Masahiko Ishikawa, Representative Director, Executive Officer and President of Aidemy Inc.

Accelerating social progress by spreading cutting-edge technology

Representative Director, Executive Officer and President of Aidemy Inc.  Akihiko Ishikawa(Akihiko Ishikawa)

■ Profile
He graduated from the Faculty of Engineering at the University of Tokyo and dropped out of the graduate school. He specialized in environmental engineering while studying at university, and has used his experience in applied research into machine learning in the water treatment field to develop and provide "Aidemy," a reskilling service for DX/GX talent, and "Modeloy," a system in-house development support service. His publications include "A Book to Understand Mathematics for Artificial Intelligence Programming" (KADOKAWA/2018) and "Seven Rules for Introducing AI to Maximize ROI" (KADOKAWA/2020).

Aidemy Inc. has a mission to "economically implement cutting-edge technology." It also achieved an initial public offering on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market in June 2023. We spoke to President Ishikawa, who founded the company while still a student, about his journey growing it into a listed company.

■Becoming a teacher or starting a business

I enrolled in the Faculty of Letters, Division 3 at the University of Tokyo with the desire to become a teacher. However, after experiencing the success of small businesses I had tried to run in middle and high school, and being exposed to the products of student entrepreneurs, I began to feel a desire to start my own business. After realizing this desire, I joined KING, a business contest organization based at the University of Tokyo, where I learned the basics of business and began serving as its representative. I witnessed entrepreneurs changing the world with products I had created as a student, and I decided I wanted to work in a field that would impact more people than teaching. I decided to pursue entrepreneurship during my first and second years of university. Since many entrepreneurs have a science background and I wanted to start a technology-based company, I decided to switch to the Faculty of Engineering. After graduating from KING, I participated in various business contests and won one. It was a different idea from the current business of Aidemy, but the recognition I received and the fact that I had seen close colleagues succeed in starting their own businesses made me think, "I can do this too," so in June of my third year of university I started my current company, Aidemy, and even decided to take a leave of absence to focus on running the company.

■Market selection is the key to success

I tried various businesses, but they didn't get off the ground, so I went back to school. I was leaning towards job hunting, but I thought, "It would be a waste to give up now," and decided to try starting a business again. So, in order to change my environment, I decided to reset my company and start again, and in 2017 I received investment from a VC (venture capital) firm. Until then, I had been thinking about businesses on my own and doing what I wanted to do, but when I talked with a VC, they recommended AI, so I began to set my sights on the AI ​​market.

When I returned to school, I was researching optimizing water treatment using AI in a university lab, and I learned firsthand how difficult it is to learn AI from scratch. Sensing the potential for using AI in business in the future, I developed "Aidemy," an educational platform service that allows people to learn about cutting-edge fields such as AI online. As the service matched societal needs, the number of users grew explosively. Furthermore, I received investment from other VCs and expanded the business. Eventually, I was unable to find the time to attend graduate school, so I dropped out and focused on management.

■ Human resource development begins

Many companies are currently facing a shortage of digital and AI talent. Aidemy Business, a service for corporations, offers a solution to this problem. It offers a wide range of content, with over 180 courses ranging from basic knowledge to practical applied techniques, all of which are produced in-house. It's easier to understand if you think of it as a business model similar to Netflix.

However, human resource development is only the beginning. Our true goal is for the trained personnel to use their knowledge to create new technologies and solve problems using digital technology. For this reason, we are also developing a business where trained personnel work hand in hand with AIDEMY consultants to create systems. There are very few companies in Japan that offer this kind of support, and I think it is a major differentiator from other companies.

■ Future outlook

If we can shorten the 10 years it takes for the latest technology to spread throughout society to just five years, I believe that will be the same as advancing the world for those five years. That's why I want to accelerate the spread of new technology by economically implementing cutting-edge technology. Currently, I'm focusing on environmentally friendly technology, or GX (Green Transformation), and I want to encourage a change in people's values ​​through aggressive marketing and drive technological evolution.

Furthermore, as a listed company, we aim to grow even further, catching up with and surpassing the great entrepreneurs who came before us. Going public is like finishing a 400-meter sprint and now starting a 42.195-kilometer full marathon. Going public is a milestone of sorts, and from here on out we want to run ahead and run through a journey that is more than 100 times longer.

■Message to university students

In recent years, it has become commonplace not only to change jobs from large companies to startups, but also to move in the opposite direction. If you are particularly interested in working for a large company, try taking a year off from school and working at a startup, with the mindset of studying abroad. By exposing yourself to a variety of environments, you will find that the experiences you gain there will broaden your horizons and increase your options. Just as an athlete might not have been successful as a professional if they had played a different sport, I hope you will find an environment that suits you from the many options available. To that end, I encourage you to take on various challenges and gain as much experience as possible during your student years.

Student Newspaper August 1, 2023 Keio University, 2nd year student, Sayori Yamamoto