The Elements, Inc.

About The Elements

The Elements is a Tokyo-based company building the market infrastructure for assistive technology (AT) — devices that support outdoor mobility for people with visual impairments, powered wheelchairs that let people with SMA or DMD reposition their bodies without assistance, and the world's first robotic rehabilitation that helps people with spinal cord injuries regain the ability to walk. Founded in 2023, we have stayed profitable for three years without any outside investment or loans.

The problem we solve

Pharmaceuticals and medical devices are priced according to how much they improve quality of life. AT, which improves quality of life in the same way, is rarely evaluated the same way. Without a shared framework to prove its value, AT struggles to gain institutional recognition, businesses find it hard to scale, and even excellent solutions fail to reach the people who need them.

What we do

1. Evaluation — We apply Health Technology Assessment (HTA) methodology to AT, running cost-effectiveness analyses that measure both real users' quality-of-life changes and its impact on future medical costs, nursing-care costs, and productivity, and delivering the evidence to the governments and foundations that fund AT development, helping them make informed resource-allocation decisions.

2. Supply — "Inclusive Hub," an AT entrepreneur community we run in partnership with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, helping new AT businesses get started.

3. Matching — "The Ability Network," a cross-border platform co-founded with Tech Mahindra Foundation (India), connecting AT supply and demand between Japan and India.

Traction

Recognized with the Evidence Award 2025 and presented at the Japan Health Policy Research Association (JHPRA) conference in 2026. With support from Japan's Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI), we are expanding our Japan-India partnership. As one example among several ongoing analyses, we are running a cost-effectiveness analysis in Japan of a European-made collision-avoidance smart glasses for people with visual impairments, involving over 20 users over six months.

What we're looking for

We're looking for partners to expand AT market development between Japan and Europe, and investors who can advise us on scaling the business further. Our vision: everyone, regardless of age or ability, should be able to live independently and stay part of society — while easing the burden on society as a whole.