The Nordics Bring Next-Gen AI and XR to Japan

From Smart Cities to Defense Tech—Discover the Future at the Nordic Metaverse Day at the Osaka World Expo in May

Designed specifically for Japanese B2B companies in manufacturing, defense, smart cities, and sustainable urban development, this event offers an exclusive opportunity to explore cutting-edge Nordic and European metaverse projects—all in one place. In addition to the Nordic companies, there are some influencial high-profile speakers from Japan. These include Hiroshi Nakatani, Vice President and CTO of Kawasaki Heavy Industries, Masao Nakane from NVIDIA Japan and Hideaki Watanabe, Chairman, Defense Technology Foundation and Former Commissioner of Acquisition, Technology and Logistics Agency, Ministry of Defense. 

"We’re bringing together the most exciting minds from Finland, the Nordics, and beyond for a day of keynotes, discussions, and live demos that connect Japanese and Nordic industries in meaningful ways", says Laura Olin, the event’s organizer and a metaverse expert with nearly a decade of experience in the field.

The Nordics have a long history of pioneering industries that power the metaverse—XR, AI, gaming, and communication technology—and Finland was the first in Europe to establish a national Metaverse Initiative. Now, this expertise is coming to Osaka.

On May 30th, attendees can dive into two dedicated program tracks:

• Morning: Industrial & Defense
• Afternoon: Smart City & Sustainability

Alongside insightful sessions, guests will have the chance to interact with key industry players at hands-on demo stands.

From Nokia to Rising Startups: A Nordic Metaverse Showcase at Osaka World Expo

The Nordic Metaverse Day brings together a powerhouse mix of industry leaders, startups, public organizations, and researchers, offering not just discussions but hands-on technology demos that push the boundaries of AI, XR, and immersive solutions.

Game-Changing Tech from Nokia & Proverse

At the forefront is Nokia, presenting its revolutionary Real-time eXtended Reality Multimedia (RXRM) software and Nokia 5G 360 Camera. By streaming only the visible portion of a 360° video, RXRM reduces bandwidth requirements by up to 90%—delivering low-latency, high-quality, real-time XR experiences. Visitors will get to test the technology in action at the event.

One of RXRM’s adopters, Proverse, is redefining industrial collaboration. Their XR platform, designed for training, design, and operations, enables mass-scale remote teamwork. Proverse originates from Turku University of Applied Sciences, whose experts will also take the stage to discuss dual-use technologies in defense.

Breaking Barriers with Immersive and Urban Tech Solutions

Fresh from securing funding from Google Ventures, the founders of Varjo have launched their next innovation: Distance Technologies. Their groundbreaking 3D light field display technology offers infinite pixel-depth immersion, turning any transparent surface into a mixed-reality portal. Guests at the Metaverse Day will be among the first to experience it firsthand.

From Sweden, the City of Gothenburg presents digital twin technology as part of the EU-funded CitiVerse project, which is pioneering new, inclusive ways of experiencing cities. Their immersive solutions aim to redefine accessibility and smart urban development, and it is built on Omniverse platform.

Sustainable Cities & Synthetic Data for Climate Readiness

Younite, a leader in AI-powered spatial solutions, is partnering with NVIDIA to showcase how synthetic data and photorealistic digital twins can enhance safety and disaster preparedness, particularly in response to climate change. Their AI-driven innovations merge XR and smart city tech to simulate and predict real-world scenarios.

The Helsinki XR Center, in collaboration with the Smart and Creative City Innovation Hub, will demonstrate their latest immersive tech projects, including open city-data repositories and digital twins for sustainable urban planning and architecture. They are actively seeking global partnerships through the Immersive Sustainability Lab, a one-of-a-kind innovation platform merging XR with environmental challenges.

Finland’s National Metaverse Strategy in Action

Finland is not just participating in the metaverse revolution—it’s shaping it. Business Finland’s Immersive Digital Life initiative, a key part of the country’s Metaverse Strategy, will be featured at the event. The initiative emphasizes ethical and responsible metaverse development, focusing on privacy, user safety, and societal impact.

The Metaverse Finland Ecosystem (MEFI), which brings together technology companies, researchers and public stakeholders to co-create real-world metaverse applications, is now expanding globally to build a future of human-centred immersive technologies. This year, MEFI is organising MatchXR 2025, Finland's flagship event for XR and the metaverse, spotlighting AI-driven XR and bringing together over 1700 participants for a day of partnerships, exhibitions, expert talks and the XR Awards after-party.

From deep-tech breakthroughs to sustainable city planning, the Nordic Metaverse Day at the Osaka World Expo will be a showcase of innovation, collaboration, and the future of digital experiences.

Nordic Pavilion is a completely unique platform for the Metaverse Day in the world’s largest live event, the Osaka World Expo. The event is an invitation-based event where guests can test demos and have direct conversations with experts. The Expo itself is an experience with pavilions built by nations and global industry leaders. 

More information 

Follow the LinkedIn page for more details and the final program:
https://www.linkedin.com/company/nordic-metaverse-day-osaka-expo-2025/

Interested to learn more or join the event? 
Contact: Laura Olin, laura.olin (at) younite.ai, tel. +358 40 3516808