株式会社GATARI
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Gatari is a Japanese company applying virtual reality technology, combining it with an understanding of human perception, to change how people experience reality by altering how the world appears rather than the world itself.
Also known as GATARI · GATARI Inc. · ガタリ · 株式会社GATARI
Founders & leadership
Investors · 10
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Company profile
researched Aug 2026株式会社GATARI (GATARI Inc.) is a Tokyo-based mixed reality company that develops Auris, a platform combining MR with spatial audio. Auris lets a user scan a physical space with a smartphone, place virtual triggers and sound-based actions in that space, save the result to the cloud, and then have multiple users restore and experience the content on site. Positioning is done by matching a digital twin of the scanned facility against the live camera view, so no beacons or sensors need to be installed in the venue — a property the company presents as useful for cultural properties and existing facilities that cannot be modified. The system tracks user position three-dimensionally at centimeter-order precision, so audio staging responds to walking, orientation, prior choices, and finer movements such as sitting or standing.
The product line comprises the Auris experience app, the Auris Editor authoring application for creating MR content from a single smartphone without code, and Auris Player, a facility-oriented app for delivering MR experiences. The company has also offered Vismuth, an iOS/Android AR camera app for compositing VRM avatar models into real-world photos. Earlier work, before the Auris platform, centered on next-generation AR/MR communication tools using voice input and operation, including HoloLens and Windows MR enterprise solutions, ARKit smartphone apps, and a demo called "Koekatamari" in which speech becomes a text object automatically translated into the listener's language.
Deployments span entertainment, guiding and accessibility use cases: haunted-house and immersive attractions at Tokyo Dome City Attractions, a virtual live rally with Tokyo Metro and viviON, guided tours at the Nikko Kanaya Hotel with Tobu Railway and Kanaya Hotel, participatory voice stories at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, audio MR museum talks at the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum, the HICity AR app at HANEDA INNOVATION CITY with Kajima Corporation, the oto rea sound experience service with Nomura Co., and content at Kaiyukan. The company states applications extend to customer service, training, advertising and facility maintenance.
Founding story
Founder Shunichi Takeshita studied cultural anthropology in the College of Arts and Sciences at the University of Tokyo and, drawn to the concept of virtual reality, took a leave of absence to establish UT-virtual, described as Japan's largest student VR organization, and later the Japan Student Virtual Reality Association. He incorporated GATARI in April 2016 to build communication products for the AR/MR era.
Business model
GATARI sells access to the Auris mixed reality platform to facilities and businesses. After contracting, a customer receives a private workspace with same-day access to all Auris functions for scanning, authoring and delivering experiences. Optional paid implementation support is offered by an in-house creative team covering site survey and scanning, experience planning, production of placement plans, scripts and audio, and on-site placement and tuning of virtual sensors. The company also runs its own demonstration studio in Akihabara ("複合現実クラブ"; opened in March 2021 as the GATARI Akihabara Studio) where prospective partners can try Auris.
Revenue comes from facility and business customers contracting for Auris workspace access, with optional fee-based implementation services (site survey and scanning, planning, content production and on-site placement) provided by the company's creative team.
Traction
Auris has been adopted across a range of named venues and partners, including HANEDA INNOVATION CITY's HICity AR app with Kajima Corporation, Tokyo Dome City Attractions, Tokyo Metro, the Nikko Kanaya Hotel, the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum, the Edo-Tokyo Open Air Architectural Museum, Kaiyukan, the Tokyo National Museum's Gallery of Horyuji Treasures, Toray Arrows Shizuoka, and the city of Mito. The company has also reported collaborations with Kanagawa Prefecture, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, Nomura Co., Tohoku Rakuten Golden Eagles and Tokyo Metro, and a flood-disaster training program in which about 80% of trainees reported experiencing a sense of realism.
Latest developments
In 2026 the company published a joint sound-immersive experience with the Tokyo National Museum, "水と祈りの追憶," starring Kuranosuke Sasaki at the Gallery of Horyuji Treasures (June 2026); ran an audio-based flood-disaster training program (June 2026); exhibited an "Auris × goods" experience at an oshi-katsu expo (June 2026); announced participation in CEDEC2026 (July 2026); and was selected for the Full Bloom 2026 business co-creation program from Shibuya Sakura Stage (August 2026). Earlier in 2026 it announced a multilingual audio guide DX project for martial arts culture and an acrylic-stand-linked MR audio experience with Toray Arrows Shizuoka.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
GATARI describes Auris as the world's first mixed reality platform on which both editing and experiencing can be done from a smartphone alone without code, and earlier as the world's first ARcloud authoring tool. It is profiled by Japanese startup databases as a University of Tokyo-originated XR/MR startup with roughly 20 or fewer employees.
The platform requires no venue-side hardware such as beacons or sensors, so it can be deployed in cultural properties and existing facilities without physical alteration; scanning, authoring and playback are all done from a single smartphone without code; and centimeter-order 3D user tracking supports interactivity tied to fine body movements. Investors have contrasted it with earlier beacon-based audio AR services as simpler and cheaper to deploy.
