Industry Co-Creation

What Industry Co-Creation does

Industry Co-Creation (ICC) is a Japanese event services and media organization founded in 2016 and operated by ICC Partners Inc. (ICCパートナーズ株式会社), headquartered in Tokyo with conference operations in Kyoto and Fukuoka. The company's core product is the ICC Summit series — large-scale, multi-venue in-person conferences held twice annually (typically Kyoto in September and Fukuoka in February), each drawing 1,200+ participants and 500+ speakers across up to 7 simultaneous venues. Programming centers on management and industry-trend sessions, the Catapult pitch competition franchise (with verticals including Grand Prix, Startup, DX, Real Tech, Social Good, Crafted, and Next Stage), and award programs (Guardian, Design & Innovation, Food & Drink, SAKE).

ICC monetizes through two streams: paid registration fees for summit participants (pricing tiered by registration type, with details disclosed via an internal spreadsheet not on the public website) and corporate sponsorship (Guardian Award team competition plus category-level Catapult underwriting). Recurring sponsor relationships span financial partners (Money Forward as flagship, Coconala, Uzabase, Plaid, UPSIDER, Libcon Consulting, EventHub), category Catapult sponsors (EVeM, Saleshub, AGS Consulting, KOBASHI HOLDINGS, Honda Xcelerator), and scholarship-supporting companies. Distribution runs through official website articles, a YouTube channel for session and Catapult recordings, an X account (@icc_summit), a LINE Official Account, and Facebook — effectively a conference-plus-media model.

The lean operating model (1-10 employees supplemented by volunteer staff including university students and young professionals) and absence of any disclosed external funding rounds indicate an owner-operated, cash-generative conference business rather than a venture-backed scale-up. Leadership is concentrated in Representative Director Masashi Kobayashi, who is also identified as the founder. There are no disclosed subsidiaries, M&A activity, patent filings, AI/ML products, or technology products beyond the conference management and video distribution stack that underpins the events themselves.

Name

Industry Co-Creation

Legal name

ICCパートナーズ株式会社

Website

https://industry-co-creation.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Industry Co-Creation (ICC) is a Japanese conference and media organization that plans and operates the ICC Summit series in Kyoto and Fukuoka, serving entrepreneurs, corporate executives, and startup founders through large-scale summits, Catapult pitch competitions, and award programs. Founded in 2016.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Conference and Event Services

NAICS

Convention and Trade Show Organizers (56192)

akta.pro primary industry

Executive Summits & Invitation-Only Forums (MPAGAGAK)

akta.pro secondary industries

Product & Innovation Summits (Roadmap, Launch Readiness, Innovation Days) (THAHAMAG), Professional & Association Conferences (MPAGAGAB)

Keywords

• Business conference services
• Startup pitch competitions
• Corporate networking events
• Industry summit organization
• Entrepreneur event programming

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Others

Revenue model

1. Conference Registration Fees: Participants pay to attend ICC summits. Registration fees are published in the ICC Summit participation system spreadsheet. The event brings together 1,200+ participants per summit.
2. Sponsorship Programs: Companies sponsor ICC summits to showcase their products and services. Sponsors participate in the Guardian Award competition and receive exposure to executives and entrepreneurs.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Industry Co-Creation (ICC) plans and operates large-scale community-based business conferences known as ICC Summits, held alternately in Kyoto and Fukuoka, Japan. Each summit brings together 500+ speakers and 1,200+ participants across up to 7 simultaneous venues, featuring Catapult startup pitch competitions across multiple categories (Startup, DX, Real Tech, Social Good, Crafted, Guardian, SAKE, Food & Drink, Design & Innovation), award programs, and content publication via its website and YouTube channel.

Product overview

Industry Co-Creation (ICC) is a conference and event organization that runs ICC Summits in Kyoto and Fukuoka, Japan. The company organizes pitch contest programs called 'Catapult' (including categories such as Startup Catapult, DX Catapult, Real Tech Catapult, Social Good Catapult, Crafted Catapult, and Grand Prix), and award programs (Guardian Award, Design & Innovation Award, Food & Drink Award, SAKE Award). ICC also operates scholarship programs and volunteer staff recruitment for its events. The company does not offer technology products or software-as-a-service offerings; its core offerings are conference events and networking programs for entrepreneurs and business leaders.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ICC Summit (ICCサミット): The flagship Co-Creation conference held alternately in Kyoto and Fukuoka, featuring startup pitch competitions (カタパルト), award programs, and management sessions.
• カタパルト (Catapult)
• ICCアワード・プログラム

