IVS (Infinity Ventures Summit): dates, who attends, and how founders get in

Next edition

The organiser has not published dates for the next edition; historically it annual in Kyoto since 2023; July dates are confirmed for 2025 and 2026.. We re-check weekly and list dates only when the organiser prints them with a year.

Deadlines that matter to founders

• May 7, 2026 — IVS LAUNCHPAD application (passed) · apply

Ticket tiers as published

How founders get in

For IVS2026, the organizer described the open-area event as a catalyst for new challenges, bringing founders and investors together through sessions, the Startup Market, networking, and 4S pre-matching. Its stated ambition was to make IVS not merely a place to listen, but a place to think, speak, and make decisions. IVS CORE was a separate, invitation-only decision-maker area.

1. Edition scope: IVS2026 was held in Kyoto from 2026-07-01 to 2026-07-03. As of 2026-10-07, the official pages reviewed still describe IVS2026 and do not announce a later edition; therefore, the steps and prices below describe the completed 2026 edition, not a future one. The official and co-organizer reports say IVS2026 took place in Kyoto; no cancellation, postponement, or city move is reported.
2. For the open IVS area (2026), register on 4S and purchase an IVS PASS. The organizer said anyone involved with startups could participate; ordinary attendance was by pass purchase, not a separate general-attendance application.
3. Optional: apply to exhibit in the IVS Startup Market through an organizer or VC/entrepreneur recommendation, or by self-nomination. The selection committee reviews applications; the 2026 application deadline was 2026-05-31, and the organizer said exhibiting was free.
4. Optional: apply to IVS LAUNCHPAD. The 2026 competition page required a product that could be demonstrated and stated no restrictions on industry, business model, nationality, or location. Its schedule listed 2026-05-07 as the application deadline; an earlier organizer announcement printed 2026-04-21, and the organizer pages do not explain the discrepancy.
5. After registering, use 4S to search for participants, request meetings, and confirm a time and place after requests are accepted. The 2026 guide also described reservable 20-minute meeting-room slots.

IVS LAUNCHPAD

Winners

• Space Quarters Co., Ltd. (Space Quarters) (2026) — Winner and Startup Kyoto International Award; ¥10 million (2026) source

Judges

• Shintaro Aikawa, Representative at GREE Ventures source
• Taekyun Lim, Venture-fund investment professional at Kiwoom Investment source
• Takao Ozawa, Representative Director at Boost Capital source
• Masami Katakura, Advisor at EY ShinNihon source
• Kathy Matsui, Co-founder at MPower Partners source
• Keisuke Tatsuoka, General Partner at ALPHA source
• Kotaro Chiba, Representative at DRONE FUND; Chiba Dojo Fund source
• Yuka Hata at Japan Investment Corporation source
• Tomoyuki Hirano, Executive Officer at Daiwa Securities source
• Taro Fukuyama, Founder at Rice Capital source
• Nobuhiro Yagi, Executive Officer; Head of Investment Division at Kyoto University Innovation Capital source
• Sawako Yoshioka, Representative Director and Senior Managing Executive Officer at The San-in Godo Bank source

Meeting investors there

Founders could arrange one-to-one meetings through 4S, pitch investors in IVS Meetup, or seek screened access to IVS CORE. The organizer also described Startup Market as an exhibition and networking space connecting selected startups with investors and potential partners (2026). source

The full investor list is available to registered attendees; see the official investor page.

Before you go: the hub's cold email to VCs playbook covers the pre-event outreach that fills a meeting calendar, and Causo matches your stage and thesis to the funds in its database so you know who to ask for a meeting.

Who speaks (2026 (most recent completed edition; no 2027 edition or dates were announced on the official pages consulted as of 2026-10-07))

• Koichi Maruo, Representative Director; former Senior Managing Director · Major7th; formerly Daiwa Securities
• Koji Matsui, Mayor · Kyoto City
• Masaru Tange, Representative Director and President · SHIFT
• Susumu Fujita, Chairman · CyberAgent
• Takatoshi Nishiwaki, Governor · Kyoto Prefecture
• Tomoko Namba, Representative Director and President · DeNA
• Toru Kenjo, Representative Director and President · Gentosha
• Tadatoshi Kaneko, Counsellor, National Ocean Policy Secretariat · Cabinet Office of Japan
• Masa Mochida, Co-CEO; Managing Director · Mpathy; Tybourne Capital
• Minoru Yanai, Co-founder · Japan Blockchain Week
• Akio Isowa, Executive Vice President; Group CDIO · Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group
• Tatsuya Kaieda, Director, Technology Strategy Division · Acquisition, Technology & Logistics Agency
• Landon Kamps, Co-CEO · Letara
• Jumpei Shioga, Startup liaison · HORIBA
• Yoshihiro Sowa, Specially Appointed Professor · Kyoto Prefectural University of Medicine
• Daisuke Asari, Representative Director and CEO · Atomis
• Aki Yoshi, Secretary · Advance Composite
• Atsushi Yoshinaga, Customer Success department leader · Braze
• Masatoshi Yokota, Executive Officer · Sakura Internet
• Tatsuya Takeda, Head of Seven Lab · Seven Bank
• Manuel Beaudroit, CEO and co-founder · Belo
• Takuma Kadowaki, Executive Officer; Head of Alliance Promotion · F-Code
• Nobu Okada, Representative Director, President and Group CEO · Astroscale Holdings
• Kunihiko Arai, Representative Director and President · Strike Group
• Yutaka Nakao, Representative Director and President · Kakehashi

Full lineup: official speakers page.

Sponsors and partners

Government partners: Kyoto Prefecture, Kyoto City

Full list: official partners page.

Startups there

340 companies total over three days (2026; 100 per day rotating) · official startup directory

Programme

Past editions, as published

Cities: Kyoto (2023–2026); the organiser says earlier editions were held repeatedly across Japan but does not list those cities on its history page.

Who attends

Official links and socials

In the press

• 国内最大規模のスタートアップカンファレンス「IVS2026」閉幕。「Japan is Back」を掲げた3日間に、1.3万人が参加 — Headline Japan / IVS KYOTO Executive Committee (PR TIMES) (2026)
• IVS2025, Japan's largest startup conference, concluded with great excitement, drawing a record-breaking 13,000 participants! — Headline Japan / IVS (PR TIMES) (2025)

Prepare for it

• How to cold email VCs — book the meetings before you land.
• The 12-slide seed deck — what to have ready when a partner says "send me the deck".
• Pitch Deck Roaster — a slide-by-slide pass before you submit to IVS LAUNCHPAD.
• Accelerator deadlines — the application windows that open around the event.

Sources

Every fact above was read from one of these official pages on Oct 7, 2026:

• 2025.ivs.events
• ivs.4s.link/speakers
• prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000198.000059319.html
• prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000231.000059319.html
• ivs.events/en
• ivs.events/en/about/ivs
• ivs.events/en/about/ivs2026
• ivs.events/en/about/ivs2026; https://www.ivs.events/en/contents/ivs-startup-market; https://www.ivs.events/en/news/20260629; https://x.com/IVS_Official/status/2067807192640872760
• ivs.events/en/for-guest/guidebook
• ivs.events/en/for-guest/press-kit
• ivs.events/en/ivs-core
• ivs.events/en/ivs2026-launchpad
• ivs.events/en/news/20260417
• ivs.events/en/news/20260521-referral
• ivs.events/en/news/20260522
• ivs.events/en/news/20260604
• ivs.events/en/news/20260618
• ivs.events/en/pass
• youtube.com/playlist?list=PLZ8FWVixkTAU
• x.com/IVS_Official/status/2072893782778064946