Elith Inc. (Headquarters: Frontier Hongo I 6-A, 2-27-17 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Koki Inoue) will hold "Regional Banks × Generative AI, the Beginning of Co-creation — GENIAC-Selected Financial AI Guardrail 'FinGuard' Announcement & the Reality of Startup Fundraising," a networking event on the theme of co-creation between regional banks and generative AI startups, as a side event of "IVS2026," Japan's largest domestic startup conference, on Wednesday, July 1, 2026, at Okazaki-an in Kyoto.
At this event, we will unveil "FinGuard," a financial business-specific AI guardrail, aimed at the financial field, where the business use of generative AI is advancing while the importance of managing risks such as customer information (financial PII), compliance, and misinformation (hallucination) is increasing. We will also share key points and practical realities of startups raising funds from banks, providing a venue where participants can exchange candid views at the same table and create encounters that lead to the next co-creation, deals, and support.
Background to the event
For regional banks, generative AI is becoming a competitive advantage not just through "using" it, but through "establishing a state where it can be used safely" in the context of supporting regional companies and promoting DX. At the same time, the next move for regional finance also depends on whether banks can act as the side that "finances and co-creates" with AI startups.
This event was planned as a networking gathering where regional banks and generative AI startups can discuss on equal footing and take the first step toward co-creation.
[Event overview]
- Event name: Regional Banks × Generative AI, the Beginning of Co-creation — GENIAC-Selected Financial AI Guardrail "FinGuard" Announcement & the Reality of Startup Fundraising
- Date/time: Wednesday, July 1, 2026, 16:00–18:30 (reception opens at 15:45)
- Venue: Okazaki-an
- Address: 91-65 Okazaki Enshoji-cho, Sakyo-ku, Kyoto (5-minute walk from Higashiyama Station on the Tozai subway line / very close to the IVS venue "Miyako Messe")
- Capacity: 30–40 people (mainly regional banks and generative AI startups)
- Fee: 1,000 yen
- Organizer: Elith Inc.
- Positioning: IVS2026 side event
- Registration URL: https://4s.link/ja/ivs2026-fintech-ai-meetup
About FinGuard
FinGuard is a financial business-specific AI guardrail model that monitors generative AI input and output in real time, detecting and blocking the following.
- Leakage of customer information (financial PII)
- Financial compliance violations
- Financial hallucinations (misinformation)
- Prompt injection attacks
It can be deployed as an add-on layer over existing generative AI, operating with a two-stage structure of input filtering followed by output screening. Selected for "GENIAC," the national AI development project by the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry (METI) and NEDO.