Build with Japan

Welcome to Build with Japan, a show where we bring on guests from tech, business, politics, and culture to talk about all things Japan. For updates on our future content and in-person events, follow our newsletter here: http://eepurl.com/gjed2T

Build with Japan is a business podcast hosted by Coral Capital, with 32 episodes on record and a Required Pod Score of 80.

Coral Capital hosts Build with Japan, a business show with 32 episodes published.

Our AI reads these to draft pitches. Use them as grounding for a pitch that cites a real guest and a specific topic.

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  Episode #1

  How Japan un-banned defense investing, Anduril, Terra Drone, and the 2026 white paper | Build with Japan #1

  Oct 1, 202640 minS1

  “Things happen slowly in Japan until they don’t.” In the first episode of Build with Japan, Coral Capital Partner Rie Yano sits down with Founding Partner & CEO James Riney to unpack Japan's defense tech awakening. James tells the inside story of how a firm that is "not a defense tech investor per se" ended up helping unwind the decades-old side letter restrictions keeping venture money out of defense, a change he expected to take three years that landed in six months. Also: Why Coral is investing in Defense Inside the 2026 bōei hakusho, and why Japan is adopting AI and drones out of demographic necessity The public vibe shift: Rakuten stepping into defense drones, boycott calls fizzling, and support for strengthening the SDF tripling since 2009 Terra Drone's interceptor drone win Anduril's plan to pour hundreds of millions, maybe billions, into building in Japan Connect with us: James Riney: LinkedIn X Rie Yano: LinkedIn X Coral Capital: https://coralcap.co/ Chapters 00:00 Intro 01:06 Why We Are Looking at Defense 09:33 The 2026 Defense White Paper 16:37 Rakuten Enters the Defense Sector 20:20 Terra Drone Deep Dive 27:40 Who Should Build Japan's Defense Base? 31:03 Key Players in Japan’s Defense Tech

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  Build with Japan

  Video Models, Robot Brains, and a $40M Bet on Japan | Runway CEO Cristóbal Valenzuela

  Aug 25, 202645 min

  "How do you use AI to generate anything you want?" That's the question Cristóbal Valenzuela, Co-Founder and CEO of Runway, has spent almost eight years answering, building what has grown from a niche creative tool into a company now expanding into enterprise partnerships and physical AI, backed by a fresh $40M commitment to Japan. In this episode, Cris breaks down why video models are quietly becoming the missing brain behind robotics, and why he believes the next era of AI will be won by companies that can continue to outrun their own success. He shares: How Runway skipped the traditional Japan playbook and still won enterprise deals Why Japan is already Runway's third-largest market Why VLAs struggle to scale, and how world models can become the brains of every robot How some of the biggest AI labs are "storytelling labs" Why Runway aims to reinvent itself every two to three months Connect with Cristóbal Valenzuela: https://www.linkedin.com/in/cvalenzuelab/ https://x.com/c_valenzuelab Connect with Tiffany Kayo: https://www.linkedin.com/in/tiffanykayo/ https://x.com/tiffanykayo If you're working on something ambitious and Building with Japan, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us here: https://coralcap.co/contact/?lang=en

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  Build with Japan

  Why the World Can't Build Without Japan | Lux Capital Grace Isford

  Jun 1, 202641 min

  "I don't want AI being controlled by Beijing or the Bay Area, and I want Japan to have the opportunity to shine." ¥10 trillion. That's how serious Japan is about building its next generation of unicorns. Grace Isford and James Riney have been watching this shift happen in real time, and in this episode, they break down exactly what it means. Japan dominates 90% of the global photoresist market. It supplies 90% of the steel that builds the world's nuclear reactors. And now, with government backing at an unprecedented scale, it's betting big on becoming a deep tech superpower. In this episode, Grace Isford and James Riney break down why the world can't build without Japan. They share: Why Japan never actually stopped innovating; it just went invisible How the US-Japan partnership is becoming the most critical alliance in global tech Why sovereign AI matters and who controls it Japan's ¥10T roadmap for building its next generation of unicorns Why defense, nuclear, and semiconductors are Japan's next frontier Connect with Grace Isford: https://www.linkedin.com/in/grace-isford-04123081/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/lux-capital/ Connect with James Riney: https://www.linkedin.com/in/jamesriney/ https://www.linkedin.com/company/coralcapital/ Connect with Tim Romero: https://www.disruptingjapan.com/tim/ https://www.linkedin.com/in/timromero/ If you're working on something ambitious or Building with Japan, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us here: https://coralcap.co/?lang=en

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  Build with Japan

  Nuclear Fuel and the US-Japan Energy Alliance | General Matter CEO Scott Nolan

  Apr 20, 20261h 18m

  "There was no company to invest in. It would have to be started." Scott Nolan spent all of 2023 looking for a company solving America's nuclear fuel crisis. When he couldn't find one, he started General Matter instead. The US once supplied 86% of the world's enriched uranium. Today it has zero. Russia controls half the market, with China accelerating fast. General Matter just closed a $900M DOE contract and a $2.4B EXIM financing deal to supply Japan, announced the same week the Strait of Hormuz closed. In this episode, Scott makes the case that nuclear fuel is the linchpin of the entire energy transition, and that getting it wrong is a national security issue not just for America but for every allied nation. He shares: How America handed the uranium market to Russia without anyone noticing The SpaceX playbook applied to nuclear enrichment What the $2.4B US-Japan deal means for energy security Why Japan keeps falling into the same energy trap What the next five years at General Matter actually look like Will the west be able to regain its control? Connect with Scott Nolan: https://x.com/ScottNolan https://x.com/generalmatter Connect James Riney: https://x.com/james_riney https://x.com/coral_capital If you're working on something ambitious or Building with Japan, we'd love to hear from you! Get in touch with us here: https://coralcap.co/?lang=en

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  Build with Japan

  How Sony Became the Entertainment Giant Nobody Saw Coming | Sony AI President Michael Spranger

  Feb 26, 202648 minS0

  <p>"There is no company that has this portfolio."Michael Spranger isn't exaggerating. As COO at Sony Research and president of Sony AI, he's watched Sony transform from a TV company into a $166B entertainment empire.In this episode with Tiffany Kayo, Michael breaks down Sony's AI strategy: what they choose to build (and what they ignore).Key insights:- Sony's shift from electronics to entertainment- Why PlayStation is now their biggest business- GT Sophy: the racing AI agent - Sony sensors are inside half the world's smartphones- Japan's 10-year manufacturing window- Why kando drives everything Sony buildsConnect with us...

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