In 2026, SOPHOLA entered its ninth fiscal year. As we continue to grow, we are also moving forward with the launch of two new ventures that we have been developing over the past year.

The first is our Integrated Intelligence Initiative, a business dedicated to researching and practicing a framework of self-exploration and cognitive theory that we believe will become increasingly valuable in the era of human-AI coexistence.

This April, we officially launched a general incorporated association to support these activities. We built the organization’s website ourselves and have been simultaneously conducting experiments for our third and fourth research papers.

The second is our new SaaS Business.

Until now, I had never personally developed a SaaS product. However, with the support of AI, I have been building one from scratch myself. We are using WeWeb, a no-code web application builder that recently introduced AI-powered features, making it easier than ever for non-engineers to create sophisticated web applications.

Throughout this process, I have also been learning how code works and how web applications are built. We expect to complete our MVP within the next month.

What these two ventures have taught me most strongly is this:

In the age of AI, what matters most is substance.

AI is remarkably capable. It can handle complex and difficult tasks within seconds. Yet when it comes to the core substance behind ideas—the depth of thinking, experience, conviction, and perspective that give something meaning—I believe there is still a significant gap between AI and human beings.

If you simply provide AI with a topic and ask it to write a paper or build a product, it can generate something reasonably impressive in a short period of time.

However, when humans take responsibility for deeply considering the substance themselves—clarifying the purpose, refining the structure, and shaping the underlying ideas—and then leverage AI as a partner, the quality of the output becomes dramatically better.

I believe this distinction will become increasingly visible in the years ahead.

Human beings naturally gravitate toward convenience. It is far easier to delegate everything to AI and simply publish whatever it produces. But if we rely on that approach too heavily, we risk failing to develop the very substance that makes our ideas unique.

Over time, the gap between those who continue to think deeply for themselves and those who simply outsource their thinking may become a defining difference—not only in business performance, but in personal growth and long-term capability.

At SOPHOLA, we will continue striving to engage sincerely with people, products, and AI without compromising on substance.

We look forward to sharing more details once our MVP is ready. We hope you will be excited to see the web application we are building ourselves.

Masaki “Mark” Iino
Founder & CEO
SOPHOLA, Inc

P.S. Father’s Day is approaching. I plan to visit the grave of my father, who passed away three and a half years ago. He loved his grandchildren dearly, and I look forward to telling him many stories about them.