[Event Report] Held a Meetup for Engineers Featuring 4 AI-Utilizing Startups

Kort Valuta Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Representative Director: Hideki Shibata, hereinafter "the Company"), in collaboration with bestat Inc., hootfolio Inc., and Fairy Devices Inc., held a recruitment event for engineers titled "What Are Engineers from Large Corporations Creating at Startups? AI-Utilizing Startup Developers Meetup" on March 27, 2026, at Google for Startups Campus Tokyo.

At this event, engineers and development leaders with experience at large corporations took the stage to share their backgrounds for transitioning to startups, the realities of their development environments, and their companies' AI utilization initiatives. Through Q&A with participants, speakers shared their individual experiences and insights on career choices, product development, and practical AI application cases.

*This event was jointly organized by four companies, and the content of this press release is published with the agreement of each co-organizing company.

*The company logos, presentation materials, and photos published herein have been posted with the confirmation of the relevant companies and individuals.

In addition to pitch sessions by each company, a panel discussion was held on themes such as "Why did you転職 from a large corporation to a startup?" and "How are you utilizing AI?"

Featured Companies

bestat Inc.

Supporting the acquisition, generation, processing, and utilization of 3D data from End to End.

bestat Inc. is a "3D x AI" startup company originating from the University of Tokyo's Matsuo Laboratory.

With the mission to "Create an era where the real and digital are connected," the company offers the "3D.Core" series of AI cloud solutions for 3D data utilization for the manufacturing and infrastructure industries. They provide end-to-end support from 3D data acquisition to operational utilization by AI agents.

Recently, they have accelerated development by obtaining a European patent for their 3D shape generation algorithm from photographs and releasing a depth estimation AI algorithm and a digital twin viewer.

On the day of the event, Daichi Miura, Head of Development, spoke about product development and technical challenges.

hootfolio Inc.

Visualizing causal structures from data to deliver scientific decision-making.

hootfolio Inc. is a causal AI startup that spun off from NEC in January 2025.

With the mission of "Scientific decision-making for everyone," they utilize their proprietary, patented engine "causal analysis" to automatically extract and visualize causal structures from data, thereby supporting evidence-based decision-making.

On the day of the event, Kasa-hara, Co-Founder & CEO, spoke about their challenges in Silicon Valley and their decision to spin off to implement technology into society more quickly.

Fairy Devices Inc.

Collecting and utilizing "on-site intelligence" with wearable devices x AI.

Fairy Devices Inc. is an AI startup that provides connected worker solutions connecting people and AI, centered around the neck-worn wearable device "THINKLET®".

They collect and utilize data that can only be obtained on-site, supporting everything from knowledge transfer from experienced workers to realization of autonomous support by AI.

On the day of the event, Yoshikawa, Head of the Product Development Department, introduced their initiatives in on-site data utilization and AI development.

Kort Valuta Inc.

Realizing a new financial experience with next-generation wallets utilizing finance x data x AI.

Our company is a financial startup challenging the realization of new value experiences by utilizing finance x data x technology.

Our next-generation* wallet "TwooCa (Tsuka)" provides a new financial experience that spans payment, employee benefits, communication, and healthcare data utilization through payment-enabled digital employee ID cards, prepaid cards, and smart rings.

On the day of the event, Tanaka, Executive Officer COO, and Asano, Backend Engineer, took the stage to introduce product development in the financial domain and AI utilization in the development environment.

*"Next-generation" refers to a service design concept where employee and member actions are awarded as points exchangeable for electronic money, which are then returned to daily use, creating a unique economic zone.

Talk Theme 1 Why Startups from Large Corporations?

A common thread among the speakers was a strong desire to "create things with their own hands."

Many expressed that their experience at large corporations gave them a unique perspective, and based on that, they chose the startup environment because they wanted to "make decisions at a closer distance" and "deliver services to the world at a faster pace."

They also shared a common desire to "impact society" by being involved in the growth of businesses and products with their own discretion.

Talk Theme 2 AI Utilization at Each Company

Although the business domains of each company differed, a commonality was the approach of "using AI as a means, not an end."

AI is being utilized to improve development efficiency, analyze data, and enhance customer value by deeply integrating it into workflows, and initiatives leveraging each company's strengths were introduced.

"A Shared Recognition to Change Society with Our Own Discretion"

In the final session, opinions were exchanged on challenges they want to tackle in the future.

Following the event, a networking reception was held, where participants and speakers exchanged opinions on technology and careers through communication.

Our company will continue to engage in new value creation through interaction with the engineer community and information dissemination.

Engineer Recruitment

Our company is promoting the development of "TwooCa," a next-generation wallet utilizing finance x data x technology.

We are currently strengthening our recruitment of engineers, including Tech Leads and Development Leaders. We welcome applications from those who wish to challenge themselves in creating new value in the financial sector.

Kort Valuta Recruitment Information Here

What is TwooCa?

TwooCa is a next-generation wallet service provided by our company.

It offers payment, employee benefits, communication, and health data utilization on a single platform through payment-enabled digital employee ID cards, prepaid cards, and smart rings.

Through a system that allows companies to utilize their unique points as electronic money, it supports improved employee satisfaction, health management, and talent retention.

It is currently being introduced by a wide range of companies in industries such as logistics, transportation, construction, healthcare, and IT.

TwooCa Service Details Here

bestat Inc. Overview

Company Name: bestat Inc.

Location: 1-14-14 Akasaka, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Dai 35 Kowa Bldg. 507

Representative: Naoko Matsuda

Business Overview:

- Provision of the 3D data acquisition/generation/utilization platform "3D.Core" series

- Provision of 3D data processing APIs

- Digital twin construction

- Development of AI agents for tasks related to 3D data utilization

Official Website: https://bestat-data.com

Recruitment Information: https://bestat-data.com/careers

hootfolio Inc. Overview

Company Name: hootfolio Inc.

Location: Shiba 5-32-12, Minato-ku, Tokyo, Shamrock Stage Tamachi

Representative: Kenta Kasa-hara

Business Overview: Provision of causal analysis solution "causal analysis®"

Official Website: https://hootfolio.com/

Recruitment Information: https://hootfolio.com/join

Fairy Devices Inc. Overview

Company Name: Fairy Devices Inc.

Location: Yushima 2-31-22, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Yushima Urban Bldg. 7F

Representative: Masato Fujino

Business Overview: Operating under the vision "Empower AI to Empower Human." Provides a platform that enables AI to convert multimodal information from the real world, such as audio, video, and sensors, into structured data that can be recognized and analyzed. Conducts R&D of industrial AI using data acquired on-site.

Official Website: https://fairydevices.jp/

Recruitment Information: https://fairydevices.jp/recruit

Kort Valuta Inc. Overview

Company Name: Kort Valuta Inc.

Location: Shibuya 3-11-2, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Shibuya Pine Bldg. 4F

Representative: Hideki Shibata

Business Overview: Issuance, planning, management, and operation of various cards, development and sales of smart rings.

Official Website: https://kortvaluta.com

Recruitment Information: https://recruit.kortvaluta.com