Promoting Social Change with the Sony Spirit and IoT Technology (EP 1)
JASMY’s entrepreneurial background and philosophy
On September 16, xDX, a widely recognized new media in Japan, published its interview with President Sato of JASMY, “Promoting Social Change with the Sony Spirit and IoT Technology”. The article consisting of three parts covers the history from his time at Sony to the present at Jasmy.
Part I — The Creator of VIAO, an Embodiment of the Sony Spirit
Part II — Why Former Sony Executives Came Together to Start a Business
Part III — The Future of Secure and Flexible Data Use is Upon Us
We will bring the highlights of this interview in two episodes. In this episode, we will focus on the entrepreneurial background of JASMY.
A What is the key to innovation and breakthrough?
First of all, President Sato cited his own experience in creating the VIAO brand at Sony to analyze and explain the essence of digital transformation. He believed that it was Sony’s high acceptance and inclusion of employees’ ideas and ways of thinking, as well as its high recognition of the concept of diversity, that enabled Sony to complete the digital transformation ahead of the world.
JASMY’s startup team comes from Sony, so the team itself is en embodiment of the Sony culture, based on which JASMY is able to make breakthroughs and innovations.
President Sato believes that diversity is the key to innovation and breakthroughs. Although most of today’s experts believe that connecting IoT and blockchain is a huge risk, JASMY goes the opposite way and accomplishes innovation and breakthroughs through this creative viewpoint that differs from the mainstream view.
B What was JASMY’s entrepreneurial background in combining the strengths of manufacturing with IoT and blockchain technology to launch a blockchain business?
President Sato believes that today’s world of cyber security issues, cloud technology and ITC have made the Internet world not as rosy as it was thought to be. In this context, he believes that edge computing will eventually change the world and create more possibilities, so the future of IoT is not made possible by cloud computing based on large servers, but through the convergence with blockchain technology. This will also create more possibilities for Japanese companies, as Japan possesses the level of manufacturing capability needed to overtake Silicon Valley. Jasmy’s original goal was to bring the best devices to market, make them more powerful, and combine the advantages of IT to create a new business model.
C With that said, does it mean that JASMY will start with hardware as the starting point and not blockchain technology?
President Sato denied this claim, arguing that the starting point of JASMY is neither the device nor the blockchain technology, but the advent of the Fourth Industrial Revolution to the world. The Fourth Industrial Revolution has the potential to address Japan’s declining birth rate, aging population and labor shortage. For example, if the Internet of Things can create an environment where people who are raising children at home can work from home, this could be a huge opportunity.
He believes that IoT and digital transformation is a means to an end, not an end in itself. The same is true of blockchain. Jasmy is not using blockchain to change anything, but to achieve something. Jasmy is focusing on blockchain to leverage the distributed technology’s ability to develop IoT.
About xDX
xDX is an emerging media company run by Pomalo Corporation that focuses on advanced technology and the application of them in digital transformation. It has taken Japan by storm with the concept of “Join the Chaos — Enjoy the Chaos Together. The interviewer, Yuichiro Yamada, is an up-and-coming writer who is gaining popularity among the younger generation as a favorite of the DX era.
