Makinohara City, which is located in the Shizuoka prefecture of Japan, organized a contest for start-ups in October 2024. The contest, titled “Makinohara-shi Challenge Business Contest” (MakiChalle 2024), provided a platform for aspiring entrepreneurs to present innovative ideas. This was the second contest of its kind held in the city.
In MakiChalle 2024, startup companies from all over the world presented their ideas and business plans to address market gaps in the local community by utilizing the “industrial resources” and “tourism resources” of the city. EXPACT CEO, Mr. Takachi, participated as a judge in the second edition of the contest.
In this article, we interviewed Tini Mamuchashvili from Neuropilot, one of the participants in MakiChalle 2024. In the interview, we talk about Neuropilot’s services and business initiatives, highlighting their appeal and creating opportunities for market entry in Japan.
– Thank you for your time today. It’s very nice to meet you.
Nice to meet you, too.
– First of all, could you tell us a little bit about yourself and how the idea for Neuropilot VR was founded?
Firstly, before I talk about myself as the CEO and co-founder of Neuropilot, I would like to highlight the founder and Chief Science officer, CSO of Neuropilot, Maia. She has a strong background in psychology, psychotherapy, and mental health research. Over the years, Maia worked with athletes, professionals, and individuals struggling with anxiety and stress-related disorders, which led her to develop The Desire Therapy, also called TDT.
Therefore, the whole service of Neuropilot is based on TDT methodology, which is a mental imagery-based therapy designed to regulate emotions and improve users’ well-being. Maia, who has a scientific and psychological background, and I, who have experiences in startups, business development, and ecosystem building, merged our abilities and skills together, and that is how we founded Neuropilot.
We went through the pre-acceleration programs and we won Georgia’s Innovation and Technology Agency grants twice. One was the prototype grant and another one was the matching grant which helped us to win the MVP. Going through these the idea for NeuroPilot VR has come to the realization that traditional therapeutic methods are always either expensive or require a long wait of weeks or months. That is why we aimed to create a mental health solution that is accessible, speedy, and could be used anywhere and anytime. By combining TDT with VR technologies, we were able to develop an innovative approach to help users regain emotional balance and reduce anxiety in just five-minute immersive sessions.
– Thank you. Could you give us a brief overview of the company’s product, commitment, and motivation?
Neuropilot VR is based on virtual reality technologies and is an evidence-based digital health platform. This is designed to provide stress reductions through immersive VR experiences. On top of that, our product is based on years of psychological research and has been tested with professional athletes, CEOs, and patients demonstrating long-lasting emotional regulation benefits. Our commitment is to make mental health care to be more accessible, efficient, and personalized.
By leveraging these technologies, we aim to bridge the gap between scientific research and real world mental health solutions. Ensuring that individuals can benefit from cutting-edge, non-invasive therapeutic tools without the stigma or barriers often associated with traditional mental health treatments. Because there are still stigmas around some people who are having a hard time accepting that they have mental illness even after they are diagnosed. Through VR technologies, we aim to help users feel more confident trying the headset while ensuring their well-being.
– Could you explain how Neuropilot’s VR therapy solutions work?
The process is quite simple. Each therapy session is a 5-minute immersive experience that guides users through structured mental imagery. Users start by creating an account on the website and completing an anxiety assessment. This test determines if their anxiety level is low, moderate, or high—importantly, some users may experience anxiety without showing physical symptoms.
Following the assessment, users participate in an immersive animated session using a VR headset. This 5-minute experience follows the TDT methodology. The session concludes when the user removes the headset. Then again, they fill out the test on their account to see how they feel and overall review of the session.
Our scientific research and user feedback show that people experience reduced anxiety within minutes of using the system. This improvement typically persists for weeks or even months. After the initial five-minute session, users follow a schedule—returning every two to three days for new sessions. These follow-up sessions feature gamified animations based on the TDT methodology.
– What makes your approach to mental health treatment unique?
