SoftBank Corp. (“SoftBank”), a subsidiary of SoftBank Group Corp. (TOKYO:9984), today announced that it launched a second round for its ‘SoftBank Innovation Program’, a program that seeks a wide range of innovative solutions and technologies from around the world to consider for commercialization.

The SoftBank Innovation Program’s aim is to create new value by combining the innovative solutions and technologies of other companies with SoftBank’s own resources. SoftBank selects applications that it deems to be innovative and superior, and then provides funding for prototype development, environments for test marketing and other forms of assistance. Based on the test marketing results, SoftBank considers product or service commercialization.

The second round of the SoftBank Innovation Program is open to six categories—Smart Homes*1, Connected Vehicles*2, Healthcare, FinTech*3, VR (virtual reality) / AR (augmented reality) / MR (mixed reality) and Drones—and applications will be accepted at the SoftBank Innovation Program official website. An explanation session will be held in Tokyo on August 19 for applicants or those planning to apply.

*1 Residences with home appliances and equipment that are connected to the Internet.
*2 Vehicles that are always connected to the Internet.
*3 Financial services that utilize IT.