Nanophoton was born 20 years ago on February 3, 2003 as a venture company originating from Osaka University, and as part of our 20th anniversary efforts, we interviewed Nanophoton’s first president, Takahiro Ode, about the company’s early days. (Newsletter Editor / Ryo Harada)

Takahiro Ode 　First President and Representative Director

─ I heard that you and Chairman Kawata had been close friends for many years in the field of research and development of laser microscopes, and that after you retired from the Lasertec Development Department, you joined the Frontier Research Organization of Osaka University as a specially-appointed professor and started your own company with Chairman Kawata. Please tell us about those days.

Ode – – Nanophoton was established as a university venture. Therefore, Dr. Kawata’s application for dual employment must be accepted by the university. However, this was a very difficult task, as existing regulations prohibit it in principle, so it was not so easy to get it approved. At the time, it was reported that it was desirable to create venture companies from universities, and there was certainly such a wind blowing, but on the other hand, there was also a strong headwind of “play it safe, play it safe,” and the establishment of Nanophoton was tossed about in the midst of this whirlwind. The very phrase “agree with the plan in general, but will not compromise on details,” at one time made us feel that the establishment of Nanophoton would be difficult. After repeated negotiations, we were finally able to get it approved. I later found out that this was the third case in Japan of a academic staff founding a company as the promoter. Despite the difficulties, I believe that we were able to establish a university-launched venture company, which is rare in Japan.

─ How did you come up with the company name and philosophy?

Ode – – Dr. Kawata and I came up with many ideas for the company name, but the trademark had already been taken, and the so-called web address was already taken by someone else. Nanophoton would be “nanophoton.jp”, but “co.jp” was official at the time, so we could take both “co.jp” and “.jp”. I wanted to take “.com” as well, but it was blocked, so I gave up. We also checked the trademark at the Patent Office, and Nanophoton was unregistered, so we held on to that first…and so on. At the time, the word “nano” gave an image of being cutting-edge, and I think we got off to a very good start with a good name. It was Dr. Kawata who came up with the idea of ” Nanophoton”.

Also, our philosophy should be easy to understand and leave a strong impression. So, I came up with a phrase to express our founding philosophy: “Nobel Prize from the user！” This slogan is a reference to the cutting-edge physics and chemistry equipment that we use to make our products. This slogan accurately expresses the desire of all of us to contribute to society by developing cutting-edge scientific instruments. In fact, the slogan was unexpectedly well received in Kasumigaseki, and contributed greatly to people remembering Nanophoton. However, when we put this in our Articles of Incorporation, we wrote that we wanted to create high-level devices that would enable users to win Nobel Prizes using products made by Nanophoton, and that we wanted to create cutting-edge products. I wrote that I wanted to make a state-of-the-art product, and that I wanted to make a high-level device that would allow users to win Nobel Prizes. I was told that I had to write clearly about what kind of device would win a Nobel Prize. I told him that if I knew that, I would have won the Nobel Prize, not the customer, and he laughed. In the end, I removed that sentence.

By the way, the phrase “Nobel Prize from the user” has not been used much since around 2007. This is because the customers who are considering our equipment are not necessarily researchers, and we have tried to open up a wider range of needs.

ーHow did the Nanophoton logo come to be what it is today?

Ode – -The logo mark is an indispensable part of the company. Dr. Kawata asked Dr. Kazuo Kawasaki, one of Japan’s leading industrial designers, to create it for us. The completed logo is a wonderful one that is still in use today. The design is based on the initials “N” of Nanophoton, and the oblique shape in the center of the logo impresses the corporate image of light, refraction, magnification, and seeing. The dynamic shape of the logo, flanked on both sides by the “N,” is a design that simply confronts contrasting and contradictory issues such as digital and analog, hard and soft, wavy and granular, etc. This logo mark does not feel old at all even when seen today, and I am impressed by the power of the design.

ーWhat are some of the events from that time that have left a lasting impression on you?

Ode – – Many things happened, and every day is memorable, but after the release of RAMAN-11, we applied for the Resona Foundation for Small and Medium Enterprise Promotion’s New Technology and New Product Award Program and received the top prize, the Director-General’s Award of the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency. Receiving this award was a good material for us to promote Nanophoton’s development capability to the public. I went to the award ceremony and gave a speech on behalf of all the companies in line because I was the head of the company, and I received the award directly from the Director General of the Small and Medium Enterprise Agency…. At the time, he was Director General Mochizuki. I was able to talk with him about many things, which was very impressive.

ーWhat company did you sell Nanophoton’s first memorable unit to?

Ode – – The first one was bought by a cutting tool company in Hyogo Prefecture. We did not expect it to be used for observation of tools, but they told us that it was very good for evaluation of diamonds. It is not unusual for cutting-edge microscopes to be sold for unexpected applications. It was as if the first Raman microscope had finally been sold. Before that, I received an award, and after receiving the award, I gave presentations at various academic conferences. However, it is important to have customers who will actually pay for the microscope and buy it. It is important to have customers who will actually pay for the product. I was very happy to see that the product finally sold. In many ways, I felt like I had been recognized by the world, which made me  doubly, even triply as happy.

─ Thank you very much, Takahiro Ode. In the next issue, we will continue to unravel the history of Nanophoton by interviewing everyone who was involved in the early days of Nanophoton.

（Translated by DeepL）