Cascade Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya, Tokyo, Japan; Representative Director: Kazuki Miyauchi) has been selected for "Techstars Tokyo 2025," the global accelerator. Drawing applications from 120 countries and regions worldwide, the program put them through a rigorous screening with an acceptance rate of under 1%, selecting only 12 companies.
What is "Cascade"
"Cascade" is an ad optimization platform that supports the complex workflows that arise in day-to-day ad management, including analysis, decision-making, and budget allocation. It unifies metrics across ad platforms and delivers everything from conversational analysis and optimization recommendations through hands-on support for adjusting budget allocation. It is a product that helps cut the hours ad management takes, speed up decision-making, and maximize advertising results. (It is currently in beta and open to a limited group of users.)
The Cascade HOME screen
What is Techstars
Techstars was founded in 2006 and is now active in roughly 30 cities worldwide. It has invested in about 5,000 companies, produced 22 unicorns, and its portfolio has a combined market value of approximately $150 billion. Notable portfolio companies include SendGrid and DigitalOcean.
Program overview
This is a global acceleration program run through public-private collaboration involving JETRO, the Cabinet Office, the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry, and the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, among others. In 2025, applications from 120 countries and regions worldwide were screened at an acceptance rate of under 1%, and 12 companies including Cascade were selected. Taking this program as a starting point, we will accelerate the pace of our rollout in Japan while advancing validation for overseas expansion. Demo Day, the program's final showcase, is scheduled for November 11, 2025 in Tokyo.
Sign up to attend Demo Day here
Techstars Tokyo Demo Day
Comments from our mentors
Through this program, "Cascade" is supported by three outstanding global mentors who are helping us grow the business.
Aldrich Huang: A global entrepreneur with more than 15 years of experience expanding businesses in the United States, Europe, and Asia. Drawing on expertise in both law and business, he supports and advises startups around the world.
Message: Under CEO Kazuki, the whole team has high motivation and a clear business direction. An AI-powered digital marketing platform removes the language barrier in both directions — from overseas into Japan and from Japan out to the world — and optimizes marketing results. "Cascade" has the potential to transform the advertising industry, and with its professionalism and attention to detail, it is an outstanding service.
Svetlana Stotskaya: As a global marketing executive, mentor, awards judge, and speaker, she uses artificial intelligence to help brands of every size, from France to Singapore, succeed globally.
Message: I see "Cascade" as a game changer that will transform the automation of digital marketing. By easing the burden of running ads, it streamlines the process and makes better marketing campaigns possible. I am looking forward to their growth and cheering them on wholeheartedly.
Ron Drabkin: A serial entrepreneur in Silicon Valley who has been through many failures and three exits. He currently serves as a venture partner at a venture capital firm that has not yet been announced.
Message: Over these three months, it has been a real joy to watch Miyauchi's product take shape and reach the hands of beta users. I wish I'd had this product back when I was working in online advertising!
Comment from the CEO of Cascade
Kazuki Miyauchi, Representative Director, Cascade Inc.
"I am delighted that, as a Japanese company, we made it through the worldwide selection of "Techstars," a global VC and accelerator well known in the United States. Digital marketing is digital, and yet the work on the ground is still highly labor-intensive; we want to keep building a product that is genuinely usable there. We hope you will look forward to Cascade's progress from here. We are also recruiting users, albeit for the beta version, so we would be glad to hear from you."
Company overview
Company name: Cascade Inc.
Representative: Kazuki Miyauchi, Representative Director
Address: 1-1-3 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan
Founded: February 2025
Business: Development and operation of the ad optimization platform "Cascade"
