SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026: A deal room for 60,000 attendees

SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026, scheduled for April 27–29, is designed to be the opposite of a traditional tech conference. Instead of passive attendance and standard panels, the event is structured around a “deal room” model. The primary goal of this setup is to facilitate 10,000 business meetings for its projected 60,000 attendees. Rather than relying on casual networking, the event uses an app-based matchmaking engine to pre-book and track these interactions before participants arrive at the Tokyo Big Sight venue. The event divides its schedule between Business days on April 27–28 and a Public Day on April 29. While the programming includes 151 sessions, the primary focus remains heavily on direct business matchmaking.

A key feature of this model is the “reverse pitch” format, where corporate partners and city governments present their unsolved challenges to startups, rather than startups pitching to them. A total of 62 partner companies—including Sony, Google, Microsoft, and Mizuho—are hosting dedicated Open Innovation exhibits and sessions to foster corporate-startup collaboration. Additionally, the event features 12 domain-specific clusters, including logistics and climate tech, to organize these collaborative efforts. City leaders from 55 countries are also participating, with some municipal governments presenting public challenges to the international startup audience.

The event features 750 startup exhibitors, serving as a global entry point into Japan. Out of these exhibitors, 400 are international startups. City partners from 25 countries and regions are bringing cohorts to connect with Japanese capital and partners. The exhibition also highlights 45 “SusHi Tech Global Startups,” which are growth-stage Japanese companies backed by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government. For North American market connections, TechCrunch is participating as a media partner and organizer of the Startup Battlefield. Program manager Isabelle Johannessen will select one standout startup from the semifinalists to advance to the TechCrunch Disrupt Startup Battlefield 200.

For participants unable to travel to Tokyo, the event has established a remote participation system. Rather than offering a simple livestream, the organizers deploy on-site staff who carry devices displaying the remote participant’s face. This setup allows remote attendees to interact with exhibitors and on-site attendees in real time, facilitating face-to-face discussions from anywhere in the world.

Why it matters

The event shifts the focus of large-scale tech gatherings from passive networking to active deal-making. By utilizing a matchmaking engine and a reverse pitch format, the organizers aim to directly connect startups with capital and corporate partners to solve specific, real-world challenges.