WE ARE HIRING · 採用情報
Strategic Partnerships Lead
Tokyo
Kotoba builds frontier speech AI. We're hiring a Strategic Partnerships Lead to build deeper ties with our partners — the public sector among them — and to make the conferences and events happen that put Kotoba where it belongs in the AI ecosystem.
ABOUT KOTOBA
At the frontier of voice generation AI
Kotoba is a generative AI company on a mission to “become the defacto for voice AI in East Asia,” developing state-of-the-art voice generation AI models. At our core is a low-latency, high-accuracy speech translation model that connects conversations so naturally it feels as though both speakers share the same language. It supports major language pairs — including Japanese, English, Korean, Chinese, and Spanish — breaking down the language barrier. We also develop our own ultra-low-latency speech-to-text and text-to-speech models that run everywhere from the data center to edge devices, and we license this foundational technology, which powers the next generation of voice agents, to Fortune 50 companies and major U.S. tech firms. We create world-class voice AI from our two hubs in Tokyo and San Francisco.
Kotoba brings this technology to the world through its own product, the Kotoba app, available on iOS and Android. Since launch it has won explosive support across countries and regions including Japan and Korea, growing to a steady 2,000–3,000 new downloads per day. In the App Store and Google Play category rankings, it has reached No. 1 in its category, ahead of the likes of Google Translate and Audible. Loved by individual users, it is also seeing accelerating adoption among major enterprises — centered on Japan — and has supported nearly 100 events on the ground, including SusHi Tech Tokyo. It has drawn media attention as well, featured on numerous programs such as TV Asahi, NHK, TV Tokyo, Abema Prime, and PIVOT.
Kotoba was founded in 2023 by two Japanese generative AI researchers who earned their PhDs at top U.S. universities. To date it has raised a cumulative total of more than ¥3 billion (roughly US$23 million) from prominent VCs in Japan and the U.S. (including Kindred Ventures and Globis Capital Partners) and from the corporate venture arms of leading U.S. and Japanese enterprises, and it also receives strong government support in Japan for AI model training. World-class research paired with a product that keeps winning in the market — with both, Kotoba is one of the most exciting generative AI startups today.
Media
— TV Tokyo：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17CG6kSv2zs
— TV Asahi：https://tver.jp/episodes/epy340m62i
— PIVOT：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N30YYfIqGEg
Kotoba was founded in 2023 by two Japanese generative AI researchers who earned their PhDs at top U.S. universities. To date it has raised a cumulative total of more than ¥3 billion (roughly US$23 million) from prominent VCs in Japan and the U.S. (including Kindred Ventures and Globis Capital Partners) and from the corporate venture arms of leading U.S. and Japanese enterprises, and it also receives strong government support in Japan for AI model training. World-class research paired with a product that keeps winning in the market — with both, Kotoba is one of the most exciting generative AI startups today.
ROLE DESCRIPTION
THE ROLE
As Strategic Partnerships Lead, you'll build strategic partnerships with the stakeholders around Kotoba, and design and host the events that establish where Kotoba stands. Kotoba works at the frontier of speech AI alongside a wide range of stakeholders — the public sector, including national government, ministries, and local governments; major enterprises; and leading AI researchers and experts. We have strong backing from the Japanese government for our AI model training, and our work with the public sector is one of the core pillars of our business. In this role, you'll take on those public sector relationships head-on, while creating events of your own — a "Kotoba Conference" bringing together leading voices in AI, for example — that establish Kotoba's position within the AI ecosystem. Internally, you'll work closely with our Head of Product Communications, turning the results of your partnership work and events into press and publicity. This is a role with real proximity to the leadership team — and the room to build Kotoba's partnership and event strategy from the ground up.
RESPONSIBILITIES
What you'll do
•Build and maintain relationships with the public sector — national government, ministries, and local governments — including participation in public-private partnership programs.
•Design and drive public sector initiatives: MOUs, proof-of-concept projects, deployments at public events, and more.
•Build and maintain strategic partnerships with other stakeholders, including major enterprises and leading AI researchers and experts.
•Establish Kotoba's position by designing and hosting conferences and events that bring together leading voices in AI.
•Identify and secure speaking and exhibition opportunities at external conferences and events.
•Work with our Head of Product Communications to turn partnership and event outcomes into press and publicity.
•Shape and drive Kotoba's partnership and event strategy through discussion with the leadership team.
QUALIFICATIONS
Who we're looking for
Required
•Experience in government relations with the public sector — national government, ministries, or local governments — or hands-on experience working on public sector projects.
•The ability to bring diverse stakeholders together — public sector, enterprises, and outside experts — and move projects forward.
•Enough experience to hit the ground running, paired with the drive to operate independently and move fast.
•Native-level Japanese.
•A fit for the pace and intensity of an AI startup.
Preferred
•Experience on public-private partnership projects at a consulting firm, or a background working in government.
•Experience planning and running conferences and large-scale events.
•An understanding of the AI industry, and a network among researchers and experts in the field.
•Experience at a fast-growing startup.
•Business-level English.
HOW TO APPLY
If you’re interested, please apply Kotoba’s hiring team directly
at hiring@kotoba.tech with your resume attached.
