Company
Philosophy
Believing in the Boundless Potential of Individuals and Materials
Materials hold the potential to improve lives, society, and the course of civilisation. We believe that this potential is unlocked by individuals who discover, develop, and apply materials in ways that shape a better future.
Mission
Making Data-Driven R&D a Standard Practice
We aim to make materials and product development more data-driven and intelligent by enabling researchers to use materials informatics and AI as a natural part of everyday R&D. In doing so, we help each researcher bring more creativity, judgement, and value to their work.
Values
Science
We move uncertain challenges forward by forming bold hypotheses, observing reality, and testing our assumptions with rigour.
Collaboration
We design systems that connect knowledge sharing and decision-making, bringing together different disciplines and roles to solve complex problems.
Empathy
We seek to understand the situations and contexts of customers, colleagues, and organisations, and design solutions that work in reality.
Company Overview
- Company Name
- MI-6 Ltd.
- Established
- 17 November 2017
- Representative Director
- Mitsuru Irie
- Business Description
- Research, development, and provision of services and software applying technologies such as Materials Informatics and robotics.
- Security
Certification 
- Location
- Head Office
- Tensho Office Nihonbashi 8-13 Nihonbashi Kobunacho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 103-0024, Japan
- Laboratory
- Yokohama Hardtech Hub 12 Nishikicho, Naka-ku, Yokohama, Kanagawa 231-8715, Japan
- Access
Head Office
- 4-minute walk from Exit A3 or A5, Ningyocho Station, Tokyo Metro Hibiya Line
- 4-minute walk from Exit A5 or A6, Ningyocho Station, Toei Asakusa Line
- 5-minute walk from Exit B6, Mitsukoshimae Station, Tokyo Metro Ginza Line
- 5-minute walk from Exit B6, Mitsukoshimae Station, Tokyo Metro Hanzomon Line
- 7-minute walk from Exit 5, Shin-Nihombashi Station, JR Sobu Main Line
Laboratory
- Approximately 30–40 minutes by bus from JR Yokohama Station or JR Sakuragicho Station
- Approximately 10 minutes by bus from JR Negishi Station
Members
Leadership
CEO
Mitsuru Irie
Mitsuru Irie completed graduate studies in bioinformatics at Tokyo Institute of Technology, now Institute of Science Tokyo. After working at a policy consulting firm and an IT venture, he co-founded MI-6 in 2018.
Since then, he has worked to advance materials informatics from a promising analytical approach into a practical foundation for industrial R&D. His work focuses on transforming how materials and chemical companies generate knowledge, make decisions, and accelerate innovation through the integration of data, AI, and experimental science.
CFO
Hiroaki Shirakawa
Hiroaki Shirakawa holds a Master's degree in Management of Technology from Tokyo Institute of Technology (now Institute of Science Tokyo). He began his career as a project engineer in the plant engineering industry, working on LNG and oil refinery construction projects. After gaining further experience across the global IT consulting and SaaS industries, he joined MI-6 in 2024.
He draws on a deep understanding of business, technology, and customer needs—cultivated through extensive experience in business strategy consulting, solution sales, and product management—to build businesses and organizations where diverse talent can collaborate effectively in a fully remote, dynamic, and ambitious environment.
COO
Saki Kato
Saki Kato completed graduate studies in Biomolecular Engineering at Tokyo Institute of Technology, now Institute of Science Tokyo. She began her career at Sumitomo Chemical, where she worked on the development of OLED polarising films and photoresists, and led the adoption of materials informatics within R&D organisations.
She joined MI-6 in 2024 and currently serves as Product Owner of miHub®, leading Customer Success and Professional Services. She works closely with customers to accelerate R&D by integrating domain expertise, data, and AI into practical research workflows.
