The Planetway Corporation (Headquarters: San Jose, CA, USA; CEO & Founder: Noriaki Hirao; Planetway) highly secure data linkage technology, PlanetCross, and the universal ID platform PlanetID, were used in combination with the Blockchain Lock Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Ken Okamoto; hereinafter “BCL”) blockchain solution in an information sharing demonstration experiment for a car sharing business.

Demonstration Experiment Outline

PlanetCross is based on the Estonian e-Government information sharing platform X-Road. PlanetID is a universal ID platform with authentication, electronic signature and consent functions. In collaboration with Keyvox, a secure electronic locker provided by BCL, we have completed a demonstration experiment on secure data utilization by operators of a shared car, confirming improvement of customer convenience. Based on these results, we will not only carry out further studies with car-sharing operators, but also promote our products to society as a whole, across borders and industries.

About Planetway

Planetway Corporation a start-up headquartered in California, has developed its own core platform technology "PlanetCross," an advanced version of the powerful Estonian e-government administration platform “X-Road”, and “PlanetID,” a digital universal ID with functions including ID assignment(identity-verified), authentication, and electronic signature. Our company is certified as an X-ROAD TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS. Based on the fundamental idea that the rights to personal information belong to individuals rather than companies or organizations, Planetway has created a mission to change society "For a Human-centric and Secure Planet" with the aim to promote the idea of information disclosure or utilization by an “individual’s consent or denial thereof”.

Corporate Home Page (EN): https://planetway.com/en/

X-ROAD TECHNOLOGY PARTNERS-SILVER: https://x-road.global/xroad-technology-partners

※Company names and product names in this text are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective companies

About the founder

Born in 1983, Noriaki Hirao is a three-time entrepreneur (with one liquidation), founding companies in entertainment, semiconductor and IoT fields. As a student, he studied space engineering, organic chemistry and marketing in the United States, then founding a content production startup for Hollywood films and video games. In 2008, after graduating from California State University he returned to Japan joining SoftBank Mobile and received several in-house awards, including first prize for sales competing against 800 national mobile salespersons. In 2011, he co-founded a technology licensing company (TLO), which signed a joint development research agreement with Tohoku University. He attempted to expand business in next-generation semiconductor, centering on 500 patent strategies, but unfortunately the company had to be liquidated. In 2014, he was appointed as the domestic Business Development Manager for Sircom, a Taiwanese IoT equipment ODM vendor, and General Manager of their New Business Innovation Office for WirelessGate, specifically responsible for new business development in the IoT field. From July 2015, Noriaki founded Planetway, a global startup (USA, Japan, Estonia) acuminating his various experiences. In 2017, the company introduced technology for securely communicating patient information between Tokio Marine & Nichido Insurance and Iizuka Hospital and was awarded the “World's No. 1” rating award for the solution. In 2019, Planetway achieved its first commercialization of a product (PlanetCross), now servicing more than 1.3 million service account users. After 2020, the company aims to expand its infrastructure in Japan and globally. Noriaki has a unique vision for the realization of the age of data sovereignty and the evolution of capitalism.