ABOUT US

Christos Makiyama is the President of Silicon Planet, a venture development firm he founded in February 2001. Silicon Planet works with technology innovators to identify and evaluate market opportunities, develop sustainable business models, and support business development and international market expansion. A particular focus of his work is identifying and developing strategic synergies across technologies, industries, and international innovation ecosystems.

 

​Prior to founding Silicon Planet, Christos held various leadership positions at Paltek Corporation from 1995 to 2000, most recently serving as General Manager of the Business Development Group. He played a leading role in developing new business opportunities and introducing international semiconductor technologies to the Japanese market, contributing to the company's growth and its public listing in 1998.

 

Over the past 30 years, Christos has supported the venture development and business development initiatives of corporations such as NTT, Oki Electric, Paltek, and ImageOne, as well as numerous technology startups. His experience spans semiconductors, networking and communications, computer vision, IoT, AI, and other emerging technologies.

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In 2004, he joined Helic, a startup developing innovative electromagnetic analysis solutions and intellectual property for wireless and high-speed IC design. Christos led the company's Japanese market development activities, establishing business relationships and securing major deals with leading semiconductor and electronics companies, including Sony, Fujitsu, Toshiba, Panasonic, Sharp, AKM, Samsung, and Denso. In 2008, he also helped secure strategic investments from Fujitsu and Magma Design Automation. Helic was acquired by Ansys, a global leader in engineering simulation, in February 2019.

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Christos was also an angel investor and Board Director of Think Silicon, a semiconductor startup based in Patras, Greece. His involvement began in late 2014, contributing to the company's strategy and business development for its innovative ultra-low-power GPU and display controller technologies. Think Silicon was acquired by Applied Materials in April 2020.

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Christos is a co-founder of Loctio, a venture developing innovative positioning technologies and architectures for IoT devices. He has also served as an advisor and mentor to numerous emerging technology ventures, including Fieldscale, InAccel, and IridaLabs, supporting their business strategies, commercialization, and international market development. IridaLabs was acquired by Renesas in May 2026.

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Beyond his venture development activities, Christos is actively involved in strengthening international technology and business collaboration, particularly between Japan, Greece, Cyprus, and the broader European innovation ecosystem.

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He serves as Vice President of the Greek Chamber of Commerce in Japan (GrCCJ), which promotes business relations and collaboration between Japan and the Greek and Cypriot business communities. He is also a member of the Advisory Board of the Hellenic Chips Competence Centre (HCCC), an initiative supporting the development of Greece's semiconductor ecosystem and its integration into the European semiconductor value chain.

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In addition, Christos is a member of the Sectoral Scientific Council for Collaboration with the Greek Scientific Diaspora and Technology Diplomacy, under Greece's National Council for Research, Technology and Innovation (NCRTI), contributing to initiatives that strengthen international scientific and technological cooperation.