Godot Inc. (located in Kobe, Hyogo Prefecture, with CEO Ken Moriyama, hereinafter referred to as ‘Godot’) is dedicated to incorporating the latest trends in AI into its research and development, with the aim of becoming a leading deep tech company that propels the world forward. In pursuit of this goal, they have established the research and development center, Godot GmbH (located in Vienna, Austria, headed by representative Go Suzui)
Background
Godot, with its mission to ‘Inspire personal and societal growth using Human Augmentation’, is committed to developing and promoting products that encourage behavioral changes in people through AI. To accelerate this initiative, we have established a new base, Godot GmbH, in Vienna, Austria. This enables us to incorporate the latest global trends in AI, including AI regulations and AI ethics that are expected to become increasingly important, into our research and development, and also provides us with a foothold to access the EU market.
Last year, Godot was the only Japanese company to be selected for and participate in the ‘GO AUSTRIA’ DeepTech startup support program by the Austrian government. Subsequently, we formed a technical partnership with the world-renowned creative and cultural institution ‘Ars Electronica Futurelab’ (Linz, Republic of Austria) and began joint research on AI ethics with the Philosophy Department of the University of Vienna (Vienna, Republic of Austria), which was founded in 1365 and is the oldest and largest university in the German-speaking world. We have been proactively advancing collaborations and business promotions in Austria. The establishment of this new base will further accelerate these efforts.
Future Outlook
At Godot GmbH, we will accelerate the development of behavioral transformation AI by actively hiring EU technicians and focusing on the development of cutting-edge technology. We will also actively collaborate with local organizations, including the Ars Electronica Futurelab, with the aim of expanding our business in the EU.
Godot will not only utilize AI based on traditional text information in the future but will also explore the potential to influence people’s ‘sensibilities’ and promote behavioral changes. In this regard, establishing a base in Austria, which has a history of being a center of European culture and arts, and has produced great psychologists like Freud and Adler, is considered to be a significant step in expanding the possibilities of Godot.
Comment from Go Suzui, MD of Godot GmbH
Godot has so far provided many local governments and private companies with AI and services that encourage behavioral transformation, and has steadily promoted the expected behavioral changes. At the same time, we have not been content with the status quo and have always been seeking opportunities to elevate Godot’s technology to the next level. As part of this, last year we were selected for the deep tech support ‘GO AUSTRIA’ program, and have been exploring research and development and business expansion in the EU. With the support of the Austrian government’s GIN, which operates ‘GO AUSTRIA’, our technology partner Ars Electronica Futurelab, and our local startup colleagues, we have been able to establish the research and development base Godot GmbH. On a personal level, my motto is ‘Make it obsolete!’, and I am determined to continue developing cutting-edge technologies, always striving to surpass the limitations of yesterday’s Godot. We will collaborate with private companies and research institutions in the EU, and work to further enhance the technical level of Godot, while striving for business expansion in the EU.
Brief Biography
I am committed to addressing social issues both domestically and internationally through efforts such as supporting disaster-stricken areas from the Great East Japan Earthquake, providing aid to developing countries, and running educational programs aimed at resolving societal issues through innovation in Silicon Valley. I studied data science, including machine learning, for the resolution of societal issues in a graduate school in the United States, and then joined Keisley Corporation. After serving as the Chief Data Scientist, I co-founded Godot. While being responsible for promoting business both in Japan and overseas, I push forward with technology development as the CTO.
Master of Development Practice, University of California, Berkeley (admitted with an MDP Fellowship scholarship)
OMSA Master’s program at Georgia Institute of Technology
Welcome Message
“It is our pleasure to welcome Godot Inc to Austria. AI offers huge potential, but also requires a reasoned approach in development and application. Seeing that world class talents choose Austria to work on such solutions together with local research institutions is a clear acknowledgement of the business and research location Austria”, states Florian Frauscher, Director General Economic Affairs, Innovation and International Policy at the Federal Ministry of Labour and Economy.
“Congratulations to Godot on choosing Austria as their new company location in Europe. We are delighted to welcome you to our vibrant ecosystem, particularly within the competitive R&D landscape. The GIN GO AUSTRIA program has played a significant role in facilitating your introduction to Austria, establishing valuable connections, and providing essential support. The collaborative efforts of agencies such as FFG, AWS, and ABA have been instrumental in ensuring your successful settlement. We look forward to further collaboration at the interface of technology and human behavior”, saysHenrietta Egerth, Managing Director at the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG.
“ABA has been supporting Godot since their first contact with Austria. Looking at the path that led to their settlement here shows how different programs and institutions in Austria, e.g. the Austrian Research Promotion Agency FFG, the Austrian Promotional Bank AWS, and us as ABA seamlessly work together to bring high potential companies to Austria” adds René Tritscher, CEO at Austrian Business Agency.
*“We are very glad that Godot chose Austria for the expansion in Europe. Being Austria’s national investment promotion agency, we support international companies that want to settle in the country, and being able to assist young and aspiring companies like Godot is a pleasure indeed. Austria offers an excellent framework for high-tech, research intensive companies with an abundance of grants and subsidies, and its central location provides the ideal access point for Western as well as Eastern Europe. We are looking forward to supporting more startups and scaleups from Japan in the future!”*says Matthias Adelwoehrer, Director Asia at Austrian Business Agency.
「欧州拠点となるウィーンでの会社設立、心よりお祝い申し上げます。ジェトロでは日本発スタートアップの海外展開を支援しており、ジェトロ・ウィーン事務所としましても、Godot様のウィーンをベースにした展開につきまして、当地関係機関とも連携しながら引き続きサポートさせて頂きます。」 “Congratulations on the establishment of your company in Vienna, the base in Europe. At JETRO, we support the overseas expansion of Japanese startups. As the JETRO Vienna office, we will continue to support Godot’s expansion based in Vienna, in collaboration with local organizations.” says Tatsuo Kamino, JETRO Wien