20 Companies Selected for the 14th Cohort of 'FASTAR', an Acceleration Program Supporting Startup Growth

The Organization for Small & Medium Enterprises and Regional Innovation (SME Support JAPAN; President: Tadashi Miyagawa; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo) has selected 20 companies for the 14th cohort of its acceleration program, 'FASTAR,' which supports the growth of startups. In this cohort, the selection process placed a stronger emphasis on regional startups to foster and cultivate businesses that drive local socio-economic development, with 16 out of the 20 companies (80%) based outside of Tokyo. FASTAR was established as a startup support program leveraging the resources of SME Support JAPAN. Selected companies will receive approximately one year of hands-on support from SME Support JAPAN experts to assist with fundraising and business expansion. A 'Demo Day' pitch event, where companies will present their growth strategies and business plans, is scheduled for around February 2027. ■ Selection Overview Application Period: Monday, October 20, 2025 – Thursday, December 4, 2025 (12:00 PM) Number of Selected Companies: 20 ■ Selected Companies AI/DX/IT Services EfficiNet X Inc. (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo) https://efficinetx.co.jp/ EfficiNet X enables AI and robots to work as a team to achieve overall optimization across various industries. NousLagus Inc. (Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture) https://nouslagus.com/ Provides DX/AI consulting services and develops efficiency tools such as 'Kikumemo,' a data management tool specialized for DX. verbal and dialogue Inc. (Himeji City, Hyogo Prefecture) https://lp.cheez.ai/ Realizes next-generation site management through the construction photo AI app 'Cheez,' which completes tasks simply by taking photos. Dioptra Inc. (Nomi City, Ishikawa Prefecture) https://dioptra.co.jp/