At the Japan Seattle AI Innovation Meetup 27.0 on September 24, 2026, Yoodli Lead Product Manager Jaimin Gandhi gave a keynote titled “Readiness for the moments that matter.” His message to a room of US startups, investors, and Japanese corporate and municipal leaders was simple: every employee should have a coach, and AI finally makes that possible.
A coach for every employee
Jaimin opened with the problem. Until now, coaching has reached a few people at the top of an organization. Everyone else learns on the job, often in the conversations where mistakes cost the most.
AI changes who gets access. With Yoodli, every employee can get coaching on their real work, not just in a classroom or a quarterly workshop.
Meet Sam: how AI coaching works after a real call
To show what that looks like, Jaimin walked the audience through a day in the life of Sam, a sales rep.
- The call. Sam finishes a real customer call with a prospect who has concerns about security.
- The debrief. His AI coach reviews the recorded call alongside his past coaching sessions.
- The moment. The coach finds the exact point in the conversation where it could have gone better.
- The plan. The coach tells Sam what went well (he held his ground on the security concerns), what to work on (tying his answer to the buyer’s business priorities, not just the feature), and what to practice next. Then it builds a new AI roleplay so he can rehearse that conversation before the real follow-up.
That loop of real work, coaching, and targeted practice is what Yoodli means by readiness. Learn. Practice. Do.
Hundreds of Sams, almost no coached calls
Every company has hundreds of Sams, and almost none of their real calls ever get coached. Managers don’t have the hours to review them all.
Jaimin laid out where Yoodli is today and where it’s headed:
- Now: every Sam has a coach, with coaching after every real call.
- Next: live coaching, right there on the call, while Sam is talking.
About the Japan Seattle AI Innovation Meetup
The Japan Seattle AI Innovation Meetup connects US startups with Japanese corporations, municipalities, and investors. The 27th edition ran September 23–25, 2026 at the Panoramic Center in Seattle’s Pacific Tower, alongside the AOS Q-DREAM Workshop.
The meetup was supported by the Washington State Department of Commerce (Choose Washington), Orrick, SWAN Venture Group, the Consulate-General of Japan in Seattle, JETRO (Japan External Trade Organization), NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization), the UW–Tohoku Academic Open Space, and UW CoMotion.
The program was built for US–Japan business matchmaking:
- Morning: sponsor remarks and guest keynotes, including Yoodli’s session from 11:45 AM to 12:00 PM.
- Afternoon: pitches from 10 seed-to-Series A startups, then reverse pitches where Japanese corporations and municipalities shared their challenges and innovation needs.
- Throughout: networking between US founders, investors, and the Japanese delegation.
The reverse pitches set this event apart. Instead of startups guessing what a buyer needs, the buyers say it out loud.
Why US–Japan AI collaboration matters
Seattle and Japan share more than a Pacific coastline. Both are home to enterprises investing heavily in AI and asking the same follow-up question: once the tools are in place, are our people ready to use them well?
Yoodli was built in Seattle. Varun Puri and Esha Joshi founded the company in 2021 at the AI2 Incubator, and it now helps enterprise teams prepare for the conversations that matter.
“Thank you to Tetsuro Eto and the Washington State Department of Commerce for this opportunity,” Jaimin said after the event. “It was a great day of conversations about keeping teams at full readiness.”
We’re grateful to every sponsor and partner who made the meetup happen, and we look forward to continuing these conversations with the Japanese delegation and the companies we met.
Frequently asked questions
What is the Japan Seattle AI Innovation Meetup? A recurring event that connects US AI startups with Japanese corporations, municipalities, and investors through keynotes, startup pitches, reverse pitches, and networking. The 27th edition took place September 23–25, 2026 in Seattle.
Who spoke for Yoodli at the Japan Seattle AI Innovation Meetup 27.0? Jaimin Gandhi, Yoodli’s Lead Product Manager, gave a 15-minute keynote on September 24, 2026, titled “Readiness for the moments that matter.”
How does Yoodli’s AI coach work? It reviews an employee’s real recorded calls, finds the moments that could have gone better, gives specific feedback, and builds an AI roleplay so they can practice before the next real conversation.
What is AI roleplay? A realistic, AI-powered practice scenario where employees rehearse high-stakes conversations, like a sales call or a security review, and get personalized coaching on how they did.
Get your team ready for the conversations that matter
See how Yoodli gives every employee a coach. Book a demo.