What is IVS Startup Market, anyway? As the PR representative, I'll answer the frequently asked questions one by one.
Hello. I'm Sunagari, in charge of PR for IVS2026.
We will once again hold "IVS Startup Market," which was well received at last year's IVS. IVS Startup Market is an exhibition and networking space where 300 promising startups will exhibit. Although it is a project that started only last year, it was such a lively area that it would not be an exaggeration to call it one of IVS's highlight attractions.
We are currently recruiting startups to exhibit at IVS Startup Market. This time, I'd like to answer some frequently asked questions about IVS Startup Market.
In addition to my role in IVS PR, I also handle PR for Tenchijin, a space venture. Tenchijin also exhibited at last year's IVS Startup Market, so I'll answer questions while drawing on that experience as well.
I hope this will be helpful for those considering exhibiting, VCs and renowned entrepreneurs considering making recommendations, and investors and operating companies considering attending.
Q1. What exactly is IVS Startup Market?
A. It is IVS2026's exhibition and networking space, where only startups that pass a rigorous screening process through recommendations from leading domestic VCs, renowned entrepreneurs, or self-nomination can exhibit.
Over the three-day event, a total of 340 companies, 100 per day, will exhibit in a complete daily rotation. The people manning each booth are mainly CxOs. Rather than simply introducing services, it can be said to provide an extremely practical environment where concrete business negotiations and discussions—such as business partnerships, fundraising, and hiring—are born on the spot.
Q2. Why is "IVS Startup Market" one of this year's highlight attractions?
A. In a word, it's because it's a place within IVS where practical value is especially likely to be generated.
From the moment you meet face-to-face at the booth, discussions about partnerships and fundraising begin to move. That is IVS Startup Market. From previous exhibitors, we received many comments such as "we were able to acquire more leads than expected" and "we met high-quality customers, VCs, and operating companies we usually can't meet, and concrete opportunities for business negotiations and collaboration were born on the spot."
Even in numbers, in 2025 exhibitor satisfaction was 4.40 out of 5, and the satisfaction with the market tours led by VCs was also high at 3.94. The average number of visitors per booth was 110, with a maximum of 500 to 800. Deep interactions were achieved, with an average of 22 investors and 23 potential business partners.
Let me talk about Tenchijin here. Tenchijin exhibited on day 2. Our COO was stationed at the booth all day. Visitors never stopped coming, and around midday when it was the busiest, so many people came that our COO didn't even have time to drink water; there were even times when people lined up and waited to speak with us. About 70% of visitors to our booth took flyers home, so it also served as an opportunity to increase awareness.
Also, being able to talk with various people such as VCs, startups, local governments, and regional banks was a major value.
Slightly off topic, but we have a note article summarizing what we did to make our exhibit stand out, so if you're a startup considering exhibiting, please take a look.
IVS Startup Market, Tenchijin Space Business Booth Exhibition Report
Q3. How can you exhibit?
A. There are three routes.
IVS recommendation: Recommendation from the IVS side
VC / renowned entrepreneur recommendation: Recommendation from a venture capital firm or a renowned entrepreneur, etc.
Open entry (self-nomination): Apply on your own
In all cases, exhibiting is confirmed after a rigorous screening by the IVS2026 Selection Committee.
The application deadline for both recommended and self-nominated applicants is Friday, May 31, 2026, at 11:59 PM.
Startups that pass the review will also receive three IVS PASSes from IVS free of charge.
Q4. What kinds of startups are selected?
A. Both the industries and stages are truly diverse.
Looking at past exhibitors, the lineup has not been limited to any one field, with IT services, healthcare, deep tech, space, robotics, food tech, finance, education, AI, and sustainability all represented. The stages also range widely, from seed to Series C and beyond.
If you're wondering whether your category is eligible, first go ahead and apply. The review is strict, but from the operations side I feel the committee looks at two things: the quality of the business and whether it provides value to investors and operating companies attending IVS Startup Market.
Q5. Why 100 companies per day and a full daily rotation?
A. If the same lineup stays for all three days, visitors tend to think, "I did one lap on day one and that's it." By rotating completely each day, visitors can go around the venue with a different sense of anticipation every day, wondering what companies are exhibiting today.
For exhibitors too, it means they can focus all their energy on one day. Standing all three days is physically tough, and the density of business meetings drops. Because 100 companies rotate in depth each day, both visitors and exhibitors get three repeated days of a "high-density day." That is the purpose of the daily rotation design.
Q6. What is a day like when you actually exhibit? (From last year's Tenchijin experience)
A. This is my personal view from exhibiting at Tenchijin, but we handled reception, meetings, media outreach, and so on nonstop at the booth (not me, but our COO). From the moment the venue opened, people kept coming to the booth.
Tenchijin distributed press releases in advance, reached out to media, announced it in Tenchijin's newsletter, promoted it on social media, and made efforts to make it easy for people to stop by the booth, so I think those efforts contributed to that outcome as well.
This isn't an exaggeration; other exhibitors were in similar situations. If you prepare well, the day you exhibit will be a day of practical value.
Q7. What kind of people come? Can you really meet decision-makers and investors?
A. Based on last year, visitors were roughly as follows.
Investors, VCs, and financial institutions
Startup support and consulting firms
Operating companies exploring overseas expansion or business partnerships
Corporate managers in charge of new business development
Media organizations
Government and local government staff involved in industry support and DX
Sales representatives for human resources and business systems
People from educational institutions such as universities and high schools
University and graduate students
Acquaintances and friends
There were also visitors from overseas, and we had to respond in English at times.
Q8. By when should you apply? What are the next steps?
A. The application deadline is Friday, May 31, 2026, at 11:59 PM.
For those who want recommendations from VCs or renowned entrepreneurs, the recommender will contact the IVS secretariat.
After passing the review, the process continues with the award of three IVS PASSes, booth allocation, and guidance on day-of operations.
So, as PR representative, I answered the frequently asked questions about IVS Startup Market in a Q&A format.
If you have any other questions, please feel free to contact us.
We look forward to your applications.
