Takashi Kato is Co-founder & CEO of Fracta, Inc. Fracta uses machine learning and big data to optimize infrastructure investments – starting with a water main pipe replacement prioritization solution for U.S. water utilities. Fracta got acquired (50.1%) by multi-national corporation in the water industry (Kurita Water Industries Ltd.) in May 2018.
Previously, Takashi was a Co-founder & CFO of SCHAFT Inc., the humanoid robotics startup which was awarded first prize at the 2013 U.S. DARPA (Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency) Robotics Challenge Trials. SCHAFT was acquired by Google in the same year.
Takashi was a visiting scholar at Stanford’s US-Asia Technology Management Center (US-ATMC) and lectures on entrepreneurship at Waseda University. He is the author of “Five Steps to Unlock Your Future”, “How to Make Your Life Dramatic”, and “Not Crazy Enough”. Takashi has been published in the following including Bloomberg, The Economist, The Financial Times, Business Insider, Fast Company, Forbes JAPAN, and CNBC.
Takashi holds a B.Eng. degree in applied physics from Waseda University and an MBA from the Australian National University.
