Each main tech convention has themes. Most are imprecise sufficient to imply all the things and nothing on the similar time. SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 is doing one thing completely different — 4 tightly outlined expertise domains, every backed by dwell demonstrations, devoted exhibit flooring, and classes that includes the folks really 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 probably be on the bottom deciding on one standout semifinalist from the SusHi Tech Problem to advance to the TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield 200 — one of the crucial 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 International Ventures) lower by means of the noise to look at the place AI is genuinely deployed at scale and the place the actual dangers lie. On the ground, AI-themed college startups pitch alongside international gamers, and the AI Movie Pageant 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 study how software-defined autos are reshaping transportation. Bodily AI isn’t a future development. It’s in Tokyo on April 27.
Resilience — the cities that survive what’s coming
Eva Chen (Pattern Micro) and NEC’s Noboru Nakatani deal with cyber protection, whereas high local weather tech VCs from Breakthrough Vitality and Cleantech Group study 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 change 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 possibly can nonetheless be there
Lacking SusHi Tech Tokyo doesn’t must 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’ll be able to 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
Word: Please notice that some classes will not be accessible for viewing.
Apply for remote participation with on-site staff support here.
Can’t swing that both? Ticket holders can stream classes on-line and faucet into the programming from wherever they’re. Browse the full session list here.
At the side of the startup occasion, the Tokyo Metropolitan Authorities additionally hosts a gathering of leaders from 55 cities throughout 5 continents. They’ll talk about the theme of “A New City Future Constructed on Local weather and Catastrophe Resilience.” The town leaders’ summit is a part of G-NETS (International Metropolis Community for Sustainability), organized by the Tokyo Metropolitan Authorities since 2022 as a multicity discussion board to debate 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 basic audiences on YouTube in actual time and after the occasion.
SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 runs April 27–29 at Tokyo Massive Sight. Enterprise days are April 27–28; public day (free admission) is April 29. Register here.
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