ASICS Ventures Establishes Kenzen, Formalizing Nine Years Of Startup Engagement Into An Annual Pitch Program

ASICS Ventures Corporation, ASICS’ corporate venture capital arm, today announced Kenzen*1, the company’s annual pitch competition. ASICS has hosted seven pitch programs globally since 2017, and Kenzen formalizes that nine-year body of work as a single named program, with a new theme each year, ongoing founder relationships, and a defined path into the ASICS ecosystem. The inaugural edition will be held on October 22, 2026, from 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM ET in Ann Arbor, Michigan.

KENZEN 2026: NEW EXPERIENCES
The next chapter of the ASICS customer experience will be shaped, in part, by founders the brand has not yet met. Kenzen is established to find them. Over the nine years preceding this inaugural edition, ASICS Ventures has carried founder relationships from pitch into commercial and venture conversations. Kenzen now establishes that practice on an annual basis.

The 2026 theme is New Experiences: the services, products, and communities bringing more people into ASICS. Four categories shape this year’s brief.

Experience Movement: Wearables, nutrition, and performance products — anything worn or consumed that enhances how the body moves and performs.

Experience Physical: Retail technology and third spaces — innovations that change how and where people encounter running and movement in the real world.

Experience Digital: Communities and digital placement — platforms, content channels, and social tools that build connection or expose new audiences to the sport.

Experience Wellness: Sleep, recovery, and preventive wellness — products and services that support the foundational wellness that makes movement possible.

Six startups will be selected as finalists, with two representatives from each company invited to Ann Arbor to pitch the judging panel, ASICS leadership, ASICS Ventures team members, and invited guests from the wider ASICS ecosystem. A prize package totaling $80K including non cash prize will be awarded across the top three finalists, with the grand prize winner prioritized for discussions on a commercial pilot with an ASICS business unit. Also, finalists will gain direct access to the ASICS ecosystem and the prospect of a longer-term relationship with the ASICS Ventures team.

Applications open June 2, 2026, and close July 30, 2026, with finalists announced on August 31, 2026. The inaugural edition is run in partnership with Innovation Partnerships at the University of Michigan and LEAD. Finalists will be selected through a rigorous review led by ASICS.

THE INAUGURAL EDITION IN ANN ARBOR
Ann Arbor is a deliberate choice. In December 2025, ASICS Corporation announced the establishment of ASICS Institute of Sport Science America LLC and a multi-year strategic research agreement with the University of Michigan*2, making the city the base for ASICS research and innovation in North America. Kenzen brings the nine-year program into that environment for the first time.

EIGHTH EDITION, ONGOING PORTFOLIO
Kenzen is the eighth pitch program ASICS Ventures has hosted since 2017, following editions in Kobe, Boston, London, Tokyo, Amsterdam, Gurgaon, and Riyadh. Beyond the event in October, the ASICS Ventures team may pursue post-event investment and commercial pilot opportunities with Kenzen finalists.

FROM ASICS LEADERSHIP
As society and the environment undergo rapid changes, ASICS Corporation remains committed to its founding philosophy, Anima Sana In Corpore Sano: a sound mind in a sound body. Kenzen is an expression of that philosophy in practice, finding the founders who can extend the ASICS customer experience to people and places the brand has not yet reached.

Program Overview

Program name Kenzen 2026: New Experiences
Event date October 22, 2026 · 4:00 PM to 7:00 PM ET
Venue University of Michigan Golf Course, Ann Arbor, Michigan; logistics provided to finalists after August 31, 2026
Theme New Experiences: the services, products, and communities bringing more people into ASICS
Categories Experience Movement · Experience Physical · Experience Digital · Experience Wellness
Prize package $80K total : Grand prize $40K, runner-up $25K and third place 10K ($5K non-cash)
Application period June 2 to July 30, 2026
Finalists announced August 31, 2026
Eligibility ・Fits one of the four 2026 categories: Experience Movement, Experience Physical, Experience Digital, or Experience Wellness ・US-incorporated ・No active litigation or regulatory action against the company or its founders ・Available for in-person attendance on October 22, 2026
Finalists Six startup companies selected; two representatives from each invited to Ann Arbor
Website kenzen.asics.com

For further information, visit kenzen.asics.com.

For startup applications, visit kenzen.asics.com/apply

No purchase necessary. Open to startup companies who are physically located and incorporated or organized in the United States. Submissions open June 2, 2026 and close July 30, 2026. Void where prohibited. For Official Rules, prize details/ARV, and how to enter, visit https://kenzen.asics.com/terms-and-conditions.

*1 Kenzen The name Kenzen derives from the Japanese word 健全 (Kenzen), meaning “sound” or “healthy”, a direct echo of the founding philosophy that has guided ASICS since 1949. By naming the franchise in this spirit, ASICS Ventures signals that Kenzen is built not around a single event, but around a belief that endures.

*2 University of Michigan ASICS Corporation, “ASICS to Establish ASICS Institute of Sport Science America LLC; Signs Multi-Year Strategic Research Agreement with the University of Michigan,” news release, December 2025.