NeuroPilot differs from conventional mental health treatment in several key areas. First is speed and efficiency—while traditional therapies often take weeks or months to show results, NeuroPilot VR provides noticeable relief in just five minutes. Second is scientific validation: our method is backed by qEEG electroencephalogram studies and scientific trials that prove its effectiveness in reducing anxiety and enhancing emotional regulation. Thirdly, it’s non-invasive and accessible for all. For example, unlike existing medication or intensive therapy sessions, our solution is easy to use, requires no prescriptions, and can be accessed from anywhere.
Lastly, it is tailored for high performance individuals. We specialize in helping professionals, athletes, and high stress workers who particularly need fast effective mental wellness support without disrupting their routines. To be specific, our first niche audience was high performance sports athletes, since in the sports industry where the athletes constantly feel the pressure to always be stable and robust individuals. But in reality, athletes face more than 600 mental stressors throughout their careers. That is how we started on that field first, to help athletes to overcome their mental barriers. This success led us to expand our user base to include high-performing individuals such as senior managers and CEOs.
– How does your technology integrate with existing healthcare systems or practices?
Neuropilot VR is designed to complement existing mental health wellness and performance enhancement programs by offering a scalable evidence-based intervention. Our technology integrates in the following ways. First, corporate wellness programs are used as a tool for stress management and productivity enhancement in high pressure work environments.
Second, we apply sports psychology and performance training in athletic mental health conditioning to help improve focus, resilience and recovery. Once again, all our sessions are proven by the qEEG* trials, meaning that the scientific research confirmed that Neuropilot helps sportsmen in focus, resilience, study new balance, or new movements.
Thirdly, our clinical mental health support serves as a preparatory or complementary tool for patients undergoing traditional psychotherapy or counseling. Finally, NeuroPilot can integrate with existing digital health platforms and telemedicine solutions to provide remote mental health care access.
I need to clarify that neuropilot is not a replacement for traditional therapy but rather a complementary tool that enhances emotional stability, regulations, and mental resilience in a way that is fast, extreme, accessible, and scientifically approved.
*a diagnostic tool that measures electrical activity in the form of brain wave patterns that tell us how your brain is communicating.
– From now on, we want to hear about your experience in MakiChalle 2024. What made you decide to participate in MakiChalle?
As I mentioned, Neuropilot is dedicated to revolutionizing mental wellness through VR-based anxiety treatment and emotional regulation techniques. In 2024, we participated in the CFS Open Innovation Startup Pitch competition which was held in Tokyo earlier last year. We won third place in that competition and recognition in the Japanese market. That led us to learn about the Makichalle the same year, and we saw an incredible opportunity to introduce our technology to the Japanese users and potential clientele again. We found Makichalle the logical continuing point for us. The competition’s emphasis on regional revitalization, technological innovation, and industry collaboration aligned perfectly with our mission.
– Could you briefly tell us about your proposal for MakiChalle?
Our proposal mainly focused on leveraging Neuropilot VR’s cutting-edge mental wellness solutions to support high performance individuals including athletes, corporate professionals, and frontline workers. We introduced our 5 minute immersive VR therapy based on our proprietary method, The Desire Therapy [TDT] which has demonstrated long-lasting anxiety reduction in clinical and professional settings. The goal was to integrate the solution into Japanese corporate wellness programs, the sports industry, and healthcare initiatives, providing efficient evidence-based mental health support.
Also, before CFS Startup Pitch and Makichalle in 2024, we traveled to Tokyo to attend Georgian Innovation Day in Tokyo which was organized by the Georgia Innovation and Technology Agency and the Embassy of Georgia in Tokyo. That was our first touch to Japan. I was part of the three main startups coming from Georgia. We had very meaningful meetings with Japanese stakeholders which showed us Japan could be a very strong potential market for our company and became our drive and energy that brought us to the front to participate and be more active.
– What unique factors in the Makinohara region and Japan would you like to explore and take advantage of?
