What 公益財団法人関西文化学術研究都市推進機構 does

The 公益財団法人関西文化学術研究都市推進機構 (Public Interest Foundation for the Promotion of Keihanna Science City, KRI) is a non-profit public foundation established in 1994 under the Kansai Science City Construction Promotion Act to coordinate the development of けいはんな学研都市 (Keihanna Science City), a research and academic cluster spanning Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara prefectures. Its functional role is the secretariat and intermediator across three constituency groups — research institutions and universities (RIKEN, ATR, NICT, NAIST, Kyoto University, Osaka University, Doshisha, IIAS, RITE, QST, the National Diet Library Kansai-kan), private enterprises (OMRON, Kyocera, Panasonic, Nidec, Suntory and others), and national and municipal governments (3 prefectures, 8 cities/towns) — totaling 159 facilities, 11,683 researchers/faculty/staff, and roughly 249,294 residents as of April 2026.

Its core offerings are coordination programs and shared infrastructure rather than proprietary technology products: the Keihanna R&D Innovation Consortium for industry-academia-government open innovation; the RDMM Support Center for commercialization assistance; Clubけいはんな, a resident supporter organization with 1,700+ members that funnels community input into urban planning; K-PEP, Japan's first corporate-shared, resident-participatory public road autonomous-driving demonstration platform; HITO testing services for human-health product safety/efficacy verification; the けいはんなインジケーターマップ (Indicator Map) for cross-sector urban performance measurement; the Sciencepedia science-communication portal; and the Food Tech Co-Creation Platform. Community engagement is delivered through けいはんなサイエンスカフェ, 先端シーズフォーラム, the けいはんな未来フェス annual festival, and quarterly けいはんなView publications.

Revenue comes from membership fees of the New Industry Creation Member program, government subsidies from national ministries and 3 prefectures plus 8 cities/towns, and contributions; the foundation does not sell commercial products. GTM is community-led: direct stakeholder engagement via working groups, councils, and committees, supplemented by the bilingual kri.or.jp website, Facebook, YouTube, and long-running print publications. The organization is governed by a board with a Chairman, an Executive Director/GM, and a Director/GM; a Chairman transition was announced effective June 19, 2026. Its international footprint rests on three 2017 cooperation agreements — with Dalian Hi-Tech Industrial Zone (China, biennially renewed), Laval University Joint Urban Sciences Unit (Canada, 5-year term), and CMU Science Technology Park (Thailand) — that have continued into the post-2025 Expo period.

Name

公益財団法人関西文化学術研究都市推進機構

Legal name

公益財団法人関西文化学術研究都市推進機構

Website

https://kri.or.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1994

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

The 公益財団法人関西文化学術研究都市推進機構 (KRI) is a Japanese non-profit public foundation, established in 1994, that coordinates the Keihanna Science City across Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara prefectures. It runs industry-academia-government programs — including the R&D Innovation Consortium, RDMM Support Center, Clubけいはんな, and the K-PEP autonomous-driving demonstration platform — funded by member fees and subsidies.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

精華町 (Seika Town)

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Personnel, Operations, Others, Marketing or Sales, Technology or R&D

Revenue model

1. Membership fees and government subsidies: The organization operates as a public foundation funded primarily through government subsidies from national and local governments (3 prefectures and 8 cities/towns), membership fees from the New Industry Creation Member program, and contributions. No commercial product revenue.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

KRI is a non-profit public foundation that serves as the central coordinating body for Keihanna Science City (けいはんな学研都市), spanning Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara prefectures. Its core offerings are coordination programs and platforms that foster industry-academia-government collaboration, support R&D commercialization, and manage demonstration platforms (notably K-PeP for autonomous-driving testing). It also operates community engagement programs (Clubけいはんな) and regional development indicator systems.

Product overview

The organization operates as a public foundation promoting the Keihanna Science City (学研都市), spanning Kyoto, Osaka, and Nara prefectures. Rather than a unified product, it manages a portfolio of coordination programs and platforms: the core けいはんなR&Dイノベーションコンソーシアム drives industry-academia collaboration; RDMM支援センター provides R&D commercialization support; Clubけいはんな engages residents in urban planning; K-PeP enables public road driving experiments for autonomous vehicles; HITO試験 offers product safety testing; and supplementary platforms like けいはんなSciencepedia, 学研フードテック共創プラットフォーム, and けいはんなインジケーターマップ provide science communication, food tech co-creation, and urban metrics tracking respectively.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• けいはんなR&Dイノベーションコンソーシアム (Keihanna R&D Innovation Consortium) A consortium program that accelerates new industry creation through industry-government-academia collaboration and cross-industry partnerships, promoting R&D outcomes toward commercialization and industrialization. For companies, research institutions, and public organizations in the Keihanna Science City region.
• RDMM支援センター (RDMM Support Center) A support center that provides R&D support services to promote technology commercialization and new industry creation in Keihanna Science City, serving researchers, startups, and companies seeking to commercialize their research.
• Clubけいはんな (Club Keihanna) A resident supporter organization that reflects community opinions into future industry/product development and urban planning for Keihanna Science City. Over 1,700 members participate in surveys, workshops, demonstration experiments, and community activities.
• K-PeP (Keihanna Public Road Driving Verification Experiment Platform / けいはんな公道走行実証実験プラットフォーム) Japan's first corporate ride-sharing, resident-participatory public road driving demonstration experiment platform for autonomous driving and new mobility technologies, enabling companies and research institutions to conduct R&D and demonstration experiments safely within Keihanna facilities and public roads.
• HITO試験 (HITO Test Support Service) A testing support service that verifies safety and efficacy required for developing products contributing to human health, offered through three testing services. For companies developing health-related consumer products.
• けいはんなSciencepedia (Keihanna Sciencepedia) A science communication platform for Keihanna Science City that disseminates information about research institutions and scientific achievements to the broader public.
• 学研フードテック共創プラットフォーム (Keihanna Food Tech Co-Creation Platform) A platform that promotes co-creation in the food technology sector within Keihanna Science City, supporting collaboration among companies, researchers, and producers in food innovation.
• けいはんなインジケーターマップ (Keihanna Indicator Map) An indicator map system that provides a comprehensive evaluation framework of metrics across urban formation, cultural/academic research promotion, innovation promotion, and urban management for Keihanna Science City.

