SpaceData and EmotionX, a spin-off from Kioxia, sign MOU for collaboration in defense and security sector

SpaceData Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Koyo Sato; hereinafter “SpaceData”) has signed a Memorandum of Understanding (MOU) for collaboration in the defense and security field with EmotionX Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yasuhito Yoshimi; hereinafter “EmotionX”), a company spun off from Kioxia Corporation (a subsidiary of Kioxia Holdings Corporation; hereinafter “Kioxia”). The two companies will begin discussions on building a next-generation secure information infrastructure by combining EmotionX’s 'confidential computing' technology based on Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE), which allows data analysis and utilization without decryption (plaintext conversion), with SpaceData’s Physical AI, digital twin, and simulation technologies.

Background

With the rapid advancement of generative AI and Physical AI, the defense and security sector has entered an era where large-scale data utilization—including satellite data, digital twin simulations, and AI analytics—has become central to decision-making. However, conventional encryption methods require data to be decrypted (converted to plaintext) during analysis, leaving inherent risks of information leakage during this process. Additionally, the practical deployment of quantum computers has raised concerns about the vulnerability of existing encryption systems. Establishing a data infrastructure capable of utilizing sensitive information while maintaining its confidentiality has thus become an urgent priority for economic security.

SpaceData, leveraging its core technologies in high-precision digital twins and AI that replicate Earth and space environments, has formally expanded its business into the defense and security domain, including participation in advanced technology programs of Japan’s Ministry of Defense and Self-Defense Forces. Multiple large-scale projects are currently underway. As a company committed to strengthening national resilience, SpaceData prioritizes information security and secrecy as top management objectives. This MOU marks the first step toward implementing world-class domestic encryption technology into the information infrastructure of the defense and security sector.

Integrating World-Leading 'Confidential Computing' into Defense Information Infrastructure

Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) is recognized globally as one of the most secure forms of 'confidential computing,' enabling computation and analysis on encrypted data without decryption. It is also regarded as a next-generation encryption technology resistant to quantum computing threats. EmotionX has developed this technology based on years of research conducted at Kioxia’s Advanced Technology Research Laboratories, enabling data processing and computation while remaining fully encrypted.

While offering superior confidentiality, FHE has historically faced practical challenges: ciphertext data sizes can be thousands to tens of thousands of times larger than plaintext, and computational times can increase by hundreds of thousands of times. EmotionX has overcome these barriers through integrated development spanning algorithms to dedicated semiconductors, drastically reducing confidential computing processing time from approximately 150 minutes to around 10 minutes. The company aims to further shorten this to under a few seconds through the development of specialized chips with circuit linewidths of 3–2 nanometers. Related research findings are scheduled to be published in 2025 in a leading international journal of the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE).

SpaceData aims to integrate this confidential computing technology with its own Physical AI and digital twin-based simulation platforms to realize an information environment where classified data can be analyzed and shared while remaining encrypted. This initiative is part of a broader effort to strengthen information security and confidentiality frameworks in the defense and security sector—not just through operational rules, but by embedding security at the technological level.

Overview of the MOU

Under this MOU, the two companies will explore collaboration in the following areas:

- Joint examination of a secure data analytics platform for defense and security applications using confidential computing (FHE) technology - Technical validation of applying confidential computing to Physical AI, digital twins, and simulations - Application of confidential computing to enhance information security and secrecy frameworks - Exploration of joint proposals to government agencies and defense-related enterprises

Future Outlook

Through this collaboration, SpaceData aims to elevate the standards of information security and secrecy in the defense and security sector while working toward building a next-generation intelligence infrastructure that enables the secure utilization of classified data. Looking ahead, the company intends to apply this integration of Japanese-originated technologies—Physical AI, digital twins, simulations, and domestic next-generation encryption—to address defense challenges such as the safe and cross-domain utilization of classified information across land, sea, air, space, cyberspace, and the electromagnetic spectrum, thereby contributing to the enhancement of Japan’s national and economic security.

About EmotionX Inc.

EmotionX is a startup spun off from Kioxia to rapidly implement and commercialize Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE) technology developed at Kioxia’s Advanced Technology Research Laboratories. Centered on high-speed FHE processing, the company develops cloud platforms and dedicated hardware for homomorphic encrypted computing, aiming to enable secure and efficient data utilization across diverse fields such as finance, life sciences, space, and semiconductors.

Company Name: EmotionX Inc.

Representative: Yasuhito Yoshimi (CEO)

Headquarters: Tamachi Station Tower S, 3-1-21 Shibaura, Minato-ku, Tokyo

Founded: June 2025

Business Activities: Development and provision of computing platforms and dedicated hardware based on Fully Homomorphic Encryption (FHE)

Website: https://www.emotionx.co.jp/

About SpaceData Inc.

SpaceData Inc. is a technology startup driven by the vision of “a society where space is accessible to everyone,” creating new industries and social infrastructure through the fusion of space and digital technologies.

By leveraging digital twin technology that precisely replicates Earth and space environments, the company aims to build digital platforms that support the future—from urban development and disaster prevention to national security. Furthermore, it is actively developing operational platforms for space robots and space stations to help realize a sustainable space society.

Company Name: SpaceData Inc.

Representative: Koyo Sato

Headquarters: Toranomon Hills Business Tower, 1-17-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 15th Floor

Capital: 1.513 billion JPY

Business Activities: Investment and research related to space development

Website: https://spacedata.jp

News: https://spacedata.jp/news

X: https://x.com/spacedatainc

LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/spacedatajp/

Careers: https://www.wantedly.com/companies/spacedata/projects

Inquiries

Please contact us via the inquiry form below:

https://spacedata.jp/contact