Making a commitment to technological innovation and sustainable regional development presents would be an ideal testing ground for Neuropilot VR. Every region and every startup needs the right time and right place. Makinohara City’s current focus on technological development makes it an ideal location to introduce Neuropilot. Japan is particularly promising as a market for expansion, given its substantial investments in mental health awareness, corporate wellness, and sports performance enhancement. The country’s advanced technological infrastructure, high adoption rate of virtual reality, and emphasis on holistic mental health align perfectly with our solutions. Also, we see lots of opportunities to collaborate with local healthcare institutions, research centers, and corporate partners to tailor our products for Japanese users.
– Were there any specific challenges you faced during the competition, and how did you overcome them?
One of the greatest challenges was adapting our proposal to fit the cultural and business landscape of Japan. Every culture has its own specific relation with the mental health culture. While Neuropilot has demonstrated success in various international markets, we had to refine our messaging to better align with the Japanese business values with Japanese users with research expectations and regulatory frameworks. So we overcame this by conducting market research, calling our friends or networks that live in Japan, engaging with local experts, and adjusting our presentation to highlight how Neuropilot VR could seamlessly integrate into existing Japanese wellness initiatives. Moreover, both CFS Open Innovation Challenge and Makichalle, the organizers and mentors helped us a lot to tailor our business plan, especially for Japanese markets.
– Mental health clinics and therapy are not as widely accepted in Japan as in other countries, so it must be challenging to align your company with Japanese cultural norms.
It was challenging for sure. That is why the network and the partners that we have in Makinohara City and in Japan were extremely important. Thankfully they helped us to differentiate the wording, phrasing with the marketing with the explanatory letters or even inside the sessions.
– What is your long-term vision for Neuropilot?
We have a high vision to establish Neuropilot VR as a global leader in digital mental health solutions and create a new standard, accessible, non-invasive, and highly effective mental wellness tool. We aim to expand beyond sports and corporate wellness into broader healthcare applications, working alongside clinics, rehabilitation centers, and mental health professionals to provide scalable evidence-based anxiety and stress management solutions.
We are preparing for a future where VR headsets will be as common in households as smartphones are today. Once this becomes a reality and everyone has their own VR goggles or headset, we aim to provide a mental health solution that makes it easy for people to live stress-free—bringing accessible mental health support just one year away.
– How do you envision your company’s growth in both local and international markets following this recognition? Were you able to find both your interest in the Japanese market and potential partners?
Winning this recognition at Makichalle reinforces our market potential in Japan and internationally. We see Japan as a strategic entry point into Asia’s digital health market and this opportunity has allowed us to engage with potential partners, investors, and industry experts who are interested in integrating Neuropilot VR into their ecosystems.
I hope that by the end of this year, we will have big news about our expansion into the Japanese market, and this exposure is a key step in securing collaboration with Japanese corporations, sports organizations, incubation centers, and healthcare institutions which will help us to scale both locally and globally. Furthermore, we also participate in different programs and startup competitions and startup programs in Europe at the same time as in Japan. We have been participating in the Belgium program in which we were one of the finalists. We have traveled to Brussels, and we continue challenging the European market at the same time to strengthen our research baseline.
– Could you share your future plans for Japan after participating in MakiChalle and winning the Shizuoka Venture Startup Association Award?
We plan to use these strategically to localize our products for the Japanese market with the Makichalle prize and the award. That includes translating and adapting our VR content to better suit Japanese users. We have already translated our content into Japanese. I used to study Japanese at university for four years. Ffinally this effort and knowledge helped me into my career. It was all a coincidence but it somehow happened. Then we plan to conduct studies with Japanese athletes and corporate teams and see how our POC proof of concept works to demonstrate our effectiveness for the Japanese market especially, strengthening partnerships with the local institutions to integrate Neuropilot into Japanese mental wellness programs.
– Thank you very much. Neuropilot VR is an excellent service that is accessible and efficient for everyone in the world. We wish all the best for Neuropilot’s future expansion not only in Japan but all over the world.
【Company overview】
【Name of company】Neuropiot
【URL】https://www.neuropilot.org/
【Date of company establishment】2021
【Representative】Maia Tskitishvili
【Location】Tbilisi, Georgia
