercialization and growth, powerfully backing the challenge of creating new industries from the Hokuriku region.'