Technology
Auris builds a digital twin of a scanned space and matches it against the live smartphone camera image for positioning, removing the need for beacons or installed sensors and allowing use indoors and outdoors. User position is captured three-dimensionally with centimeter-order precision so audio responds to gaze direction and natural body movements. Virtual sensors placed in a space are stored semi-permanently in the cloud, and the iOS application has been documented as supporting iOS 11 and later on iPhone 6s and later. Yamaha's virtual 3D audio solution Sound xR Core has been adopted in a GATARI audio guide experience at Fujiya Hotel. The team includes mixed reality engineers, sound designers, audio engineers and VR/AR specialists.
Go-to-market
Customers enter through an inquiry and a closed hands-on demonstration session, including at the company's Akihabara studio, before a workspace is issued. GATARI works largely through co-creation with facility and business partners — railways, construction and exhibition-design firms, museums, sports teams and public bodies — and publicizes deployments through press releases. It has also participated in public programs and industry events such as CEDEC and an oshi-katsu (fan activity) expo, and recruits partners for new use cases.
Cultural facilities such as museums and historic buildings, tourism operators, entertainment and attraction venues, transport operators, retail stores and showrooms, and corporate customers using the platform for guiding, customer service, training, advertising and facility maintenance. Accessibility use cases target visually impaired and elderly visitors.
Geography
Headquartered and operating in Japan, with an office and studio at 4F Daiki Building, 16 Kanda-Matsunagacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 101-0023; deployments are at Japanese venues including Tokyo, Nikko, Osaka and Mito.
History
The company was founded on 2016-04-05 by Shunichi Takeshita, founder of the University of Tokyo VR student group UT-virtual, as a University of Tokyo-originated AR/MR startup. It was selected for the second cohort of the Tokyo VR Startups program and initially built voice-driven AR/MR communication products. In October 2017 it closed a 40 million yen third-party allotment round. A prototype of Auris was released in September 2020, followed by collaborations with Kajima Corporation on the HICity AR app and with Nomura Co. on the oto rea service. In February 2021 GATARI raised a pre-Series A third-party allotment, taking cumulative funding past 100 million yen, and opened the GATARI Akihabara Studio on 2021-03-01. Its registered office moved from Nihonbashi-Hakozaki, Chuo-ku, to Kanda-Matsunagacho, Chiyoda-ku. In 2023 it was selected for Tokyo's Be Smart Tokyo smart service implementation project via ReGACY Innovation Group, and in 2026 it was accepted into the Full Bloom 2026 co-creation program originating from Shibuya Sakura Stage.
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 · 23
launches, deals, and filingsGATARI was selected for the Full Bloom 2026 business co-creation program originating from Shibuya Sakura Stage.
GATARI delivered immersive active-learning flood training using audio in ordinary spaces; about 80% of trainees reported experiencing a sense of realism.
First release at the Gallery of Horyuji Treasures of a sound immersive work starring Kuranosuke Sasaki, produced with the Tokyo National Museum.
Colorful Inc. partnered with GATARI for script production and content planning in a technology startup proof-of-concept support program.
A tour program using Nippan's voice MR solution "Voice Friend" launched on 2024-09-17.
GATARI and Nomura Co. ran a proof of concept at the National Museum of Emerging Science and Innovation using their jointly provided oto rea audio experience service.
An in-hotel tour of the registered tangible cultural property guided by the voice of founder Zenichiro Kanaya.
"クロケスタ駅ナカLIVE!!" audio experience event spanning Shinjuku, Ginza and Oji stations.
Selected via ReGACY Innovation Group as a fiscal 2024 project operator under the Tokyo Metropolitan Government's Be Smart Tokyo program, with up to 3 million yen of support, for guidance and information assurance for visually impaired people in indoor facilities using centimeter-order spatial tracking.
A participatory voice story experience powered by oto rea was offered at the Mitsubishi Ichigokan Museum's Vallotton exhibition.
GATARI opened a reservation-only Auris demonstration facility at 4F Daiki Building, Kanda-Matsunagacho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, for cultural, tourism and entertainment operators and press.
GATARI announced a pre-Series A third-party allotment executed on 2021-02-22 with W ventures, OLM ventures, the University of Tokyo Founders Association support fund, Mainichi Mirai Souzou Lab, Nagoya TV Ventures and individual investors including Hironao Kunimitsu, Naoya Koizumi, Akira Hamamoto and Ken Baba; the amount was undisclosed but cumulative funding surpassed 100 million yen.
GATARI released a prototype version of Auris, followed by projects including the HICity AR app for HANEDA INNOVATION CITY.
GATARI completed a third-party allotment totaling 40 million yen from Venture United, Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital, KLab Venture Partners, Nikon-SBI Innovation Fund and individual investors, to strengthen engineering and design hiring.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- 株式会社GATARIgatari.co.jp · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does 株式会社GATARI do?
- GATARI develops Auris, a smartphone-based mixed reality platform that places interactive spatial audio in real-world venues.
- Who founded 株式会社GATARI?
- 株式会社GATARI was founded by SHUNICHI TAKESHITA.
- Who are 株式会社GATARI's investors?
- 株式会社GATARI's investors include ANOBAKA, W Inc..