Marine Open Innovation Institute

What Marine Open Innovation Institute does

Marine Open Innovation Institute (MaOI) is a Shizuoka Prefecture-funded general incorporated foundation (一般財団法人) established in 2019 and headquartered in Shimizu-ku, Shizuoka City, Japan. Operating as the prefecture's designated implementing organization for marine innovation policy, MaOI connects marine science research to commercial applications through industry-academia-government-finance coordination, primarily serving enterprises, research institutions, fisheries cooperatives, and government bodies in Shizuoka and the broader blue economy ecosystem.

MaOI's core platform is BISHOP (Blue Innovation of SHizuoka Open data Platform), an open-data system aggregating marine organism, microbial, and ocean observation data from Suruga Bay and surrounding Shizuoka waters. Complementing BISHOP is the Marine Microbial Library, a repository of over 1,000 strains of lactic acid bacteria and yeast isolated from Suruga Bay, Enshū-nada Sea, and Lake Hamana, available for commercial licensing. Research capabilities include world-first genome sequencing of Sakura shrimp and Japanese sardine, genome and metabolite analysis of kelp, and Sakura shrimp eyestalk hormone research. The 2020-opened MaOI-PARC facility provides shared genome analysis labs, marine observation equipment, and collaborative workspace.

MaOI's business model combines a subscription membership tier—the MaOI Forum (50,000 yen per unit annually for general corporate members; free for government, universities, and research institutions as Supporter Members)—with 100% prefectural government funding that covers operations, grant programs, and demonstration field coordination. Forum membership is a precondition for applying to grant instruments such as the Marine Open Innovation Business Promotion Subsidy, Smart Fisheries Promotion Subsidy, and Seaside Trial Support (MaOI-FS). Additional demand and community channels include the annual BLUE ECONOMY EXPO @ Suruga Bay exhibition, recurring MaOI Seminars and Salon events, and international engagement through Blue Tech Cluster Alliance (BTCA) membership, partnerships with JAMSTEC, JAXA, GCE Ocean Technology (Norway), and Fórum Oceano (Portugal).

Name

Marine Open Innovation Institute

Legal name

一般財団法人マリンオープンイノベーション機構

Website

https://maoi-i.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Marine Open Innovation Institute (MaOI) is a Shizuoka Prefecture-funded foundation that operates the BISHOP marine data platform, a microbial strain library, and the MaOI Forum membership network to coordinate marine biotech R&D and blue-economy business support across industry, academia, and government.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Marine Biotechnology Research Services

NAICS

Administration of Environmental Quality Programs (924), Environmental Consulting Services (54162)

SIC

Services-Commercial Physical & Biological Research (8731)

akta.pro primary industry

Coastal & Marine Resources Administration (Oceans, Fisheries, Shorelines) (BPAIAMAI)

akta.pro secondary industries

Science, Technology & Innovation Administration (National R&D Policy) (BPAIAAAK), Research Administration & Compliance (Sponsored Programs, IRB/REB) (EDADAKAH)

Keywords

• Marine biotechnology research
• Ocean data platforms
• Marine microbial library
• Blue economy development
• Industry academia collaboration

Headquarters

HQ city

Shimizu

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. MaOI Forum Membership Fees: Annual membership fees from corporate (General Members) and institutional (Supporter Members including government, universities, and research institutions) members. General members pay membership fees to access grants, demonstration fields, and networking services.
2. Government Grants and Subsidies: Shizuoka Prefecture 100% funded foundation receiving government budget allocations for marine innovation promotion activities including research, business support, and event organization.
3. Grant Distribution Services: Manages distribution of grant programs including Marine Open Innovation Business Promotion Subsidy (マリンオープンイノベーション事業化促進事業費補助金), Smart Fisheries Promotion Business Subsidy, and Seaside Trial Support (MaOI-FS) programs to qualifying enterprises.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

MaOI Institute is a 100% Shizuoka Prefecture-funded general incorporated foundation that coordinates marine industry-academia-government collaboration through the MaOI Forum membership platform, the BISHOP open marine data platform, the Marine Microbial Library of over 1,000 strains, MaOI-PARC shared research facilities, and grant program administration. It also conducts genome science research (including world-first sequencing of Sakura shrimp and Japanese sardine), organizes the annual BLUE ECONOMY EXPO @ Suruga Bay exhibition, and provides direct coordinator-based matchmaking between enterprises, researchers, and government bodies.

Product overview

Marine Open Innovation Institute (MaOI) operates a multi-component platform structure centered on marine biotechnology research and blue economy development. The core offerings include BISHOP, an open data platform providing marine organism genome data and microbial strain information; the MaOI Forum, a membership-based networking and matchmaking service connecting companies with research institutions; and the Marine Microbe Library, a strain repository with over 1,000 marine-derived microorganisms available for commercial use. Additional services include MaOI Forum Media for member-exclusive seminar archives, the BLUE ECONOMY EXPO exhibition event, and the MaOI-PARC research facility providing shared laboratory space for collaborative marine biotech research.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• BISHOP: Blue Innovation of Shizuoka Open Data Platform - marine biological and microbial database platform centered around Suruga Bay
• MaOI Forum
• BLUE ECONOMY EXPO @ Suruga Bay
• MaOI-PARC

Products and services

• BISHOP (Blue Innovation of SHizuoka Open data Platform)
• MaOI Forum
• Marine Microbe Library (海洋微生物ライブラリー)
• MaOI-PARC (Marine Open Innovation Project Research and Application Center)
• BLUE ECONOMY EXPO @ Suruga Bay
• Marine Innovation Grant Programs
• MaOI Forum Media
• Shizuoka Marine Implementation Field Platform (Demonstration Field Network)

Quantifiable outcome

• Marine Microbial Library maintains over 1,000 strains available for commercial distribution
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature5 records

Partnerships

14 partnerships are on record, tiered major, core and notable.

