Technology Scouting

Professional technology evaluation to support your investment decisions

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Technology Scouting

Startup Discovery & Technical Due Diligence for VC/CVC

Professional technology evaluation to support your investment decisions.

For VC and CVC investment professionals, deep tech investment decisions require specialized technical expertise that's difficult to maintain in-house. Our Technology Scouting service provides end-to-end support for technology evaluation—from discovering promising startups in specific technology domains, conducting technical due diligence, to creating investment candidate shortlists.

For VCs and CVCs Facing These Challenges

  • Need comprehensive lists of promising startups in target technology areas
  • Want objective evaluation of technical differentiation and feasibility
  • Need technical due diligence on investment candidates
  • Looking to deep-dive into specific investment themes (nuclear fusion, quantum, robotics, etc.)
  • Want to evaluate collaboration potential from a technical perspective (CVC)
  • Need intelligence on promising international startups

Service Menu

Startup Scouting

Comprehensive research of promising startups in specific technology domains, delivering long-lists and shortlists of investment candidates

  • Global startup database utilization
  • Technical differentiation, team, and funding status evaluation
  • Investment stage and valuation organization
  • Recommended investment candidate shortlist
Technical Due Diligence

Expert evaluation of investment candidate technology, clarifying technical risks and opportunities for investment decisions

  • Technology uniqueness and patent portfolio evaluation
  • Technical feasibility and scalability analysis
  • Competitive technology comparison
  • Technology roadmap validation
Thematic Market Maps

Comprehensive market maps covering technology trends, market structure, and key players for specific technology themes

  • Technology domain segmentation
  • Value chain and ecosystem analysis
  • Key startup and corporate positioning
  • Investment opportunity whitespace identification
Collaboration Assessment (CVC)

Evaluation of synergy potential between investment candidates and parent company business from both technical and business perspectives

  • Synergy area identification with parent business
  • Technical collaboration and co-development potential
  • Collaboration scheme options (PoC, JV, etc.)
  • Business unit collaboration scenario development

Scouting Process (5 Steps)

1
Investment Theme & Criteria Definition

Target technology domain, investment stage, geography, evaluation criteria clarification

2
Long-list Development

Global database research, 50-100 company long-list creation

3
Screening & Evaluation

Technical, team, and funding evaluation screening

4
Shortlist Creation

10-20 promising candidate shortlist with detailed profiles

5
Report & Briefing

Research report delivery, investment team briefing, Q&A session

Focus Research Areas

Energy Tech

Nuclear fusion, next-gen batteries, hydrogen, renewables

AI & Computing

Generative AI, quantum computing, edge AI

Robotics

Humanoids, AMRs, industrial robots

PropTech

Real estate tech, smart buildings, construction DX

HealthTech

Digital health, medical AI, drug discovery

Mobility

Autonomous driving, eVTOL, EV technologies

Research Theme Example: Generative AI & LLM

Our expert team with hands-on AI experience delivers deep-dive research for VC/CVC investment decisions.

Model Performance Analysis
  • Technical comparison between domestic and international LLMs
  • Parameter scale vs. inference performance correlation
  • Fine-tuning vs. scratch development trade-offs
Cost & Business Viability
  • LLM development investment requirements (compute, talent, data)
  • Inference cost and infrastructure analysis
  • Sustainable business model requirements
Training & Data Strategy
  • Technical factors affecting training duration
  • Industry-specific model development approaches
  • Data preprocessing and structuring trends
Market & Player Mapping
  • Comprehensive mapping and classification of LLM players
  • Technical approach and business model comparison
  • Value chain positioning and competitive landscape
Use Cases & Market Opportunity
  • Industry-specific deployment cases and success factors
  • Enterprise market needs and challenges
  • Market expansion scenarios and investment opportunities
Evaluation & Benchmarks
  • Major benchmark tests and evaluation criteria
  • Objectivity assessment of proprietary benchmarks
  • Practical evaluation metric priorities

Project Duration Guide

Service Type Duration Example Scope
Spot Scouting 3-4 weeks 30 startups in specific domain + overview profiles
Thematic Deep Dive 6-8 weeks 100 company long-list → 15 company shortlist + detailed evaluation + market map
Technical DD 4-6 weeks Technical due diligence on 1-3 investment candidates + evaluation report
Annual Retainer 12 months Monthly technology trend updates + spot research (4x per year)

Why Qualiteg

Deep Tech Expertise

Our team includes senior technical researchers with 20+ years of IT/AI experience, consultants specializing in deep tech and emerging technologies, and industry experts. We provide technology evaluations that truly understand the substance, not just surface-level analysis.

Practitioner's Perspective

As an AI technology company building our own products, we evaluate technology feasibility and scalability from a practitioner's viewpoint. We can accurately assess "impressive technology but difficult to commercialize" scenarios.

Silicon Valley Connection

Our team lead is based in San Francisco with direct connections to the Silicon Valley startup ecosystem. We deliver first-hand insights on the latest trends and promising startups that are difficult to access from Japan.

CONTACT

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please feel free to contact us.

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