Relic's deep-tech fund T-CAF backs first startup, Toyama University's LABTECHS
What's the deal? RelicDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Tokyo-based business incubator, has invested in LABTECHS, a Toyama UniversityDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → spinout developing faster sterility and bacterial testing products. The deal is the first for Toyama Co-Accel Fund (T-CAF), the regional deep-tech fund where RelicDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → serves as general partner. No investment amount was disclosed.
What does LABTECHS do? Founded in September 2021 as Toyama University's first spinout, it began selling a rapid sterility testing kit, Decontami-Tech, in July 2026. It is also developing a new reagent to shorten bacterial testing times, backed by government research funding.
Why it matters: Sterility checks are critical when making drugs and regenerative medicine products, but conventional tests take too long. LABTECHS aims to speed up results, helping clinicians start treatment sooner and letting short-shelf-life products like platelet preparations ship faster.
Why now? T-CAF began operating in June, backed by Toyama University, Hokuriku BankDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and local investors. It plans to invest in about 25 companies over five years, pairing capital with Relic's business support — and LABTECHS is the first test of that model.
What's the endgame? Through its Deep Tech Innovation Center, Relic will help LABTECHS expand sales of Decontami-Tech, set up mass production of the new reagent, and build partnerships with drug and regenerative medicine firms.
The signal: The deal reflects a push to close Japan's regional funding gap. Roughly 60% of growth in university startups is now outside Tokyo, yet about 80% of funding stays in the capital — making T-CAF a bet that Hokuriku research can become commercial products.
Read more: prtimes.jp
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
