Building More Sustainable Cities Requires Smarter Maintenance

A Digital Revolution in the Brick and Mortar Industry

The goal of SusHi Tech Tokyo is to foster innovation within startups that are creating sustainable high city tech for the future. WeMaintain's technology does exactly that by focusing on the key building blocks of a city: the buildings themselves. 

Benoit Dupont, one of the WeMaintain founders in attendance at SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025, explains, "Real estate is the largest asset class in the world, it is just over 370 trillion dollars, yet construction is the second least digitized category, just above the fishing and agriculture industries. The other issue is that real estate is responsible for 40% of global greenhouse gas emissions. So, you have the largest asset class and the largest contributor to global carbon emissions: how do we tackle such a big problem?"

For Dupont and his colleagues at WeMaintain, one answer is to bring in a digital revolution. "You need technology to make a difference," Dupont states. WeMaintain has developed an agnostic IoT (internet of things—a collected network of devices) which feeds data to a machine learning AI for processing. "The beauty of machine learning is you do not need to preconfigure anything," Dupont explains, "you simply place your technology, capture the data, and run the machine learning immediately."

After placing their technology on building equipment such as lifts and escalators, it can then monitor the functioning of said equipment to such a degree that it can predict maintenance needs, target operational efficiency, and provide data that allows engineers to better understand what energy-saving measures can be taken. For real estate owners, this kind of technology can be invaluable. "The real estate industry is starting to realize that if it wants to meet the 2030 sustainability goals, there is no way to do that without harnessing technology," Dupont notes. 

Combining French Innovation with Existing Japanese Technology

Started in France in 2017, WeMaintain's operations have grown substantially, from three founders: Dupont, Jade Francine, and Tristen Foureur, to a staff of just over 300. It is not only their staff but also their customer base that is growing, with WeMaintain having built a strong presence in Asia and continuing to expand rapidly. 

"We do 70% of our business outside of France already, and Asia is the fastest growing market for us," Dupont says. "That is why I, as a founder, moved into the region four months ago to make sure that we developed that market." Having relocated to Hong Kong to support the $9 million contract WeMaintain won with the city's Metro, Dupont is now looking to break into Japan's market.

"Japan is a market that is already very technological, from the industrial age and now into the digital age. Tokyo is a very big city, so there is a lot of potential for us. The question is, how can we increase the bar in terms of using technology to be even more efficient than a system that is already close to perfection? That is our biggest challenge." 

Bearing all this in mind, Dupont does see an opportunity for his company's technology in Tokyo, and Japan at large. "I believe the Japanese are really good at preventative maintenance, the processes that prevent things from breaking. WeMaintain focuses on predictive maintenance, so we will tell you before something breaks. If you could combine these two together, things would never break." 

Strengthening a Long-Lasting Connection

For over a century, Japan and France have shared a strong connection, especially in the fields of fashion, art, and cuisine. Moving forward, Dupont hopes that this will also encompass the field of tech. "The French technology ecosystem is very dynamic, and I think that working within Japan can be a good opportunity for us to learn from each other, especially because we already have mutual trust. I think that is always very important to start with." 

Dupont believes that, along with France's strength in the field of technology and AI, it is their creativity and "panache" that they hope to import into the Japanese market. "We are able to bring ideas that maybe have not been thought of here because we have a different perspective," he says. However, Dupont knows that "panache" must also be accompanied by a real, proven product. 

"Japan is already very advanced, so if you come here, you must come with a robust product that is already proven around the world. Our value lies in the fact that we have a unique technology and AI model. Tokyo has, from my perspective, a lot to gain in regard to adopting technology that focuses on the maintenance aspect of things." 

For Dupont, entering the Japanese market also means understanding it from a local perspective. "When you enter a market, your salespeople and team members have to be fully local," Dupont states, adding, "We've done this in every area that we've entered. In the UK, I did not send a French guy to run the UK; I hired a UK team, and that has been the case for Singapore, Hong Kong, and now in Japan. We are going to keep hiring local talent because there's a large talent pool already here." 

SusHi Tech Tokyo Invites Startups into the Local Ecosystem

For many global startups, one of the biggest hurdles is entering the ecosystem of another country. The benefit of SusHi Tech Tokyo is that it introduces these startups not only to one another but to larger, more established corporations that know their home market inside and out. "SusHi Tech Tokyo is efficient because you have everybody in the same place," Dupont says. "We ran out of business cards on the first day and had to quickly print out new ones. The interest in our solution was overwhelming, with attendees asking detailed questions to fully grasp how our technology operates. Such a deep technical understanding of our solution is rarely seen at other events." 

Expanding from the success of last year, SusHi Tech Tokyo 2025 welcomed over 600 exhibitors and 57,000 participants from across the fields of technology and sustainability.

While it may not yet be as large as other global tech events, such as Viva Technology, Europe's biggest startup and tech event held in Paris, SusHi Tech Tokyo has its own advantages. "The intern process, which allows students from across the country to participate in an international event and learn about startups, is excellent," Dupont says, "I highly recommend that the VivaTech organizers study a similar format. We also generated more customer leads than at the last VivaTech edition, which was unexpected when we decided to participate. This is very encouraging, and we look forward to further engaging with Japanese customers and understanding the Japanese market better to build long-term trust."

Movie: Tokyo Metropolitan Government

Benoit Dupont

Benoit Dupont is the Co-Founder and CEO of WeMaintain. Born in Germany and raised across Africa, he has worked in Europe, China, and India. After over a decade at Otis Elevator, he founded WeMaintain in 2017. His leadership philosophy is grounded in curiosity, listening, and empowering others.　
Photo: courtesy of WeMaintain

SusHi Tech Tokyo, short for Sustainable High City Tech Tokyo, is a Tokyo-based concept that aims to create sustainable new value by overcoming global urban challenges through cutting-edge technology, diverse ideas, and digital expertise.

SusHi Tech Tokyo | Sustainable High City Tech Tokyo