• Fórum Oceano (Portugal)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2025MoU signed with Portuguese marine industry association for cooperation in marine biotechnology, sustainable fisheries, and ocean economy development. Joint activities include knowledge sharing, business matching, and participation in each other's marine industry events.
• Blue Tech Cluster Alliance (BTCA)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 September 2024International marine industry cluster network connecting North American and European ocean industry clusters. MaOI became the first Asian member (11th overall). Partnership enables cross-border technology exchange, joint events, and market access for Shizuoka marine companies.
• Numazu Shinkin Bank (沼津信用金庫)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 August 2023Mutual cooperation agreement for promoting Shizuoka's marine innovation ecosystem. Partnership facilitates connections between MaOI's research and business support services and Numazu Shinkin's regional enterprise network, supporting marine industry development in the Numazu area.
• Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology (JAMSTEC)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJAMSTEC conducts deep-sea marine research and bioresource programs. Partnership supports Shizuoka companies in accessing deep-sea microbial resources and marine biotech expertise for new product development.
• Japan Aerospace Exploration Agency (JAXA)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerJAXA co-hosted sessions with MaOI at BlueTech Week, presenting satellite-based ocean monitoring data and East Asia regional space agency collaborations. Partnership connects marine observation with space technology for comprehensive environmental monitoring.
• Shizuoka Prefectural GovernmentcoreOthersMaOI is 100% funded by Shizuoka Prefecture as its designated marine innovation promotion organization. The prefecture provides operating budget and policy framework while MaOI implements marine industry development programs.
• GCE Ocean Technology (Norway)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerNorwegian ocean technology cluster. Partnership facilitates exchange of offshore aquaculture and marine technology expertise, particularly in areas where Norway has leading global experience.
• Kanagawa UniversitynotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on Sakura shrimp CHH hormone gene family analysis and genomic evolution studies between MaOI Institute and university life science researchers.
• Kanazawa UniversitynotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative genome evolution research on Sakura shrimp species conducted with MaOI Institute researchers.
• Marine Industries Research and Promotion Association (海洋産業研究・振興協会)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerIndustry association providing expertise on marine economy monetary valuation methodologies and ecosystem service assessment for policy evaluation.
• Tokai UniversitynotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaborative research on Sakura shrimp fishery support system using video and AI recognition technology for improving fishing operations.
• Kochi UniversitynotableStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint research on physiological activity evaluation of microorganisms collected from Suruga Bay, Shizuoka.
• Queensland University of Technology (Australia)majorStrategic or Co-development PartnerInternational joint seminar collaboration on underwater robotics. Partnership includes exchange of marine robotics technology and expertise between Japanese and Australian research institutions.
• MizLinx Corporation (株式会社ミズリンクス)notableStrategic or Co-development PartnerTokyo-based startup providing remote observation systems. Partnership with Numazu Fisheries Cooperative addresses aquaculture challenges including scientific analysis of Japanese amberjack mortality through IoT monitoring solutions.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• GCE Ocean Technology: Norwegian ocean-technology industry cluster. Comparable as a regional marine innovation cluster focused on offshore aquaculture and ocean tech; an explicit MaOI partner for cross-border marine-technology exchange.
• JAMSTEC (Japan Agency for Marine-Earth Science and Technology): Japan's national marine-earth science research agency. Directly comparable as a marine research/R&D organization with deep-sea bioresource programs — and is explicitly a MaOI strategic partner — making it the closest national-scale peer.
• Fórum Oceano: Portuguese marine economy cluster association. Closely comparable as a regional Blue Economy industry cluster facilitating marine biotech, sustainable fisheries, and ocean-economy business matching — MaOI signed an MoU with it in November 2025.
• Blue Tech Cluster Alliance (BTCA): International alliance of Western marine industry clusters. MaOI is the first Asian member, making BTCA the umbrella organization of its direct peer cohort — together they form the global network of regional Blue Economy clusters.

Broad incumbents

• WorldFish Center: International nonprofit research organization focused on aquatic food systems and sustainable fisheries. Comparable as a research-driven organization with genomics and aquaculture programs serving developing economies.
• Monterey Bay Aquarium Research Institute (MBARI): Privately funded marine research institute in California. Comparable as a marine science organization combining deep-sea research, genomics, technology development, and industry partnership — though more research-focused than MaOI's cluster-coordination mandate.
• Korea Institute of Ocean Science and Technology (KIOST): National marine science research institute of South Korea. Comparable as a publicly funded national marine research body with genomics, ocean observation, and marine biotech programs — broader scope than MaOI but serving the same role at national scale.
• Scottish Association for Marine Science (SAMS): UK-based marine research organization combining science, industry collaboration, and policy advisory. Comparable as an integrated marine research-and-cluster organization operating regionally but with international reach.

Others

• Numazu Shinkin Bank: Regional Japanese shinkin bank that signed a cooperation agreement with MaOI in August 2023. Comparable as an adjacent enabling partner — financial intermediary channel for marine SMEs in Shizuoka — not a peer in marine R&D but a meaningful ecosystem participant.

Regional players

• Ocean Frontier Institute: Canadian ocean research consortium based in Atlantic Canada. Comparable as a regional ocean-innovation hub linking academia, government, and industry — one of BTCA's member clusters and an indirect peer via that network.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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M&A

Investments

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Frequently asked questions about Marine Open Innovation Institute