Products and services

• ICC Summit KYOTO Annual large-scale business conference held in Kyoto (typically September), featuring 500+ speakers, 1,200+ participants, multi-track sessions across up to 7 simultaneous venues, Catapult pitch competitions, award programs, and networking for entrepreneurs, executives, and innovators.
• ICC Summit FUKUOKA Annual large-scale business conference held in Fukuoka (typically February), with the same format as ICC Summit KYOTO: 500+ speakers, 1,200+ participants, multi-track sessions, Catapult pitch competitions, and award programs (Guardian Award, Design & Innovation, Food & Drink, SAKE, Real Tech, DX, Social Good, Crafted).
• Catapult Pitch Competitions Series of themed startup pitch competitions embedded within ICC Summits, providing early-stage entrepreneurs visibility to corporate executives, investors, and media. Categories include Startup, DX, Real Tech, Social Good, Crafted, and Grand Prix.
• ICC Award Programs Award programs embedded in ICC Summits recognizing innovative products, technologies, food & beverage offerings, craft sake, and sponsor team contributions; includes Guardian Award, Design & Innovation Award, Food & Drink Award, and ICC SAKE Award.
• Sponsorship Packages Sponsorship opportunities for companies to gain brand exposure at ICC Summits, including participation in the Guardian Award team competition among sponsor companies, showcase of products/services, and engagement with executives and entrepreneurs.
• Scholarship Program for Young Participants Scholarship program funded by sponsoring companies (e.g., Money Forward, コミスマ, キュービック, THE GROWTH, SoVa) and individual supporters (e.g., 藤本宏樹 of Sumitomo Life) to enable students and young professionals to attend ICC Summits by covering travel and accommodation costs.

Quantifiable outcome

• 85.6% of 638 respondents rated ICC FUKUOKA 2024 as 'the best ever'
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• EVeM (Management Partner)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 February 2026EVeM sponsors the Next Stage Catapult category at ICC FUKUOKA 2026, providing support for startups transitioning to growth stage.
• SaleshubcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 February 2026Sponsors the DX Catapult category, supporting digital transformation startups at ICC summits.
• AGS ConsultingcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 February 2026Sponsors the Catapult Grand Prix category at ICC FUKUOKA 2025 and FUKUOKA 2026.
• KOBASHI HOLDINGScoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 February 2026Sponsors the Real Tech Catapult category at ICC KYOTO 2023 and FUKUOKA 2024, supporting hardware and deep tech startups.
• Honda XceleratorcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 February 2026Sponsors the Honda Xcelerator Catapult at ICC FUKUOKA 2023, focusing on mobility and transportation innovations.
• Japan HeartcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNPO conducting medical volunteer work internationally; ICC Partners organized Japan Heart's 20th anniversary charity dinner, powered by ICC Partners.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Infinity Ventures Summit (IVS): IVS is a Japan-hosted startup and tech conference featuring pitch events and executive networking in Kyoto/other cities, closely mirroring ICC's geographic focus, format, and target audience of entrepreneurs and corporate leaders.
• TechCrunch Disrupt: TechCrunch Disrupt is a flagship global tech conference featuring startup pitch competitions (Startup Battlefield), speaker sessions, and sponsor activations—the direct international analog to ICC's Catapult pitch and speaker-driven summit model.
• B Dash Camp: B Dash Camp is a Japan-based invite-style internet business conference with pitch competitions and curated networking for founders, investors, and corporates—directly overlapping with ICC's curated executive audience and pitch-driven agenda.
• Slush: Slush is a Helsinki-founded global startup conference that brings together founders and corporate executives for matchmaking, pitch competitions, and networking—directly comparable to ICC's startup-corporate bridge model with Catapult pitch competitions.
• Plug and Play Japan: Plug and Play operates a global startup ecosystem platform that runs corporate-startup matchmaking events, summits, and pitch programs; its Japan entity is a comparable community-driven startup-corporate bridge with sponsor-driven revenue.

Others

• Money Forward: Money Forward is a flagship ICC sponsor that has won three consecutive Guardian Awards (KYOTO 2025, FUKUOKA 2025, FUKUOKA 2026) and provides scholarship support. It is not a direct competitor but a key commercial partner, illustrating the sponsor cohort ICC's model depends on.

Emerging players

• NewsPicks (Uzabase): NewsPicks operates a Japan business media platform that runs paid executive learning events (NewsPicks GUILD, seminars) and is also an ICC Guardian Award sponsor; its hybrid media-plus-events model is increasingly overlapping with ICC's content + summit play.
• Dream Incubator: Dream Incubator is a Japanese consulting and venture firm that operates startup ecosystem programs and industry conferences (e.g., DI Summit) targeting corporate innovation—comparable to ICC's startup-corporate matchmaking focus in the Japanese market.

Broad incumbents

• SXSW: SXSW is a large-scale Austin-based conference and festival combining technology, film, music, and education with sponsor activations and pitch elements—a broader incumbent with overlapping business model of monetizing conference content via sponsors, registration, and media.
• Web Summit: Web Summit is one of the largest global tech conferences (Lisbon, Rio, Vancouver) with sponsor-driven revenue, pitch programs (PITCH), and multi-track executive content—a much broader incumbent operating the same fundamental format as ICC at global scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/icc_medialab
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/industrycocreation
• Facebookfacebook.com/IndustryCoCreation

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Industry Co-Creation