North Carolina Governor and Delegation Pay Courtesy Visit to Our Company; Exchanged Views on the State’s Life Sciences Promotion, Our AI × Biology Healthcare Innovation, and the Potential for Expanding Operations into North Carolina October
2025.10.29
North Carolina Governor Josh Stein paid a courtesy visit to our office on Wednesday, October 29, coinciding with his trip to Japan for the Southeastern United States–Japan (SEUS–Japan) Conference. He was accompanied by senior members of the state’s leadership, including the Governor’s Chief of Staff, the Secretary of Commerce, and executives from the Economic Development Partnership of North Carolina (EDPNC). Together, we exchanged views on the state’s life sciences ecosystem and our technology and business initiatives, and, through meetings with our executive leadership, discussed the potential for our expansion into North Carolina.
The visit followed a compact 30-minute program. Following welcome remarks from our CEO, CTO Eric Di Luccio presented our efforts to integrate AI into the nematode-based cancer screening test “N-NOSE,” focusing on accuracy improvement and scalability. Head of International Business, Mr. Hayashi, then outlined our pathway from LDT to FDA approval, as well as the scope of our planned U.S. operations (workforce planning and investment assumptions).
During the Q&A, discussions centered on the pathway to clinical application, covering topics such as the health economic benefits of early detection, broad accessibility, and evidence generation through collaboration with academia and payers. The conversation also addressed data quality, ethical AI, and partnership opportunities with regional stakeholders. In addition, the Governor’s delegation voiced strong recognition of N-NOSE’s technological novelty and the long-term sustainability of its delivery model as strengths that could support early implementation in the United States.
Governor Stein highlighted the depth of North Carolina’s life sciences industry (approximately 800 companies employing 70,000 people, with an annual economic scale of roughly $82 billion), along with the state’s academic and research foundations centered around Duke University and the University of North Carolina at Chapel Hill (UNC), and its robust talent pipeline. He stated, “Early intervention prevents not only healthcare costs but also a great deal of sorrow. We want to be a partner to help ensure your vision reaches people across the United States,” and noted the state’s support for workforce development. He also expressed appreciation for N-NOSE’s technological novelty and its scalability-driven sustainability, indicating the state’s willingness to collaborate toward U.S. deployment.
Chris Chung, CEO of EDPNC, indicated readiness to support site selection with future expansion in mind, while Secretary of Commerce Lee Lilley introduced a range of discretionary incentives, including customized training grants, infrastructure support, and phased cash grants.
Through this dialogue, we reaffirmed North Carolina’s comprehensive strengths across research, talent, cost competitiveness, and business support, and shared expectations that our AI × biology healthcare innovation can contribute to improved public health and healthcare access in the United States. Governor Stein also conveyed his assessment of N-NOSE’s technological novelty and business sustainability, and both parties confirmed the potential for collaboration toward social implementation in the U.S. Going forward, we will work to concretize collaboration opportunities with the state’s academic institutions, industry clusters, and economic development authorities, advance N-NOSE’s U.S. rollout and regulatory strategy, and conduct practical discussions on workforce development and potential site selection.
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