Each main tech convention has themes. Most are imprecise sufficient to imply every little thing and nothing on the similar time. SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 is doing one thing totally different — 4 tightly outlined know-how domains, every backed by dwell demonstrations, devoted exhibit flooring, and periods that includes the individuals truly constructing and funding these applied sciences globally.
TechCrunch is partnering with SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 as an official media associate, and our Startup Battlefield workforce will likely be on the bottom choosing one standout semifinalist from the SusHi Tech Problem to advance to the TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield 200 — one of the vital prestigious launchpads in tech. Right here’s what’s on the ground.
AI — past the hype, into the infrastructure
Classes that includes Howard Wright (Nvidia), Rob Chu (AWS), and Eric Benhamou (Benhamou World Ventures) minimize via the noise to look at the place AI is genuinely deployed at scale and the place the true dangers lie. On the ground, AI-themed college startups pitch alongside international gamers, and the AI Movie Competition Japan, a associate occasion at Tokyo Innovation Base in Yurakucho, explores how synthetic intelligence is reshaping tradition in actual time.
Robotics — bodily AI has arrived
The robots at SusHi Tech aren’t behind glass — they’re on the ground and interactive. Onstage, Nissan, Isuzu, and Utilized Instinct’s Qasar Younis look at how software-defined autos are reshaping transportation. Bodily AI isn’t a future pattern. It’s in Tokyo on April 27.
Resilience — the cities that survive what’s coming
Eva Chen (Development Micro) and NEC’s Noboru Nakatani deal with cyber protection, whereas prime local weather tech VCs from Breakthrough Power and Cleantech Group look at the place international funding is flowing. A VR catastrophe simulator and site-visit excursions of Tokyo’s underground flood-control infrastructure make the stakes viscerally actual.
Leisure — Japan’s cultural engine meets AI
Classes with the CEOs of Manufacturing I.G, MAPPA, and CoMix Wave Movies deal with what it takes for Tokyo to develop into the Hollywood of animation. On the ground, startups are utilizing AI to translate manga globally, generate music from textual content prompts, and produce Japanese IP to life as anime — delivered worldwide.
Can’t make it to Tokyo? You’ll be able to nonetheless be there
Lacking SusHi Tech Tokyo doesn’t should imply lacking out. Distant contributors get greater than a livestream — on-site employees will stroll the ground in your behalf, carrying a tool that shows your face so you possibly can work together with attendees and exhibitors in actual time, face-to-face. It’s the closest factor to truly being there.
Techcrunch occasion
San Francisco, CA
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October 13-15, 2026
Notice: Please be aware that some periods might not be accessible for viewing.
Apply for remote participation with on-site staff support here.
Can’t swing that both? Ticket holders can stream periods on-line and faucet into the programming from wherever they’re. Browse the full session list here.
Along side the startup occasion, the Tokyo Metropolitan Authorities additionally hosts a gathering of leaders from 55 cities throughout 5 continents. They may focus on the theme of “A New City Future Constructed on Local weather and Catastrophe Resilience.” Town leaders’ summit is a part of G-NETS (World Metropolis Community for Sustainability), organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Authorities since 2022 as a multicity discussion board to debate how one can clear up frequent challenges with a spotlight now on resilience to city local weather disasters and the well-being of residents. The summit could be noticed by common audiences on YouTube in actual time and after the occasion.
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 runs April 27–29 at Tokyo Large Sight. Enterprise days are April 27–28; public day (free admission) is April 29. Register here.
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