In this article, we interviewed two newly selected companies from the 3rd cohort of S-Startups: Seconare and Midriq. One is developing a construction-site coordination platform to support the digital transformation of the construction industry, while the other is applying Spatial AI and 3D technologies to optimize urban environments and human wellness. Through different approaches, both are tackling pressing challenges in urban development and infrastructure. 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.
Seconare was founded by a former project manager from a major general contractor company. Drawing on hands-on experience in construction site management, Seconare is developing a construction-site-focused coordination platform that supports the complex scheduling and arrangement tasks required on site.
The platform enables a broader range of workers to benefit from this knowledge by digitizing and sharing the know-how accumulated by experienced professionals. The goal is to allow site supervisors to focus on their core engineering responsibilities while promoting construction digital transformation driven directly from the field.
Many of the companies selected for the program have already achieved impressive results in their respective fields. Being chosen among them is both an honor and a challenge. It motivates us to move our business forward quickly so that we can stand alongside these companies and grow together through mutual inspiration and competition.
The construction industry is currently facing significant structural challenges, including what is often referred to as the “2024 problem,” which has intensified labor shortages and operational pressures. In particular, Shibuya is an area where highly complex construction projects are concentrated, which makes project management especially demanding.
We believe that by refining our product in such a challenging environment, we can develop a solution that works effectively across construction sites throughout Japan. By working together with the city and its broader ecosystem, we hope to accelerate this effort and bring our product to a higher level. This vision led us to apply for S-Startups.
As the industry continues to respond to the 2024 problem, maintaining large-scale redevelopment projects in highly complex areas like Shibuya is becoming increasingly difficult. One of the key challenges lies in the heavy reliance on the knowledge and experience of skilled professionals.
Our approach is to accumulate and systematize the knowledge developed on construction sites and build a system that enables anyone to perform tasks more efficiently. By doing so, we aim to create an environment in which professionals can concentrate on the essential craft of building and manufacturing, rather than spending excessive time on coordination tasks.
Shibuya Startup Support brings together people from a wide range of backgrounds involved in urban development, including developers, government officials, and startup founders. We believe that an environment where individuals with different perspectives gather naturally creates opportunities for new initiatives and collaborations.
By meeting new partners and gaining fresh viewpoints, we hope to discover possibilities that extend beyond what has traditionally existed within the construction industry and expand our business in new directions.
At the moment, we are focused on refining our product directly through practical use at construction sites. Looking ahead, we hope to leverage the partnerships and networks made possible through S-Startups to accelerate the growth of our business.
We are also interested in connecting with industries outside the construction sector. Through these cross-industry interactions, we believe it will become possible to generate new forms of value that could not emerge within the boundaries of the construction industry alone.
Midriq is a startup that utilizes Spatial AI and 3D technologies to support the optimization of the relationship between natural environments and human wellness. Through landscape planning, environmental assessments, and surveys of natural environments using satellites and drones, the company works to advance both the design and operational management of urban spaces.
We are a spatial AI startup that models forests, satoyama (country hills) landscapes, and urban environments using real-world 3D data, and applies these models to design and operational processes. As cities increasingly shift their evaluation metrics from quantity to quality, questions about what kinds of spaces encourage people to walk, stay, and feel comfortable are becoming more important. At the same time, cities are reconsidering how greenery should be incorporated into urban environments.
We believe that being able to address these questions in a city like Shibuya, which is constantly evolving and transforming, is extremely meaningful.
Up to now, we have mainly focused on visualizing the functions and value of natural capital within forests, watersheds, and rural landscapes. Using technologies such as satellites, drones, LiDAR, and environmental sensors, we have developed methods to scientifically evaluate and visualize natural functions such as carbon sequestration, water retention, and biodiversity.
We have also been developing high-precision 3D surveying and digital twin technologies for complex terrain. These technologies have already been applied to tasks such as forest surveys, post-disaster measurement, and infrastructure monitoring, helping improve efficiency and safety in field operations.
We are now entering a phase where we aim to apply these technologies to urban environments. To establish a process where spaces are recreated digitally, evaluated through simulation, and then fed back into design, it is essential to conduct verification in real cities.
Shibuya, which is globally recognized as a symbol of advanced urban development, offers an ideal environment for experimentation. Conducting verification projects in such a dynamic area would also allow our initiatives to be communicated internationally, which was one of the reasons we applied to S-Startups.
Urban areas are experiencing increasingly severe heat island effects, which influence how people move through and spend time in cities. During the summer, for example, extreme heat often discourages people from spending time outdoors. However, the tools necessary to verify how design decisions affect urban comfort are still limited.
Questions such as where trees and green spaces should be placed, how shade from greenery affects perceived temperature, and how environmental conditions influence human movement patterns are not always evaluated quantitatively during the design phase.
Drawing on nearly a decade of experience in three-dimensional measurement and analysis, we are developing an Urban Digital Twin platform that reproduces urban environments with high accuracy and enables simulations of environmental conditions and human behavior. Our technology allows not only the reconstruction of spaces in three dimensions, but also the simulation of how changes in factors such as sunlight exposure, airflow, and tree placement affect perceived temperature and human activity.
In addition, we incorporate environmental elements such as greenery, water cycles, and biodiversity as spatial parameters in urban design evaluation. The spatial modeling technologies we develop can also be applied to the operation and control of robots functioning within urban environments. Looking ahead, we hope to collaborate with designers and developers to build simulation infrastructure that supports decision-making in urban planning and design.
Through Shibuya Startup Support, we hope to collaborate with architecture firms, developers, and local governments in order to move our initiatives from verification to real-world implementation.
After being selected for the program, we were quickly introduced to relevant stakeholders, and we were impressed by the speed with which connections were created. We hope to continue working together with the program to move beyond experimentation toward real social implementation and the creation of sustainable systems.
We also see great potential in the program’s international network and communication capabilities. Our goal is to establish a model in Shibuya that can later be expanded to cities around the world.
In March 2026, with a recommendation from Shibuya City, we will also exhibit at the ChangeNOW Summit in Paris, one of Europe’s largest impact exhibitions. We see this as an opportunity to share our initiatives originating in Shibuya with a global audience.
One of our goals is to establish a system in which the comfort and quality of urban spaces can be evaluated through data rather than intuition. We would like to create a process in which the placement of street trees, the design of green spaces, and the structure of urban environments can be tested for their impact on perceived temperature and human movement patterns.
Another goal involves the real-world implementation of Physical AI. Rather than limiting our technology to the design phase, we want to utilize spatial data even after construction is completed. For example, we envision the possibility of operating robots that perform tasks such as maintaining green areas, carrying out deliveries, or conducting nighttime patrols using spatial modeling and simulation technologies.
By connecting design-stage verification with operational management after construction, we aim to implement an advanced urban model that includes robotic operations. Ultimately, we hope to present this model to the world as an example of urban innovation originating from Shibuya.
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/
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