PITCH SPEAKERS

Ryo Yamada

WOTA Corp.

VP, Incubation Clan Leader & VP, Global Relations

Born in Osaka, Japan. Ryo completed the master's program in Sustainability Studies Graduate School of Frontier Sciences at the University of Tokyo. He spent his elementary school years in Silicon Valley and became interested in water problems during middle school. He studied environmental engineering (water treatment) and sustainability studies (including research in Southeast Asia and Africa). After finishing graduate studies, Ryo worked on supporting social entrepreneurs in Japan and abroad at the non-profit organization ETIC. At WOTA, he is in charge of overseas market development.

WOTA is a private company that seeks structural solutions to the world’s water challenges. Since its establishment in 2014, WOTA has been developing small-scale, decentralized water recycling systems that recycle and make the most of domestic wastewater, as well as autonomous control technology for water treatment that powers these systems, in order to address planetary challenges of uneven distribution, depletion and contamination of water resources. WOTA’s first two products are already on the market and in use across Japan, enabling emergency water use when water supplies are severed after disasters, and contributing to public health. In addition, WOTA has successfully demonstrated a whole-house system that recycles all household wastewater, which, since 2023, is being implemented in municipalities and governments in Japan and overseas. WOTA continues to pursue R&D and promote its products, aiming to realize the sustainability of human water use.