Quantifiable outcome

• 159 facilities and 11,683 researchers/faculty/staff as of April 2026, up from 158 facilities in 2025
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers15 records

Segments4 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.

• ラバル大学 都市科学共同研究ユニット (Laval University Joint Research Unit in Urban Sciences, Canada)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2017International cooperation framework for innovation promotion. Joint R&D in urban engineering and social engineering, personnel exchange, and joint symposiums/seminars. 5-year agreement from October 2017.
• 大連ハイテク産業区 (Dalian High-Tech Industrial Zone, China)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 September 2017Smart city cooperation memorandum signed in 2017 for mutual sharing of technology, knowledge, and experience in smart city development, innovation, investment, human resource development, and academic collaboration. Renewed biennially.
• チェンマイ大学サイエンステクノロジーパーク (CMU STeP, Thailand)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 September 2017Partnership for R&D cost and time performance improvement. Focus on IoT, autonomous driving, agricultural experiments, demonstration field construction, joint R&D, personnel exchange, and joint symposiums/seminars.
• けいはんなR&Dイノベーションコンソーシアム (Keihanna R&D Innovation Consortium)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMulti-stakeholder consortium including companies, research institutions, and public organizations. Promotes open innovation, R&D support, and new industry creation. Coordinates with Clubけいはんな and RDMM Support Center.
• ClubけいはんなcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerResident supporter organization with over 1,700 members participating in surveys, workshops, demonstration experiments, and community activities. Supports resident-industry-government collaboration.
• 関西国際戦略総合特区 (Kansai International Strategy Comprehensive Special Zone)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerNational strategic special zone designation enabling regulatory relaxations and support for international business and R&D activities in the Kansai region including Keihanna.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Daedeok Innopolis: Korea's largest science and research park encompassing KAIST and government research institutions. Comparable as a national-level science city with government coordination, multi-stakeholder research, and industry-academic collaboration focus with a similar public-foundation management model.
• WISTA Adlershof: Berlin's largest technology park combining research institutions, universities, and corporate tenants. Comparable as a government-coordinated science and technology park with mixed industry-academic focus and a public-management backbone similar to KRI's coordinating role.
• Brainport Eindhoven: Dutch technology region and innovation ecosystem centered on Eindhoven. Comparable as a regional innovation ecosystem with strong industry-academic collaboration, R&D infrastructure, and coordinated cluster marketing to attract international investment and talent.
• Research Triangle Park (RTP): One of the largest research parks in the United States, anchored by three major universities and major corporate R&D centers. Similar in its role as a multi-jurisdictional collaboration hub for research, innovation, and industry partnerships over a long historical horizon.
• Sophia Antipolis: France's leading technology park and one of the largest in Europe. Comparable as a government-promoted science and technology cluster bringing together research institutions, universities, and corporate R&D centers in a coordinated suburban campus format.
• A*STAR (Agency for Science, Technology and Research): Singapore's primary public R&D coordination agency that drives industry-academia collaboration and commercialization. Comparable in its public mandate to coordinate research institutions and promote innovation ecosystem development, though operating at much larger scale and scope.

Direct peers

• Tsukuba Science City (つくば市): Japan's flagship science city and the most direct comparable to Keihanna. Both are government-promoted science cities with national research institutions and corporate members, coordinating similar industry-academia-government collaboration activities across multiple research clusters.
• Kashiwa-no-ha Smart City (柏の葉スマートシティ): Another Japanese smart city initiative near Tokyo, developed around the University of Tokyo's Kashiwa Campus. Similar community-led model with university-industry-government collaboration and strong focus on sustainable urban development and resident engagement.

Regional players

• Hokkaido Research Complex: Japanese regional R&D cluster promoting biopharmaceutical and food tech innovation. Similar in role as a public-sector facilitator for industry-academic collaboration, though geographically focused on Hokkaido and serving different priority industries.

Others

• Kansai International Strategic Special Zone (関西イノベーション国際戦略総合特区): National strategic special zone designation across Kansai that includes Keihanna Science City. Related rather than competing—the foundation actively participates in this regional special zone framework for regulatory relaxation and R&D promotion, making it a complementary ecosystem partner.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCHf0Qmzlhuko5cXfPnuHJIw
• Facebookfacebook.com/keihannakri
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/%E5%85%AC%E7%9B%8A%E8%B2%A1%E5%9B%A3%E6%B3%95%E4%BA%BA%E9%96%A2%E8%A5%BF%E6%96%87%E5%8C%96%E5%AD%A6%E8%A1%93%E7%A0%94%E7%A9%B6%E9%83%BD%E5%B8%82%E6%8E%A8%E9%80%B2%E6%A9%9F%E6%A7%8B

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about 公益財団法人関西文化学術研究都市推進機構