| Representative |
Huya Edsuka
Born in 1997. Graduated from the University of Tokyo Graduate School in 2022. Conducted research on extending the lifespan of water-propelled ion thrusters. While a student, he was in charge of durability testing at the space startup Pale Blue. After graduation, he worked on embedded software development for GNSS receivers at the Sony Group and also gained development experience at JAXA. Recipient of the GOOD DESIGN NEW HOPE AWARD 2022. In 2026, selected for the University of Tokyo’s FoundX Studio Program. Founded RAYN and is currently developing thermal control technology for in-orbit AI. |
| Main Achievements |
2026: Selected for the ICT Startup League (Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications) |
| Childhood Dream |
When I was a child, my dream was to become a physicist. Inspired by the TV drama “Galileo,” I became deeply immersed in physics and competed in the finals of the Physics Challenge during high school. Now, I’m seriously tackling the challenge of managing heat to run AI computers in space—a field I find truly fascinating. |
| Influential People, Things, and Events |
Person: “Jun Asakawa”
Object: “Implementing the Future (Takaaki Mada)”
Concept: “Generative AI” |
| Motivation, Goals, and Ideal World |
Space development is often discussed in terms of dreams and romance, but I view it as infrastructure that supports people’s daily lives. At university, in the Koizumi Lab, I researched propulsion systems for microsatellites. While semiconductors and electronic devices are rapidly becoming smaller and more powerful, propulsion and thermal control are governed by physical quantities such as fluids and heat, and do not scale in the same way. So, I returned to the fundamentals of physics, building up technological advancements one by one, and learned both the excitement and the challenges of bringing hardware that didn’t yet exist into the world. While still a student, I was involved in development at Pale Blue aimed at commercializing ion thrusters, where I experienced the fast pace of a startup that turns research into a business rather than letting it end as mere proof of concept. I also built a device that converts solar observation data into sound and conducted a proof-of-concept demonstration for elementary school students at a science museum. This project won the GOOD DESIGN NEW HOPE AWARD 2022.
After graduation, I joined Sony to broaden my horizons as an engineer outside the space industry, where I witnessed firsthand the surge in computational demand driven by generative AI. When I learned about the concept of an in-orbit AI data center, the scaling laws I had grappled with during my university days came back to mind. While computing power can be rapidly increased, the ability to transport the generated heat and dissipate it into space cannot keep pace. I believe this physical gap will become the defining constraint for the next generation of space computing.
I am committed to ensuring that the basic research and core technologies accumulated in Japan do not remain merely academic, but are instead applied to the next generation of space infrastructure. To that end, I am developing deep tech to solve the thermal constraints of in-orbit AI. |
Media Produced by ASCII STARTUP
