ex Labs
Tokyo, JP · 2 known investors
株式会社ex Labs (ex Labs) is a Tokyo-based creative company that plans and produces location-based experiential entertainment such as mystery, immersive, and puzzle events, using the appeal of commercial, cultural, and tourism facilities, IPs, and brands. It works with corporate clients, cultural institutions, and municipalities, often operating on a performance-based/revenue-share model where it handles planning, production, promotion, and operations.
Also known as ex Labs Inc. · exLabs · イーエックスラボ · 株式会社ex Labs
Founders & leadership
Investors · 2
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026株式会社ex Labs (ex Labs Inc.) is a Tokyo-based creative company focused on experiential entertainment. It plans, produces and operates real-world interactive content including puzzle-solving (nazotoki) events, murder mystery games, immersive performances and strategy/negotiation games, working under the concept of "stories that can only be experienced in that place." Its four stated business lines are self-organised experiential events, planning and production of experiential content for corporate clients, advisory and knowledge provision in the experiential entertainment field, and internal training programmes built around experiential content.
The company runs several in-house labels, each with its own audience: UNLIMITED MYSTERY (murder mystery), HACKTALE (strategy games), 体験する美術館 (art x experience), ウワサバナシ調査委員会 (immersive performances), IMMERSIVE ILLUSION (magic x immersive) and ANATOR (small-group enclosed immersive spaces). Content formats offered also include scent-based and dance-based immersive experiences.
In July 2026 ex Labs formally launched a "facility utilization" (施設活用) business converting shared areas, circulation routes and unused time slots in commercial, cultural and tourism facilities into paid experience destinations, with the aim of increasing visitor circulation, dwell time and spending at in-facility stores.
Founding story
The company was established in November 2025 by members with backgrounds in planning and operating experiential entertainment and events, and is described as a University of Tokyo-originated startup. Representative director Yuki Iida is a fourth-year student in the University of Tokyo Faculty of Law who started companies from his first undergraduate year, sold an online tutoring service staffed by University of Tokyo students, and now runs ex Labs alongside a back-office company. An investor comment states he has personally experienced more than 4,000 murder mystery and puzzle-solving works.
Business model
ex Labs handles planning, scenario writing, experience design, casting, marketing and on-site operation as an integrated package. For facility projects it offers revenue-share / performance-based arrangements in which the client pays no or minimal upfront cost and ex Labs monetises through ticket sales to event attendees, taking on the financial risk if tickets do not sell. It also produces bespoke content for corporate clients and delivers team-building training programmes.
Ticket sales to end participants (revenue share with venues/facilities) plus fees for corporate content production and training programmes.
Traction
Cumulative participants across its content exceed 15,000. Its self-organised exhibition ヌル・アーデン展 sold 1,500 tickets at 4,000 yen each with no advertising spend, no press release and promotion solely via X. Content produced for Thermal Climb Studio Fuji led to more than 20 new accommodation bookings. Other work includes a mystery concept for Hakuhodo x Kinokuniya ("月明かりの書店と呪われた原稿"), a touring strategy-game experience at Karaoke Kan, an aquarium puzzle event, and the 東京都頭脳王決定戦 across four Tokyo venues.
Latest developments
The Shibuya Sakura Stage immersive event was covered by Nihon Keizai Shimbun (31 July 2026) and Denfaminicogamer (3 August 2026); the magic-immersive production 『怪盗と秘密の試験』, staged at a members-only bar in Roppongi from September 2026, was covered by Denfaminicogamer on 7 August 2026. The company states further projects are underway with a major real-estate company and a botanical garden.
▸Full profile — market position, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Positioned as an experiential entertainment producer that, unlike typical event production companies which stop at content creation, also takes responsibility for marketing, operations and post-launch content improvement. The company describes its strategy-game label as the only production group in Japan specialised in that genre.
Integrated "accompanying" delivery model covering planning, production, audience acquisition, operations and iteration; zero/low upfront cost with revenue share; multiple owned labels providing pre-existing audiences for new projects; ability to produce across puzzle, murder mystery, strategy-game and immersive formats.
Go-to-market
Direct business development with facility operators and corporations, offering zero or low initial cost and revenue-share terms; consumer demand is built through owned event labels with existing fan communities and social media (X) promotion. Press releases via PR TIMES and coverage in national media support visibility.
Commercial facilities, cultural and tourism facilities, brands and IP holders, real-estate operators, and corporate clients seeking training or promotional content; end consumers who buy tickets to its public events. The company states it has transaction records with multiple listed companies and ongoing projects with a major real-estate company and a botanical garden.
Geography
Japan, with operations centred on Tokyo (headquarters in Nishi-Shinjuku, Shinjuku-ku) and events in Shibuya (Shibuya Sakura Stage), Roppongi, Shimokitazawa and at Thermal Climb Studio Fuji.
History
Founded November 2025. Early work included puzzle content for an aquarium, touring content at Karaoke Kan, and guest content at sauna facilities. In July 2026 it released the Shimokitazawa art-immersive event 『ロスト・フレーム』, and on 31 July 2026 announced both the full-scale rollout of its facility-utilization business and funding from Skyland Ventures and Shinkukan Inc. Its first facility-utilization project, 『ウワサバナシ調査委員会 case1：現実を改変する文房具』, ran at Shibuya Sakura Stage over six weekend days between 19 September and 4 October 2026.
Compiled by commissioned research from 8 cited public sources — announcements, filings, and press listed under research sources below.
Key figures
latest reportedCompany-reported or press-reported figures, each dated to when it was claimed — not independently audited.
Timeline · 8
launches, deals, and filingsA magic-immersive performance staged at a members-only bar in Roppongi, Tokyo from September 2026 in collaboration with a magician described as a former national champion, under the IMMERSIVE ILLUSION label.
Denfaminicogamer introduced the Roppongi members-only-bar magic immersive production as an experiential event in which participants become 'phantom thief candidates'.
Games and entertainment media outlet Denfaminicogamer introduced the Shibuya Sakura Stage urban-legend immersive puzzle event.
The company began full-scale rollout of a business converting shared areas and unused time in commercial, cultural and tourism facilities into ticketed experiential entertainment destinations, with ex Labs taking on planning, production, marketing and operations rather than charging facilities upfront.
ex Labs announced it had raised funding from Skyland Ventures and 株式会社真空管 (Shinkukan Inc.) to fund business expansion and development of new experiential content. The amount and round were not disclosed.
Nihon Keizai Shimbun covered the Shibuya Sakura Stage touring mystery experience under the headline describing ex Labs as a new venture running a roaming mystery experience at Shibuya Sakura Stage.
『ウワサバナシ調査委員会 case1：現実を改変する文房具』, a roughly 70-minute facility-wide immersive puzzle event held at Shibuya Sakura Stage on 19-20 and 26-27 September and 3-4 October 2026, produced in cooperation with Tokyu Land Corporation, 404 Not Found and TSUTAYA BOOKSTORE Shibuya Sakura Stage.
A touring art-immersive experience in which participants walk the Shimokitazawa neighbourhood, solve puzzles based on hand-painted artworks and advance the story through dialogue with characters, released under the 体験する美術館 label.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- ex Labskabuexlabs.com · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does ex Labs do?
- Tokyo-based creative company planning, producing and operating immersive, murder-mystery and puzzle-solving experiential events.
- Who are ex Labs's investors?
- ex Labs's investors include Skyland Ventures.
- Where is ex Labs headquartered?
- ex Labs is headquartered in Tokyo, JP.