BlueWX Selected for NEDO’s Deep-Tech Startups Support Program

UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd. (Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Kosuke Ueda; hereinafter “UTokyo IPC”) is pleased to announce that its portfolio company, BlueWX Co.,Ltd. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Kazunari Watanabe; hereinafter “BlueWX”), has been selected for the Deep-Tech Startups Support Program (DTSU) under the Deep Tech Startup Support Fund operated by the New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization (NEDO).
This selection was made through the support of UTokyo IPC as a designated partner venture capital firm of the DTSU.

BlueWX: Enhancing Safety, Efficiency, and Carbon Neutrality in the Aviation Industry

Founded in July 2023 through an industry-academia collaboration between the ANA Group and Keio University, BlueWX aims to realize safer and more efficient air transportation. It achieves this by reducing fuel consumption and CO₂ emissions through highly accurate, AI-driven weather forecasting models.

Among the models under development, BlueWX’s turbulence prediction model has achieved approximately 2.7x greater accuracy compared to existing methods, based on deep learning trained on ten years of turbulence occurrence data over Japan’s airspace. The model has been tested in trial operations involving approximately 2,500 pilots and refined using additional data from international airlines. Going forward, BlueWX plans to expand the model’s coverage globally and enhance temporal resolution.

Building upon the methods cultivated through turbulence forecasting, BlueWX is also developing a global wind prediction model. As the aviation industry advances toward carbon neutrality, optimizing flight routes to minimize fuel consumption has become increasingly critical. High-accuracy predictions of wind speed and direction are essential inputs for such optimization systems, and BlueWX is committed to meeting this industry demand.

Comment from Takashi Chris Furukawa, Managing Partner, UTokyo IPC

“BlueWX’s technology goes beyond simple machine learning — it is grounded in deep meteorological science and modeling expertise cultivated at institutions such as Keio University. Its practical value has already been demonstrated through trial use in actual flight operations, outperforming conventional forecasts. Given its uniqueness and proven effectiveness, we expect BlueWX’s solution to be adopted globally, starting from Japan. This grant will accelerate the development of a global-scale model, which is critical for international expansion. We look forward to supporting BlueWX as a university-originated Japanese startup on its path to becoming a global unicorn.”

About the NEDO Deep-Tech Startups Support Program (DTSU)

NEDO’s DTSU Program provides support for deep tech startups working to develop breakthrough technologies that require long-term R&D and significant capital investment, with the potential to address major global societal challenges such as carbon neutrality, resource circulation, and economic security. The program consists of three phases: STS (early-stage R&D), PCA (late-stage R&D), and DMP (mass production demonstration).

Contact

UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd.
Entrepreneur Lab 261, South Research Building, The University of Tokyo
7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo 113-0033, Japan
TEL: +81-3-3830-0200 / FAX: +81-3-3830-0183
Email: info2@utokyo-ipc.co.jp
Contact: Takashi Chris Furukawa