Canon Marketing Japan Fund backs LIFESCAPES brain-wave rehab tech

LIFESCAPES was founded in May 2018 in Minami-Azabu, Tokyo, and describes itself as a Keio University-originated medical startup. Its stated vision is to draw out the brain's plasticity — the property by which neural circuits change through experience, learning, and training — and contribute to a world where paralysis can be cured. The device it is developing pairs a headset that measures brain activity with a powered brace on the hand, so the rehabilitation loop runs from attempted movement to assisted movement.

Canon Marketing Japan frames the investment around two things. One is the clinical progress LIFESCAPES has made in taking a BMI/BCI device toward medical settings for post-stroke motor paralysis. The other is broader: Canon MJ says it wants to test whether technology that reads intent and state from brain waves and other biological signals can open new business opportunities built on AI. That second aim sits inside the MIRAI Fund's stated investment areas of Well Being and Business Transformation.

The relationship predates the investment. Canon MJ is one of the founding members of the general incorporated association WE AT, which works to build an ecosystem for a well-being industry through startup support. LIFESCAPES was selected as a WE AT CHALLENGERS startup in the WE AT CHALLENGE 2025 pitch contest, so Canon MJ's support is described as running through that organization as well as through the fund.