International Matchmaking
From Frankfurt to Yokohama: As part of the City of Frankfurt am Main’s delegation trip in September 2026 to Japan, Frankfurt Forward travelled to Yokohama together with Mike Josef and our jury members Bernhard Grieb and Eric Menges, to strengthen ties between the startup ecosystems of the two partner cities.
As Frankfurt’s partner city, Yokohama offers many touchpoints for collaboration between startups, corporates and public institutions. As part of our International Matchmaking program, four startups from the Frankfurt Forward network presented their solutions at YOKOHAMA CONNÉCT powered by Venture Café Tokyo.
- WIANCO OTT Robotics GmbH – EMMA, an AI solution for automating complex business processes
- Threedy – instant3Dhub for the efficient use of industrial 3D data
- ENVIOTECH – smart retrofit solutions for street lighting
- MAGNOTHERM – sustainable magnetocaloric cooling technology
Highlights of the trip:
- Pitches in Yokohama: Four startups from FrankfurtRheinMain showcased their innovations to the Japanese ecosystem.
- On-site matchmaking: WIANCO OTT Robotics joined the delegation in person and held first meetings with potential Japanese partners.
- Ecosystem exchange: Visits to TECH HUB YOKOHAMA and YOXO Box showed how much potential emerges when cities, economic development agencies, location marketing and startups connect.
A big thank you to everyone involved for the open conversations and new perspectives. We look forward to continuing the exchange between Frankfurt and Yokohama!