Clement Song
Entrepreneur In Residence (EIR) Core
EIR Director
Building a Global Neurotechnology Innovation Ecosystem from IRCN
IRCN Activity Plan
As Director of Entrepreneur-in-Residence (EIR) for IRCN, my core objective is to help translate IRCN's neuroscience research strengths into a more active, outward-facing innovation ecosystem. Japan has world-class scientific capability, but university-originated company creation in deep science and neurotechnology remains underdeveloped compared with leading global ecosystems. My role will focus on bridge-building: connecting researchers, entrepreneurs, investors, industry leaders, and government partners around concrete opportunities for commercialization.
In the first year, I plan to focus on three practical initiatives. First, I will work with IRCN leadership and researchers to identify research areas with entrepreneurial potential and help frame them in ways that are understandable to founders, investors, and strategic partners. Second, I will build a network of relevant venture investors, neurotechnology founders, corporate partners, and international experts who can support IRCN researchers through mentorship, feedback, partnership, and potential funding pathways. Third, I will help organize a Neurotech Forum in October 2026 as an anchor initiative to bring global neurotechnology leaders to Japan and create a visible platform for collaboration between academic science and venture creation.
The intended outcome is not only a single event, but the beginning of a repeatable ecosystem mechanism. Over time, the EIR program should help IRCN researchers better understand entrepreneurship, help outside partners better understand IRCN science, and create more opportunities for new company formation, translational projects, and international collaboration. My aim is to serve as an ecosystem architect and bridge-builder for IRCN, using the Neurotech Forum and related activities as practical tools to make neuroscience entrepreneurship in Japan more connected, ambitious, and globally relevant.
Biography
Clement Song is an entrepreneur, investor, and technologist with experience building technology companies from early concept through large-scale commercialization. He studied Computer Science and Computer Engineering at the University of Virginia, where he was a Rodman Scholar. He began his career at Microsoft as a product manager on the Xbox team, contributing to products including Xbox 360, Xbox Live, and Xbox Live Vision.
Clement later founded eCitySky, creator of GameXiu, one of the world's first web-based 3D virtual world platforms. The company merged with YY, which later listed on NASDAQ as JOYY. He also founded AiNemo, a smart-home and robotics company whose smart display products reached more than 18 million households and were acquired by Baidu in 2020. He holds 25 granted patents across invention, utility model, and design categories
As an investor and advisor, Clement has been involved with robotics, AI, and deep technology companies, including early investment and long-term board involvement with XAG, an agricultural robotics company, and advisory work with robotics startups in Japan and the United States. He has also supported neuroscience and neurotechnology research by visiting and engaging with laboratories across genetics, molecular biology, neural circuits, measurement technologies, and human neuroscience. His current work focuses on the intersection of neuroscience, AI, robotics, and venture creation, with a particular interest in helping strong scientific ecosystems build more effective paths toward real-world impact.
