11 May 2026

OIST Innovation and Lifetime Ventures Announce OIST-Lifetime Startup Elevate 2026 — International Deep Tech Conference to Return to OIST Campus November 4–6

OIST Innovation and Lifetime Ventures have announced the third edition of OIST-Lifetime Startup Elevate, an international conference for deep tech entrepreneurs, to be held November 4–6, 2026 at OIST Campus in Onna-son, Okinawa. Applications for startups to pitch at the event opened today, May 13, 2026.

Startup Elevate is designed as a platform for deep tech founders to achieve fundraising, business partnerships, and research collaboration in a single, concentrated event.

The 2025 inaugural edition brought together 514 participants from 18 countries, facilitated 370 investment-matching connections, and achieved 97% participant satisfaction with an NPS above 60 — generating tangible funding and partnership outcomes for participating startups.

The 2026 edition introduces a three-day domain structure: Day 1 focuses on Life Sciences, covering drug discovery, healthcare, and biotech; Day 2 introduces the newly created OIST Innovation Day, providing direct access to OIST's pre-commercialization research seeds and intellectual property in a setting that brings researchers, entrepreneurs, and investors together for joint research and spinout development; and Day 3 focuses on Deeptech domains including energy, quantum computing, and advanced materials.

Applications to pitch are open to pre-seed through early-stage startups, including pre-incorporation teams. The selection process consists of document screening and an interview, with an acceptance rate of approximately 1 in 5 to 1 in 10. Shortlisted teams not selected for the main stage may participate via poster exhibition and investor networking. (Application deadline: End of June 2026)

Please find out more details at the website below.