“We want to use our magnetic sensor technology to build a brighter future.” With this aspiration in mind, Kanna Omae (second-year doctoral student, Graduate School of Engineering) and Seiji Idachi (third-year doctoral student, Graduate School of Engineering) established IZANA Co., Ltd. while enrolled in graduate school. IZANA has garnered significant attention, winning the top prize at the Tongali Business Plan Contest and being selected for a deep-tech startup support program. We asked Omae and Idachi about the story behind their business, how they balance work and research, and where they hope to take their startup going forward.
Why magnetic sensors?
IZANA, established in August 2024, is a startup that develops, manufactures, and sells high-sensitivity magnetic sensors. Omae was motivated to make magnetic sensors by a personal experience. When she was in high school, her grandfather became bedridden and lost the ability to speak. She wanted to create a device by which people can communicate even if they have difficulty formulating language.
When Omae entered Nagoya University’s School of Engineering as an undergraduate, her initial idea was to create a device that uses an electroencephalograph (EEG), but she realized that EEGs are easily affected by the condition of the scalp, making application to bedridden patients difficult. While exploring other methods during her senior year, she hit upon a potential solution: utilizing the weak magnetic fields that are generated by neural activity. This is what led her to develop devices using magnetic sensors.
How Omae met Idachi, researcher of magnetic sensors
After entering graduate school, Omae participated in the DII Collaborative Graduate Program for Accelerating Innovation in Future Electronics, where she met Idachi. When he introduced himself at the training, Idachi mentioned that he was researching magnetic sensors, and Omae immediately sent him a message saying, “Please let me ask you all about it!”
Idachi recalls, “My cohort’s training was delayed by a year due to the COVID pandemic, which is how I got to know Omae, who entered the program the year after I did. I was surprised by her enthusiasm when she contacted me immediately after I introduced myself (laughs).” The pair, each member having found a reliable partner for the research of magnetic sensors, started to think seriously about how they could develop communication devices using this technology.
New applications of the technology
As Omae and Idachi explored ideas for developing their business, they quickly realized that they had to procure funds for various activities such as technology development, patent applications, and industry trend research. They learned about the NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization) Entrepreneurs Program, which supports startups. With incorporation being a condition for grant disbursement, they made the decision to launch their company in the fiscal year after they were selected.
Initially, the company aimed to develop communication devices using magnetic sensors, but a new potential application of the technology began to surface as they conducted interviews with businesses. This new application was foreign object detection, a way of detecting iron particles and other contaminants that get mixed into industrial materials during the manufacturing process.
Nagoya, where IZANA is based, and the surrounding region is home to a thriving manufacturing industry. As such, the company shifted its business focus to the use of magnetic sensors for foreign object detection. This has proven successful, leading to the expansion of their enterprise, and this fiscal year, the company was selected for Aichi Prefecture’s “Aichi Deeptech Launchpad,” which supports deep-tech startups.
Unlocking the future with magnetic sensors
We use magnetic sensors in our day-to-day lives, for example, when we use the map app on our phones or the anti-lock braking system in our cars. However, high-sensitivity sensors capable of detecting magnetic fields from brain nerves not only have limited demand, but also require large cooling equipment to operate, which limits the kind of places where they can be used. Such factors were a challenge for business expansion. However, IZANA developed a magnetic sensor that operates at room temperature with a sensitivity 15,000 times higher than sensors used in smartphones. It does not need to be cooled, and it is no larger than a business card. Even though it is highly sensitive, its compact size and ease of portability make it uniquely user-friendly.
In the months since IZANA was founded, the company has worked not only with private companies, but also government agencies, designing and delivering custom-made ultra-high sensitivity magnetic sensors in accordance with client needs.
Currently, Omae handles tasks related to company management, such as sales, accounting, and business planning, while Idachi focuses solely on the technological development of magnetic sensors. Dividing their roles as co-founders in this way means that they are both able to carry on with their research alongside their business. Going forward, the pair plan to continue to level up their technology to meet corporate needs, and are aiming to find an application for magnetic sensors in the inspection of submarine cable systems. “There are many fields where magnetic sensors have yet to be implemented. We want to see how the sensors can be used in those fields, opening up new possibilities.” Through magnetic sensor technology, IZANA continues to push boundaries as the company strives to contribute to a brighter future.
Originally published in Japanese on October 3, 2025.
