ADK forms partnerships to get closer to emerging technologies

ADK has launched an initiative that it hopes will help incorporate emerging technologies and innovation into its business.

Dubbed Schema, the project aims to combine technological and creative resources to support the growth of large corporations and startups and help the achieve “global success through effective marketing and branding”, according to ADK.

Schema is a tie-up with four partners. They include the accelerator Plug and Play Japan, part of the Silicon Valley-based Plug and Play Tech Center; the Digital Hollywood University Graduate School; DMM.make Akiba, a hardware developer based in Tokyo’s Akihabara district; and Hiroo Gakuen, a Tokyo high school that aims to foster a global outlook and encourage entrepreneurship. ADK said it would also integrate its own workshop, which it calls the ‘ADK Power Idea Camp’.

The initiative will be led by Aiko Teranishi as project manager. Teranishi has experience in the luxury sector and also in robotics, according to ADK. Other members include a creative director and copywriter, Ken Matsuda; and a communication planner and technologist, Yoshihiro Kozuka.

ADK cited AI, blockchain, VR and genome editing as potentially world-changing innovations, but noted that they would only have an impact if “properly interpreted into business or services”.

The move follows Bain Capital’s purchase of ADK last year. At the time, some observers saw the takeover as an opportunity for ADK to forge new and unconventional alliances as a way to build a more competitive and sustainable business.