The Latest Updates

11/4/25 - Zippar Makes a Move

Zippar the Fukushima, Japan startup (aka Zip Infrastructure, Inc.) has been selected for a government backed research project. The Cabinet Office's funded effort is called the "Research Project on the Development and Construction of Cutting-Edge Services and Regulatory and Institutional Reform in 2025." The project is funding innovations to solve regional transportation issues, and is specifcially looking for the development of technical standards for transportation technologies operating off of public roads.

In Zippar’s case, of course, that’s above the roads. This October 20, 2025 photo below shows the most sophisticated implementation of their concept yet.

We’re pretty surprised to see that their urban supergondola system continues to essentially use the bottom half of an electric car as their propulsion system. Our expectation was that their use of a repurposed vehicle was purely a quick prototyping and core technology validation approach. Yet, here they are with a car doing the driving.

Maybe that’s brilliant? Cars are already rolling off production lines, perhaps this is a quick modification and an easy way to get these supergondola vehichle networks going? We have to imagine that this new government research project is helping find answers to these questions.

It’s definitely helping accelerate Zippar’s progress, which means Zippar is one step closer to bringing a supergondola into reality. Zippar continues to show that they are a top leader in the space.

Read more about our take on Zippar (Zip Infrastructure, Inc)