Aeronext Enters Capital and Business Alliance with ALPICO HOLDINGS Aiming to Rebuild Regional Social Infrastructure and Address Local Challenges ～Developing new services by combining transportation, leisure, retail with smart logistics and drone technologies～

Aeronext Inc. (Head Office: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; President & Group CEO: Keisuke Toji; hereinafter “Aeronext”) announced that on September 29, 2025, it entered into a capital and business alliance with ALPICO HOLDINGS Co., Ltd. (Head Office: Matsumoto City, Nagano Prefecture; President and Representative Director: Yuichi Sato; hereinafter “ALPICO HOLDINGS”). Through the fusion of smart logistics and drone-related technologies, the two companies will collaborate on developing new services to solve regional and social issues.

Background and Purpose of the Alliance

The ALPICO GROUP is engaged in a wide range of businesses centered on Nagano Prefecture, including transportation, tourism, and distribution. In September 2023, the ALPICO GROUP launched a new drone business, creating synergies with its existing businesses to help address regional issues and build a prosperous local community.
Aeronext, in partnership with Seino Holdings Co., Ltd. (Seino HD), operates SkyHub®, a next-generation smart logistics platform that combines ground delivery with drone transport using a proprietary transportation management system. SkyHub® is now deployed in nine locations across Japan. Leveraging its experience of conducting Japan’s first drone-based medical deliveries to isolated areas during the January 2024 Noto Peninsula Earthquake, Aeronext is working with governments to implement SkyHub® Emergency Package, a phase-free regional disaster-response infrastructure.
In September 2023, ALPICO GROUP and Aeronext Group jointly conducted a demonstration in the Tateshina resort area of Chino City to develop a new grocery and daily goods delivery service using drones. On January 31, 2025, the two companies, together with Seino HD, entered a business alliance to expand smart logistics throughout Nagano Prefecture and contribute to solving regional issues and revitalizing local economies.
This new capital and business alliance will strengthen the relationship between ALPICO HOLDINGS and Aeronext by integrating and complementing their respective assets and strengths. Through co-creation and new service development, the companies aim to address social challenges, enhance corporate value, and contribute to the sustainable development of society.

Overview of the Capital and Business Alliance

Date of Agreement: September 29, 2025
Purpose and Scope:
1. Promote implementation of SkyHub® to rebuild regional social infrastructure
2. Co-create revenue models by generating new experiences and brand value through drone-based delivery
3. Promote the implementation of SkyHub® Emergency Package as phase-free disaster-response infrastructure
4. Develop new co-created revenue streams
5. Contribute to regional development through workforce training and job creation in drone logistics

Roles of Each Company

Shared Responsibilities:
• Design and promotion of demonstration projects
• Develop strategies to address local regulations and policies
• Build and expand region-specific business models

ALPICO HOLDINGS:
• Provide group assets and support evaluation and integration with drone logistics
• Coordinate with municipalities and conduct sales activities
• Implement PR and acceptance-building measures

Aeronext:
• Provide the necessary operations management systems for drone operations
• Support the development of last-mile logistics systems
• Design dual-use (disaster/normal) drone logistics schemes

Comments from Representatives

Yuichi Sato, President and Representative Director, ALPICO HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.
This capital and business alliance represents an important step toward generating further innovation by combining Aeronext’s advanced drone technologies and expertise with the assets and experience of the ALPICO GROUP.
We expect this partnership to be mutually beneficial for both companies, and we will continue working to make even greater contributions toward realizing prosperous regional communities.

Keisuke Toji, President & Group CEO, Aeronext Inc.
The ALPICO GROUP operates a wide range of businesses—transportation, tourism, leisure, retail, and distribution—primarily in Nagano Prefecture, contributing significantly to solving regional challenges and enriching local communities.
We are truly delighted to welcome the best possible partner as a shareholder for the Aeronext Group, which is striving to tackle social issues such as depopulation and limited mobility while aiming to become a leading company in the next-generation mobility industry that provides “infrastructure of the sky.”

Reference

*1 New Smart Logistics
An initiative that aims to make logistics, which is an essential part of people’s lives, sustainable in the future by exploring solutions to issues common to the logistics industry, such as the shortage of labor, environmental and energy issues, and the need to respond to digital transformation, while making use of digital technology and other innovations. The initiative explores the efficiency of regional logistics and addresses regional issues and aims to consider and realize a best mix of shared delivery for the last mile, the balance between land transport by vehicle, and air transport by drone, phase-free logistics including disaster response, mixed cargo and passenger transport, and automation technology, and more. The initiative acts in accordance with regional conditions and needs, through co-creation on an open public platform (O.P.P.) that transcends the boundaries between the public and private sectors, and between industries.

*2 New Logistics SkyHub®︎
A new smart logistics platform jointly developed and deployed by Aeronext and Seino HD that connects existing land transportation and drone logistics, as well as connecting ground and air infrastructure to deliver goods anytime, anywhere. An open and standardized platform with built-in drone delivery, operating from Drone Depots®︎ and using cars and drones as delivery vehicles, and SkyHub®︎ TMS as the base for SkyHub®︎ Delivery (shopping service), SkyHub®︎ Eats (food delivery), SkyHub®︎ Medical (pharmaceutical delivery), as well as joint delivery of packages from different logistics companies in bulk, to develop and provide services tailored to local issues and needs.
The introduction of SkyHub® not only has the logistics benefits of promoting unmanned and inventory-free operations and improving last mile delivery efficiency, but also introduces a new logistics infrastructure. Where the logistics industry facing the “2024 Logistics Problem,” SkyHub® will contribute to solving social issues in the region, such as transportation problems in specific depopulated areas, medical problems, disaster countermeasures, and measures for the vulnerable in logistics, SkyHub® will also contribute to address regional issues such as traffic problems in specific depopulated areas, medical problems, disaster countermeasures, and measures for the vulnerable in logistics, as well as raise the level of satisfaction of residents and communities by improving convenience and quality of life.

*3 SkyHub® Emergency Package
A phase-free SkyHub® that can achieve smooth emergency supply deliveries using logistics drones and more in disaster emergencies as well as non-emergency times.

【About ALPICO HOLDINGS Co., Ltd.】
The ALPICO GROUP is a conglomerate that operates primarily in Nagano Prefecture, and is involved in distribution (supermarkets), transportation (buses, railways, taxis), tourism (hotels, inns, travel), among other sectors. In January 2024, the group opened Alpico Drone Academy as a new business, and is working to address regional issues and contribute to a prosperous local community by creating synergies with existing businesses.
*For more information: https://visit-nagano.alpico.co.jp/