In recent years, we have been observing a rise in cases of continuous development projects. However, if we try to improve development productivity using the data and development knowhow that we have accumulated, it then becomes difficult to use this to expand product functions. In fact, a “development productivity dilemma” actually exists, in which it is difficult for each product to have both improved development productivity and expanded product functions. In the case discussed in this paper, however, the company sacrifices development productivity to expand the product functions of a particular product and then applies this to streamlining and simplifying subsequent products. In other words, the development productivity dilemma was overcome by managing the flow of a series of new products.

Since the late 1990s, Japan has followed the cloning Silicon Valley model typified by American-style technology, capital, and systems, with a major focus on technology transfer, patent revenues, and the makeup of funding. However, the University of Tokyo, which has formed entrepreneurial clusters, has constructed an ecosystem built on technology agglomeration by educating its undergraduate and graduate students and forming a support network for alumni employed at financial institutions, major corporations, and central government offices. In forming an ecosystem for industry–academia collaboration, it is crucial to understand start-ups, even if not starting a business oneself, and to educate and develop human resources that can function throughout society.