Innovation Kyoto 2021 Investment Limited Partnership ("KYOTO-iCAP No.2 Fund"), with Kyoto University Innovation Capital Corporation ("Kyoto iCAP") (Head Office: Sakyo-ku, Kyoto; Representative Director: Kimi Kusumi) as general partner, has made an additional investment in (headquartered in Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Keisuke Harashima, Representative Director; hereinafter referred to as "MZT").

Outline of this investment
MZT is a start-up company that develops semiconductor integrated circuits (ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit) dedicated to genome analysis to accelerate genome analysis in Next Generation Sequencers (NGS: Next Generation Sequencer) in collaboration with national universities. MZT is a startup that develops semiconductor integrated circuits (ASIC: Application Specific Integrated Circuit) dedicated to genome analysis to accelerate genome analysis in NGS (Next Generation Sequencer).

Genome analysis is a technology that analyzes the DNA sequences that make up the genetic information of living organisms. It is used in a wide range of fields in medicine, including the elucidation of disease-causing genes, drug discovery, and cancer genome diagnosis, and has become an indispensable technology for the realization of precision medicine. In genome analysis, DNA fragments measured by NGS are stitched together to determine the entire DNA sequence. Data processing requires a computer with advanced computational processing power, but the lengthy processing time and machine cost have been a barrier to the widespread use of genome analysis. To solve these issues, MZT has developed a dedicated ASIC specialized for genome analysis, aiming at high-speed data processing and low cost.

Kyoto iCAP has made an additional investment of 20 million yen in the hope that MZT's dedicated ASIC for genome analysis will contribute to solving the data processing speed and high costs that have been the rate-limiting factors in genome analysis. With this funding, MZT will proceed with the evaluation of an accelerator that incorporates the high-speed genome analysis-dedicated ASIC it has designed.

Mitate Zepto Technica, Inc.　summary
Establishment July 2020
Business Development and sales of semiconductors dedicated to genome analysis
Head Office Location Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Keisuke Harashima, Representative Director
HP:https://mitatezeptotechnica.com/

Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd.(Kyoto-iCAP)About
As a wholly-owned subsidiary of Kyoto University, Kyoto-iCAP provides investment and other business support to companies that utilize research results generated by Kyoto University and other national universities. We currently operate the Innovation Kyoto 2016 Investment Limited Partnership ("Kyoto-iCAP 1 Fund") (established in January 2016) with a total value of 16 billion yen and the Kyoto-iCAP 2 Fund (established in January 2021) with a total value of 18.1 billion yen. The Kyoto-iCAP No. 1 Fund has a maturity of up to 20 years, and the Kyoto-iCAP No. 2 Fund has a maturity of up to 17 years, making it possible to provide long-term support for the practical application of research results from Kyoto University, which has strengths in basic research. The Kyoto-iCAP 2 Fund has a maximum maturity of 17 years. In addition, Kyoto-iCAP No. 2 Fund will invest a portion of the funds in ventures originating from national universities other than Kyoto University.

Contact information for inquiries
Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd.
36-1 Yoshida Honmachi, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto 606-8317, Japan
Osami Kono, Senior Officer, Business Development Department
TEL: 075-753-7588 FAX: 075-753-7592
E-mail: info@kyoto-unicap.co.jp