Bridging Innovation and Industry: Soichi Ueki on JX Advanced Metals’ Path to Next-Gen Materials
Soichi Ueki, Open Innovation Manager at JX Advanced Metals Corporation.
As the pace of change in semiconductor and ICT markets accelerates, JX Advanced Metals stands at the forefront of global innovation in advanced materials. For Soichi Ueki, strategic investments, bold R&D, and partnership with startups are not just responses to technological uncertainty, they’re part of a broader vision to rapidly transition from a process-driven enterprise to a market leader in high-value, sustainable materials.
In this week’s edition of our 25th Anniversary interview series, Soichi shares how JX is methodically developing multiple advanced materials in parallel to stay ahead of fast technology cycles. Through corporate venturing and hands-on collaboration (with venture partners like Pangaea Ventures), JX is bridging the gap between the speed of startups and the scale of industry. Whether tackling the capital challenges of scaling new technologies or paving the way for breakthroughs in optoelectronic fusion, JX’s approach highlights why trust, flexibility, and ecosystem-building are essential for the future of hard tech.
And now, our interview with Soichi:
Pangaea Ventures: How does JX approach investments and innovation in advanced materials, especially those critical to the semiconductor and ICT sectors?
Soichi Ueki: Since semiconductor and ICT technology transitions are so fast and uncertain, we are trying to develop multiple advanced materials at the same time.
PV: What role has corporate venturing played within the JX broader strategy to transition from a traditional process industry to a technology-driven company?
SU: First, we educate our R&D and business units in the sense that there are many companies that have cutting-edge collaborative technologies. Second, we accelerate collaboration with startups. The sense of speed between startups and large corporations is completely different, so we act as a bridge to minimize that discrepancy as much as possible.
PV: How does JX collaborate with venture partners like Pangaea Ventures to promote breakthrough hard tech innovations and sustainable materials?
SU: We strongly believe that collaboration with startups is one of the keys to developing technologies and products that are competitive in the market. Pangaea Ventures has been instrumental in providing us with the latest information about technology and the market, as well as identifying potential companies with which we can collaborate.
PV: Given JX’s leadership in sputtering targets and semiconductor materials, what are some key challenges and opportunities the company sees in scaling new technologies?
SU: The required capital to develop technologies/products is a significant issue for companies, especially startups. Also, even if good ones are created, the timeframe for them to be adopted is pretty long.
PV: Looking ahead, what emerging trends or technologies in advanced materials excite JX the most, and how is the company positioning itself to lead in these future markets?
SU: We are paying close attention to advanced packaging technology. We are advancing the development of materials related to advanced packaging, such as thermal management materials, to captivate the market.