{"rewrite":{"id":"r_92e5c831ec69676384a83471","clusterId":"c_2c567ca7ca895ddda4c6c428","slug":"ivs2026-panel-pitches-real-world-businesses-as-ai-antithesis","model":"deepseek-v4-flash","headline":"IVS2026 Panel Pitches Real-World Businesses as AI Antithesis","summary":"At the IVS2026 startup conference, a panel explored why entrepreneurs with AI backgrounds are betting on physical-world businesses: lost item recovery, VR experiences, and rice ball shops. Moderator Koki Tanaka framed the session as a return to the real world, an antithesis to the AI trend. Panelists Ryu Wada (find), Tetsuya Ohashi (CinemaLeap), and Miyuki Kawarada (Rice Platformer) each explained their pivot from digital to tangible ventures.","whyItMatters":"The session highlights a contrarian investment thesis: even as AI dominates, there is growing interest in businesses rooted in physical human needs, from bathing to rice balls.","webCardHtml":"\u003cp\u003eMiyuki Kawarada, who runs the rice ball shop Oni \u0026amp; Co., studied AI machine learning and image recognition at the University of Tokyo. She attended international conferences but lacked confidence in building an AI company from Japan. Instead, she saw an empty category: Japanese fast food. Her company Rice Platformer treats rice balls as a platform for any country\u0026#39;s ingredients, much like hamburgers and tacos.\u003c/p\u003e\u003cp\u003eModerator Koki Tanaka of Incubate Fund opened the session by citing a US bathhouse startup that raised funds with sales of 20 billion yen and a market cap over 100 billion yen. He called the panel a deliberate turn away from the AI trend toward human-specific challenges. The three panelists-Ryu Wada of find (lost items), Tetsuya Ohashi of CinemaLeap (VR experiences), and Kawarada-shared a common thread: choosing the gritty physical world over digital abstraction.\u003c/p\u003e","blueskyPost":"At IVS2026, three entrepreneurs with AI backgrounds made the case for lost items, VR, and rice balls as real-world businesses that gain value in an AI-dominated era.","twitterPost":"At IVS2026, a panel of founders with AI expertise argued for physical-world businesses: lost item recovery, VR experiences, and rice ball shops. The moderator called it a return to the real world as an antithesis to AI hype.","threadsPost":null,"newsletterBlurb":"At the IVS2026 startup conference, a panel explored why entrepreneurs with AI backgrounds are betting on tangible businesses like lost item recovery, VR experiences, and rice ball shops. Moderator Koki Tanaka framed the session as a return to the real world, an antithesis to the AI trend. Panelists shared their pivots from digital to physical, citing human-specific needs as a moat.","attributionJson":"[{\"source\":\"4Gamer.net\",\"url\":\"https://www.4gamer.net/games/991/G999104/20260702022/\",\"title\":\"Winning in the \\\"Real World\\\" in the Age of AI Dominance: Lost Items, VR, and Rice Balls - Three Companies Discuss the Strongest Moat of Getting Your Hands Dirty [IVS2026]\"}]","lintFlagsJson":null,"lintHits":0,"costUsd":0,"inputTokens":4231,"outputTokens":1730,"status":"published","repairAttempts":0,"nextRepairAt":null,"factsAttemptedAt":1782988390,"createdAt":"2026-07-02T10:23:13.000Z","publishedAt":"2026-07-02T10:24:50.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-02T10:24:50.000Z"},"cluster":{"id":"c_2c567ca7ca895ddda4c6c428","canonicalTitle":"AI全盛の時代に「現実世界」で勝つ。落とし物・VR・おにぎり，3社が語る泥臭さという最強のモート［IVS2026］","representativeArticleId":"a_91c0331ed0da481a655efd85","sourceCount":1,"writtenSourceCount":1,"writeAttempts":0,"isSolo":true,"entitiesJson":"{\"anime_titles\":[],\"manga_titles\":[],\"work_titles\":[],\"studios\":[],\"people\":[],\"type\":\"event\",\"domain\":\"industry\",\"is_roundup\":false}","contentType":"news","status":"published","firstSeenAt":"2026-07-02T09:24:33.000Z","lastSeenAt":"2026-07-02T09:24:33.000Z","updatedAt":"2026-07-02T10:24:50.000Z"},"attribution":[{"source":"4Gamer.net","url":"https://www.4gamer.net/games/991/G999104/20260702022/","title":"AI全盛の時代に「現実世界」で勝つ。落とし物・VR・おにぎり，3社が語る泥臭さという最強のモート［IVS2026］"}],"entities":{"anime_titles":[],"manga_titles":[],"work_titles":[],"studios":[],"people":[],"type":"event","domain":"industry","is_roundup":false},"keyFacts":["At the IVS2026 startup conference, a panel titled 'Return to the Real World' explored physical-world businesses as an alternative to AI.","Miyuki Kawarada, founder of rice ball shop Oni \u0026 Co. and Rice Platformer, studied AI at the University of Tokyo but chose to build a Japanese fast-food business instead.","Ryu Wada's company find focuses on lost item recovery, while Tetsuya Ohashi's CinemaLeap creates VR experiences.","Moderator Koki Tanaka of Incubate Fund cited a US bathhouse startup with sales of 20 billion yen and a market cap over 100 billion yen as an example of the physical-world trend.","The panelists shared a background in digital or AI fields but pivoted to tangible ventures addressing human needs."]}