Introducing the next round of Big if True Science Accelerator Fellows, in partnership with the Cabinet Office of Japan

News

Mar 30

Renaissance Philanthropy’s Big if True Science (BiTS) Accelerator has launched our Japan cohort, in partnership with the Cabinet Office of Japan, bringing together nine exceptional individuals selected from a highly competitive global pool to take on urgent, high-stakes challenges. The cohort spans Japanese nationals, international residents in Japan, and global talent committed to advancing Japan’s strategic future.

Over the 15 weeks of the program, each participant in the cohort will rigorously develop and pressure-test breakthrough concepts, transforming them into executable funding programs capable of mobilizing large-scale, coordinated R&D efforts. These well-scoped programs will then have the opportunity to be supported as part of the government’s Global Startup Campus (GSC) Initiative.

BiTS Japan is designed to cultivate a new class of program architects — leaders who can define critical problems, assemble world-class teams, and drive mission-oriented research with the speed, ambition, and scale required to shape the future. These R&D efforts are intended to contribute to the GSC goals and over time, strengthen Japan’s long-term innovation capacity.

BiTS addresses a critical gap in the global research ecosystem by identifying and training field leaders to design R&D efforts that go beyond the scale of a single existing institution, positioning them to launch and execute initiatives that could reshape entire fields and tackle humanity's most pressing problems.

The Japan cohort is the fourth in Renaissance Philanthropy’s BiTS program, a series of cohorts launched in partnership with three governments. In September, we welcomed the inaugural UK cohort, as part of our Activation Partnership with the Advanced Research and Invention Agency (ARIA). This was followed by our EU cohort, supported by SPRIND, Germany’s Federal Agency for Breakthrough Innovation. And earlier this month, we welcomed the Americas cohort, supported by Coefficient Giving.

The Big if True Science Accelerator represents Renaissance Philanthropy's commitment to building systematic pathways for developing research program leadership, creating a replicable model for how governments, philanthropists, and research institutions can cultivate a robust pipeline of ambitious visionaries capable of catalyzing breakthrough innovations.