Gil Granot-Mayer, who has led technology transfer and innovation at the Okinawa Institute of Science and Technology (OIST) for more than five years, will conclude his executive role at the end of October 2026 and will continue to support OIST as Special Advisor to the President. On October 16, 2026, he delivered a lecture titled "Innovation from Okinawa to the World," reflecting on his work during his tenure and sharing his hopes for OIST, Okinawa, and Japan.
Arriving in a Time of Change
Granot-Mayer began his leadership work with OIST in early 2021, initially in an acting capacity. At the time, Japan's borders were closed due to the COVID-19 pandemic, and he led his team remotely for more than eight months. Since then, the environment around us has continued to shift-from changing international circumstances and the rapid evolution of AI to rising costs driven by inflation and the weak yen. "Change is no longer a temporary disruption; it is becoming the very environment in which we operate," he said. He then posed the question of how we can prepare for an unpredictable future.
From Activity to Progress
When he joined OIST Innovation (then TDIC), the foundations-including patents, licensing, the Proof of Concept (POC) Program, and the Accelerator Program-were already in place. His focus was on shifting from simply running programs to advancing each individual opportunity toward concrete outcomes. Alongside the POC Program, he strengthened licensing capabilities by recruiting and training specialists with deep scientific backgrounds. Granot-Mayer also increased industry engagement by introducing the OIST Innovation Network (INO) as a program for collaboration with companies, strengthening marketing functions, and establishing broad framework collaboration agreements with Japanese partners. Describing this approach as "stewardship," he emphasized, "We came to see technology transfer not as a collection of programs, but as an effort to actively nurture and advance individual opportunities."
Stewardship in Practice
One example he highlighted was Qubitcore, which emerged from research in the Experimental Quantum Information Physics Unit led by Professor Hiroki Takahashi. Cumulative support-including technology development through the POC Program, intellectual property and licensing, and team building with Lifetime Ventures-led to the company's founding. Building on these efforts, the company raised 1.53 billion yen in seed funding this year.
Another example is EF Polymer, which came to Okinawa from India after being selected for the OIST Innovation Accelerator Program in 2019. OIST Innovation has supported the company at each stage of its growth, including recruitment, fundraising, securing sites for field trials, and building an understanding of Japan's business environment. In 2025, the company raised 2.63 billion yen.
Efforts to build an environment that supports such startups have also progressed. In 2025, OIST Innovation Core, an incubation facility offering more than 2,000 square meters of wet labs, dry labs, and office space, opened its doors.
Beyond individual success stories, OIST Innovation evolved into a more integrated platform that connects technology transfer, venture creation, industry partnerships, and translational initiatives such as COI-NEXT. Granot-Mayer emphasized that this progress was made possible by the OIST Innovation team and its many partners in Okinawa, Japan, and internationally.
He also pointed to the incubators as an example of learning from setbacks: an initial proposal to Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) reached the final selection stage but was not selected. The team used what it learned to strengthen the concept and partnerships, secured support from the Cabinet Office, and ultimately succeeded with a revised proposal.
From OIST, Okinawa, and Japan to the World
Granot-Mayer repeatedly stressed the importance of protecting the freedom and unpredictability of curiosity-driven basic science. At the same time, to connect the results of that science to society, he described partnerships with Okinawa Prefecture, the Japanese government, venture capital, and industry as "an operating platform that creates new capabilities."
He also urged Japan to actively recognize its strengths-such as excellent science, advanced technological capabilities, culture, and safety-while looking to the world from the very start. As for Okinawa, he said it should connect with the world by leveraging its unique strengths, including its rich nature and biodiversity, its location as a gateway to Asia, and a scale well suited to serving as a testbed.
Speaking about OIST, he said, "What makes OIST special is not any particular program or building. It is an environment that attracts exceptional talent from around the world and makes possible what would be difficult to achieve elsewhere. That environment is sustained by freedom and trust, international diversity, excellent infrastructure, professional support, and a pioneering spirit." He continued, "I hope OIST will mature while preserving its uniqueness without becoming an ordinary institution."
His final slide brought the themes together: protect basic science and the pioneering spirit, build the capacity to translate discoveries into impact, take intelligent risks and learn, and think globally from Okinawa and Japan. It closed with the message: "We cannot predict the change ahead. We can navigate it."
OIST is deeply grateful to Granot-Mayer for his many contributions to OIST, Okinawa and Japan, and wishes him every success in his future endeavors.
