In this article, we interviewed two newly selected companies from the 3rd cohort of S-Startups: MIRAERA and Cross Medicine. One focuses on occupational health, the other on AI-powered childcare support. Through different approaches, both are tackling pressing social issues. We spoke with them about the vision behind their businesses and the future they hope to shape through S-Startups.
S-Startups is operated by the Shibuya Innovation Institute (SII) as part of the Shibuya Startup Support initiative. With the mission of “creating an environment where startups can continue to take on challenges without fear,” the program supports the growth of companies that aim to expand from Shibuya to the world.
MIRAERA operates Sangyoi NEO, a companion-style occupational physical therapist service that supports both employee well-being and corporate growth, with the goal of “redefining the role of occupational physicians.” Rather than limiting occupational health to mere legal compliance, the company connects it to organizational challenges to help build people and organizations that can continue taking on sustainable challenges.
We were truly delighted to be recognized in Shibuya, a hub for high-growth companies, as a company striving to balance both social impact and business viability.
At the same time, we feel a strong sense of responsibility to transform the structural challenges in occupational health that we have encountered while operating Sangyoi NEO. It is both an honor and a moment that strengthens our resolve.
While working closely with management teams and organizational challenges in startups, venture companies, and SMEs, we have seen strong traction for our service. However, we also recognized challenges in establishing a scalable and reproducible business model that could generate broader social impact. In particular, balancing the speed of startup growth with the social responsibility inherent in the highly specialized field of medical and occupational health has been a significant hurdle.
We were drawn to S-Startups not simply as a networking or knowledge-sharing program, but as an initiative that helps refine businesses within Shibuya’s ecosystem and supports social implementation through demonstration projects and co-creation. That comprehensive support was a major reason we applied.
We address the issue that employee and organizational health challenges are becoming bottlenecks to business growth, particularly in startups, venture companies, and SMEs.
In rapidly growing companies, systems and employee care are often deprioritized, which leads to issues such as mental health struggles, employee turnover, and declining engagement. Moreover, businesses with fewer than 50 employees are not legally required to appoint an occupational physician. Although administrative support exists, it is limited and intermittent, making it difficult to establish sustainable support systems.
Through Sangyoi NEO, our affiliated occupational physicians and public health nurses provide not only legal compliance services but also occupational health systems aligned with organizational challenges. In doing so, we support the creation of people and organizations that can continue to take on challenges sustainably.
Within Shibuya’s diverse and concentrated ecosystem, we see great strength in how the program connects government, corporations, and startups; supporting everything from demonstrations to full social implementation.
For us, this presents the opportunity to connect our specialized work in occupational health with a broader range of industries, company sizes, and regional challenges. By refining our model as a case study originating in Shibuya, we believe it has the potential to become a new ‘mental health infrastructure’ launched from Shibuya.
We aim to move beyond providing support at the individual company level and implement mental health initiatives as shared infrastructure across the entire Shibuya area.
Through mentoring, we will refine our business model and KPI design while conducting collaborative pilot projects with startups and growth companies within Shibuya Ward. Our goal is to create a new model that integrates occupational health with startup support.
In the long term, we hope to develop a reproducible model originating in Shibuya that can be expanded to other regions in Japan and overseas startup ecosystems.
Cross Medicine is a university-origin startup developing AwaBaby, an AI-powered childcare support product that analyzes babies’ crying to reduce parental anxiety and isolation.
We are truly honored to have been given this wonderful opportunity.
Our honest feelings are a mix of renewed determination and gratitude. As a still-developing startup with many challenges ahead, we deeply appreciate that our efforts have been recognized for their potential.
We have been supported by many people in continuing our business journey. With this selection as a milestone, we hope to further dedicate ourselves to delivering value to Shibuya and to the world with sincerity.
We launched our company as a university-origin startup from Tokushima and have since relocated to Tokyo to advance our business. However, we have faced a continuous series of unknowns in product development, business building, organization building, and fundraising.
A mentor at CIC Tokyo introduced us to S-Startups. We were particularly attracted to the program because it goes beyond financial support to provide hands-on assistance for implementation and business growth.
We applied with the desire that our idea does not remain just a ‘good concept, but becomes something embedded in society.
We are developing AwaBaby, a childcare support product that analyzes babies’ crying with AI to reduce parental anxiety and isolation.
Postpartum depression and parenting anxiety are not merely personal issues but important societal challenges that must be addressed collectively. As nuclear families become more common, the structure in which parents bear the burden alone is deepening across regions.
By leveraging technology to make babies’ conditions easier to understand, we aim to reduce the psychological burden on parents and help restore a sense of reassurance and breathing room in childcare.
We believe Shibuya is one of Japan’s most advanced ecosystems for startup demonstration and implementation.
Because our product’s value is refined through real-world use, we see tremendous potential in being able to collaborate with government, corporations, and local communities in Shibuya as a testing ground.
Beyond business growth, we hope to work together to shape a model in which startups function as key drivers of social problem-solving.
First and foremost, we want to fully take on the challenge of real-world implementation within Shibuya. Through on-the-ground validation, we aim to refine both our product and business model.
Additionally, through mentoring and interaction with other selected companies, we hope to broaden our perspective and deepen our managerial insight.
In the long term, we aspire to expand solutions addressing childcare and child-related challenges from Japan to the world. Through this program, we aim to build the foundation necessary to achieve that global vision.
S-Startups is a startup support program operated by Shibuya Innovation Institute (SII), with the mission of creating an environment where startups can continue taking on challenges without fear. In its 3rd cohort, a diverse range of startups tackling various social issues has been selected.
▶ Official Website of the Shibuya Innovation Institute, which operates S-Startups
▶ View the List of Certified Companies in the 3rd Cohort of S-Startups
Startups certified in the 3rd cohort will spend a year deeply engaging with Shibuya’s startup community, accelerating their respective challenges. Updates including interviews with S-Startups companies, will be shared on an ongoing basis. Please stay tuned for future developments and follow the official social media accounts for the latest news.
Shibuya Startup Support：https://shibuya-startup-support.jp/
Shibuya Startup Support SNS
LinkedIn：https://www.linkedin.com/company/shibuya-startup-support/
Facebook：https://www.facebook.com/shibuya.startup.support
X（Twitter）：http://twitter.com/ShibuyaStartup
