AI growth consulting — Japan & U.S.

Helping AI companies grow in Japan and the U.S.

I work with AI infrastructure companies, developer tool startups, and enterprise AI teams — helping them build developer communities, drive enterprise adoption, and grow their presence across both markets.

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New York City skyline at dusk, viewed across the water

Selected partners & ecosystems

What I do

Four ways I help AI companies grow across two markets.

Great AI products still stall on developer trust and enterprise adoption — especially in a market you don't yet have a network in. I close that gap on the ground, not just on a slide.

  • Enterprise AI adoption

    Frameworks and relationships that move enterprise teams from pilot to production.

  • Community & ecosystem strategy

    Designing the systems that grow and sustain an active developer ecosystem.

  • Developer relations

    Building the community, content, and credibility that turn developers into advocates.

  • Founder visibility & events

    Positioning founders and products in front of the right audience, at the right moment.

Why different

Most consultants know one market. I operate in both.

Japan and the U.S. are treated as one growth story by companies that haven't tried to actually operate in both at once.

  • Bicultural, not just bilingual

    I've built developer trust and enterprise relationships natively in Japan and the U.S. — not translated from one market to the other.

  • Strategist and operator

    I don't hand off a strategy deck. I run the events, write the content, and manage the relationships myself.

  • A real network, not cold outreach

    A deep network of founder relationships and an active AI audience mean warm introductions — not a list of names to cold-email.

Results

Reach that opens doors. Work that closes them.

Authority & reach

  • 110K Podcast subscribers

Client work

  • Full room view of the DeepLearning.AI Builder Night at Google for Startups Campus Tokyo, with Andrew Ng featured on screen
    DeepLearning.AI Developer community & adoption strategy
  • Christian Hu presenting to attendees at the Qoder San Francisco meetup
    Qoder Developer community & adoption strategy
  • Group selfie with attendees at the Executive AI Adoption Roundtable in New York
    Executive AI Adoption Roundtable NYC & Tokyo

Selected programs

Programs I've designed and run — not just advised on.

Six programs, four markets, real rooms of enterprise leaders, builders, and ecosystem partners.

Enterprise AI adoption

Panel discussion at the Executive AI Adoption Roundtable in New York, four panelists seated on stage at BrainStation SoHo
New York BrainStation SoHo

Executive AI Adoption Roundtable

With BrainStation

Challenge
Enterprise teams were experimenting with AI but struggling to move from pilots to production, with few venues for candid, executive-level discussion.
What I designed
An invite-only roundtable — "Why Is Enterprise AI Adoption So Hard?" — convening enterprise leaders, founders, and consultants.
Outcome
Brought together enterprise AI leaders, founders, consultants, and builders for a candid conversation on what keeps organizations stuck in experimentation instead of implementation.
View event page
Panel discussion at the Executive AI Adoption Roundtable in Tokyo, four speakers seated with a remote guest joining on screen
Tokyo CIC Tokyo

Executive AI Adoption Roundtable

With ai& · featuring Mercari

Challenge
Japanese enterprises face distinct adoption barriers from their U.S. counterparts, yet most conversations import a U.S.-centric framework wholesale.
What I designed
A Tokyo-specific roundtable — "How Enterprises Are Adopting AI" — bringing together ai&, Mercari, and the wider enterprise AI ecosystem.
Outcome
Surfaced why AI initiatives stall at the proof-of-concept stage and the organizational challenges behind enterprise AI adoption in Japan.
View event page

AI infrastructure & developer ecosystems

Group photo of builders and organizers at the DeepLearning.AI Builder Night in Tokyo, with a thank-you and winners slide on screen
Tokyo Google for Startups Campus

DeepLearning.AI Global Builder Night

With DeepLearning.AI

Challenge
AI infrastructure and developer-tool companies need visible proof of an active builder community in Tokyo — not attendance numbers, but real things shipped.
What I designed
A hackathon-style Builder Night with DeepLearning.AI's global builder community, culminating in a live demo day, with Andrew Ng joining remotely.
Outcome
Developers went from idea to prototype to live demo in a single evening — built around learning by doing rather than presentations.
View event page
Promotional graphic for the ai& x Moonshot AI (Kimi) Tokyo Hackathon Night, sponsored by AMD and supported by Tokyu Land
Tokyo

ai& × Moonshot Tokyo Hackathon Night

With ai& × Moonshot AI (Kimi) · sponsored by AMD · supported by Tokyu Land

Challenge
AI infrastructure companies need direct, hands-on adoption among Japan's developer community — not just brand awareness.
What I designed
A hands-on hackathon night connecting ai& and Moonshot AI's infrastructure directly with Tokyo builders, giving developers real, hands-on product experience.
Outcome
Hands-on developer program connecting AI infrastructure with builders in Tokyo through experimentation, technical exploration, and community engagement.
View event page
Christian Hu presenting to attendees at the Qoder developer program gathering
San Francisco / Silicon Valley

Qoder Developer Adoption Program

With Qoder · supported by Tokyu Land

Challenge
Qoder needed to build a developer community from scratch around a new AI coding tool, in markets unfamiliar with agentic coding workflows.
What I designed
A cross-market program spanning Tokyo and San Francisco: an intimate Builders Circle fireside and panel — including the AI Builders Circle SF Founder Gathering — followed by a Builders Night hackathon focused on AI agents for real enterprise use cases.
Outcome
Activated a developer ecosystem across Japan and San Francisco, connecting AI builders, founders, and technology leaders through hands-on programs and discussion.
View event page

Global AI ecosystem development

Two founders speaking in front of the IT Park Uzbekistan building in Tashkent
Tashkent, Uzbekistan

IT Park Uzbekistan — Global Ecosystem Engagement

Connecting Uzbekistan, Japan & the U.S.

Challenge
Uzbekistan's fast-growing tech ecosystem lacked visibility and connective tissue with the AI and startup communities in Japan and the U.S.
What I designed
Founder and ecosystem interviews, storytelling, and relationship-building connecting IT Park Uzbekistan with AI and startup communities in Japan and the U.S.
Outcome
Increased international awareness of Uzbekistan's startup ecosystem and opened new relationships across Uzbekistan, Japan, and U.S. AI and technology communities.
Watch the conversation
Panel discussion at the Robotics × AI × Enterprises event

Also running: Robotics × AI × Enterprises, with Antler Japan — a cross-industry program exploring where robotics, AI, and manufacturing enterprises meet.

AI Founders' Mindset

Conversations with founders, builders, and ecosystem leaders shaping AI.

AI Founders' Mindset — 110K subscribers.

About

Kaori Rei smiling outdoors with her dog

Kaori Rei

Building AI infrastructure communities, enterprise programs, and developer ecosystems across Japan, the U.S., and emerging AI markets. My work sits at the intersection of developer relations, community strategy, enterprise AI adoption, and cross-border market development — from executive roundtables to hands-on developer hackathons to global ecosystem engagement.

Kaori Rei standing at the edge of a lake, facing Mt. Fuji

Let's talk

Let's build the trust and adoption your AI company needs to scale in Japan and the U.S.

Book a strategy call

30 minutes, no deck required — just a conversation about where you're stuck.