Mujin wins Japan Startup Award 2026 Grand Prize for physical AI

The Japan Startup Award, hosted by the government since 2015, reached its 10th edition in 2026. This year's winners clustered in deep tech. Regional Fish took the Excellence Award for fish breeding; Oishii Farm, a US-based strawberry plant factory operator, won the agriculture award; Sakana AI took the information and communications award; and Oceanic Constellations won the defense award for water drones. In interviews, the CEOs pushed for government action: Mujin's Takino said Japan has strong early-stage funding but almost no non-repayable growth-stage risk capital, citing government funds in Singapore and China. Regional Fish's Tadanori Umekawa asked for a detailed roadmap for fisheries, saying total future demand is shown but not the breakdown by fishing versus aquaculture or species. Oishii Farm's Masaharu Suzuki called for laws and guidelines so plant factories can become a real industry. Sakana AI's Ren Ito said his firm aims for dual-use technology, taking defense-trained tech into logistics, infrastructure, and power. Oceanic Constellations' Takuma Honda said Japanese-developed water drones are rare and welcomed the award as a sign of rising interest in the ocean sector. The outcome hinges on whether these startups can convert government attention into growth capital and clearer rules, and for Mujin specifically, on whether it can sustain revenue growth toward its IPO goal.