2026-06-01

NanoFrontier Selected for the Tokyo Metropolitan Small and Medium Enterprise Support Center's 'Management Foundation Strengthening Program in Response to Changes in the Business Environment (General Course)'

NanoFrontier Selected for Grant Program Administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan Small and Medium Enterprise Support Center

NanoFrontier Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Sendai, Miyagi; Representative Director: Seiya Inoue; hereinafter “NanoFrontier”) is pleased to announce its selection for the “Management Foundation Strengthening Program in Response to Changes in the Business Environment (General Course)” administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan Small and Medium Enterprise Support Center (公益財団法人東京都中小企業振興公社).

This grant program is designed to support businesses that recognize the changes in the operating environment brought about by the post-COVID era and other factors, and that are undertaking initiatives to “deepen and advance their existing businesses” in ways recognized as contributing to a stronger management foundation. The program subsidizes a portion of the costs required for such initiatives.

NanoFrontier Grant Program Selection

Background of the Selection

NanoFrontier provides contract R&D services—centered on the design, prototyping, and process optimization of functional nanoparticles—to chemical manufacturers, materials development companies, and research institutions. The company’s work is grounded in nanoparticle synthesis technologies that have been researched at Tohoku University for over 30 years.

The competitiveness of a contract R&D business is determined by the speed of the prototype-and-evaluate cycle and the level of reproducibility it can deliver. However, as a recently founded company, NanoFrontier’s experimental operations have relied heavily on manual work and a small team. As the volume of contract projects grew, delivery timelines tended to lengthen, and additional man-hours were required to prepare experimental records. At the same time, market demand for faster R&D turnaround and investment interest in reducing hazardous manual operations have been rising, while advances in robotics and AI have made flexible automation feasible even for small teams.

Against this backdrop, NanoFrontier submitted an application to automate its experimental processes—the core of its existing business—and to build a robust data infrastructure. The application was recognized and selected.

Planned Initiatives

Through this grant program, NanoFrontier will advance the following initiatives.

Building Experimental Automation

NanoFrontier will introduce a robotic arm into its laboratory and construct an automated experiment cell capable of standardizing and automatically executing the full sequence of operations involved in nanoparticle synthesis: pre-processing, dispensing, stirring, temperature control, sample collection, and experimental recordkeeping. Safety interlocks, jigs, and robot control scenarios will be developed in collaboration with external contractors, and key protocols will be transitioned to automated operation.

Establishing a Data Infrastructure

NanoFrontier will integrate an electronic laboratory notebook with sensor and video logs to build a data infrastructure in which experimental conditions and results are stored consistently. By combining smart-glass video capture of experiments with AI-driven automatic recordkeeping, the company will accumulate and manage experimental data while eliminating human error.

NanoFrontier Experimental Automation and Data Infrastructure

Comment from the CEO

“One year after founding, expanding our experimental capacity has become the single most important challenge as contract projects continue to grow. We are truly delighted that this selection will allow us to accelerate the deployment of our robotic arm and data infrastructure. We will build an experimental operation that does not depend on headcount, and establish a clear competitive advantage in delivery time, reproducibility, and quality for our clients.”

Seiya Inoue, Representative Director

About the Management Foundation Strengthening Program in Response to Changes in the Business Environment (General Course)

This grant program, administered by the Tokyo Metropolitan Small and Medium Enterprise Support Center, subsidizes costs incurred by small and medium-sized enterprises and micro-businesses as they undertake initiatives to “deepen or advance their existing businesses” in response to changes in the operating environment such as those brought about by the post-COVID era. The subsidy rate is up to two-thirds of eligible costs, with a maximum grant amount of ¥8,000,000.

Official website: https://www.tokyo-kosha.or.jp/support/josei/jigyo/kankyo-ippan/index.html

Company Profile

  • Company Name: NanoFrontier Co., Ltd.
  • Representative: Seiya Inoue, Representative Director
  • Address: Room 215, Material Solutions Center (MaSC), Tohoku University, 2-1-1 Katahira, Aoba-ku, Sendai-shi, Miyagi Prefecture
  • Established: April 7, 2025
  • Business Activities:
    • R&D, manufacturing, and sales of reagents and functional materials using organic nanoparticle technologies
    • Contract manufacturing of organic nanoparticles and provision of related technologies
    • Technology licensing and consulting in the field of organic nanoparticle technologies
  • Website: https://nanofrontier.jp

Last updated: 2026-06-01