Chikahiro Terada: Creating Encounters That Change the World

To start off, how often do you use business cards? It is said that 10 billion business cards are circulated annually worldwide, with one billion in Japan alone. In other words, that is how many "business encounters" are being born. However, if you simply put a business card in a desk drawer after exchanging it... you will rarely look at it again, and that precious encounter will go to waste. Perhaps an "encounter that changes the world" is buried among them.

Founded in 2007, Sansan has provided "Sansan," a cloud-based business card management service for corporations. Based on the desire to "support encounters that change the world" through business cards, the service allows users to easily digitize business cards just by taking a photo, and then manage and share them within the company. We have run commercials featuring Yutaka Matsushige and his catchphrase "You should have told me sooner!" and thanks to such efforts, our service is now used by 7,000 companies, including megabanks and major corporations.

In 2012, we launched "Eight," a business card app for individuals. In addition to digitizing business cards, it is a free service that allows users to use a business-only SNS with the people they have exchanged cards with. It is used by 2 million users as a service to leverage business encounters.

Currently, we are taking on new challenges using the power of AI to innovate business encounters. We established our own R&D department, the "Data Strategy & Operation Center (DSOC)," where 20 data scientists analyze and research the accumulation of hundreds of millions of business cards. For example, features such as "Smart Recommendation," where AI suggests the next person you should meet, have been developed and are already being provided for corporate clients.

Life is a series of encounters. It is said that even the famous Beatles were born from a chance meeting between John Lennon and Paul McCartney. "Encounters that change the world," like theirs, are still buried in the world. Perhaps you, the readers of this article, could create a world-surprising innovation with the person you exchanged business cards with yesterday.

We will continue to take on challenges to support these kinds of encounters that change the world.