Yusuke Jay on bridging Japan and Australia, and why translation is the easy part

Ecosystem Profile, Issue 10. Yusuke Jay was raised in Fushimi, Kyoto and has been based in Sydney for the past eight years. He runs Cubic Innov8 Group and co-founded Vacanti AI. Before any of it, he did back office work at American Express and sold software at Kaseya.

1. Intro and what you’re working on

Yusuke Jay, raised in Fushimi, Kyoto, based in Sydney for the past 8 years. I run Cubic Innov8 Group ↗, an IT and innovation group spanning Tokyo, Kyoto and Sydney. Our mission is to connect Japan, Australia and the wider Asia-Pacific through technology and purpose, not just as a tech corridor but as a bridge between people, opportunity and ambition. The vision is a region where talent and ideas move as freely as capital already does.

Right now the flagship build is Vacanti AI ↗, an AI job application workspace for the Australian market, co-founded with Masaki Kawakami ↗. It cuts application time from about 30 minutes to 5 minutes, so job seekers, especially international students and visa holders, can actually apply at volume instead of burning out on one resume a day.

2. What were you doing before this, and what finally made you start?

Before any of this I did back office work at American Express and sold software at Kaseya. People assume founders jump straight from idea to CEO, but I spent years in unglamorous operational roles, including visa paperwork support, before I ever built anything of my own. That grind is exactly why Vacanti AI ↗ is built the way it is: for people doing the unglamorous, repetitive work of applying to jobs one after another.

3. Avoiding AI, somewhat into AI, or all in on AI?

All in, but from the operator side rather than the hype side. My background is cybersecurity and data analytics from UniSA plus accounting, so I care about whether AI actually removes friction, not whether it sounds impressive in a pitch deck. Vacanti AI ↗, which I co-founded with Masaki Kawakami ↗, exists because we watched people we know spend hours per application and get nothing back. That is the kind of problem AI should be solving, and it is exactly the philosophy behind Cubic Innov8 Group ↗: technology in service of a purpose, not technology for its own sake.

4. What’s the hardest part for startups that want to go beyond their own borders?

It is never the product. It is the local nuance: visa rules, hiring norms, who trusts whom, and how business actually gets done on the ground versus how it looks from a deck written in another country. I have sat on both sides of this, supporting visa applicants through an administrative law office in Japan and now running Zepi to connect Japan, Australia and the wider APAC region. Translation is easy. Earning local trust is the part nobody can shortcut.

5. Where can people usually find you?

AI Salon Sydney events (I help organize the community), Zepi Rooftop ↗, on LinkedIn ↗, or on the 9-5 Startup podcast ↗ where I talk Australian startup culture. You can also find what we are building at Cubic Innov8 Group ↗ and Vacanti AI ↗. Outside of work, I am on a football pitch most weeks with my team.

6. What’s one thing people find surprising about you?

That before any of this I did back office work at American Express and sold software at Kaseya. People assume founders jump straight from idea to CEO, but I spent years in unglamorous operational roles, including visa paperwork support, before I ever built anything of my own. That grind is exactly why Vacanti AI ↗ is built the way it is: for people doing the unglamorous, repetitive work of applying to jobs one after another.

7. How can you help others in the community, and what do you need help with currently?

I can help with anything touching Japan-Australia market entry, visa and migration nuance, or connecting founders and investors across the two markets through Cubic Innov8 Group ↗, Zepi and AI Salon Sydney. That is the mission end of things: building the bridge.

What I need right now is distribution: intros to international students, 485 and working holiday visa holders, or career coaches and student agents who work with job seekers in Australia, so we can get Vacanti AI ↗ in front of the people it was built for. Early user feedback is just as valuable as intros, so if anyone wants to try it and tell me what is broken, I am listening.

Yusuke’s ask: intros to international students, 485 and working holiday visa holders, and to career coaches or student agents working with job seekers in Australia. Early user feedback counts just as much as an intro.

Find him: LinkedIn ↗ | Cubic Innov8 Group ↗ | Vacanti AI ↗