Ifactory

iFactory (株式会社iFactory) develops, manufactures and sells modular fully automated continuous production equipment for pharmaceuticals and functional chemical products. Its flagship iFactory® system packages individual unit operations — reaction, extraction, crystallization, filtration, drying, powder transfer and filling — into cubic metal-frame modules called iCube™ (2.32 m per side) that can be interconnected and reconfigured for different processes. More than 31 unit-operation iCube™ configurations are offered, and the commercial-scale iFactory® is designed for an output of roughly 10 kg/hour of finished product.

Control is provided by the company's Orchestration System (OCS), which automatically recognizes the iCube™ configuration, links process steps, reduces line-changeover time, and supports continuous operation of more than 24 hours. Quality control is handled by surge cubes combined with online/on-site UHPLC, allowing automated sampling and analysis without stopping production, with the OCS deciding on transfer to the next step based on the results. The OCS is designed for remote operation and monitoring, enabling unattended or low-headcount operation and centrally managed distributed production across multiple small plants.

The product line spans scales: iFactory Trigger™ (bench/lab to kilo-lab, built from 1 m³ cubes, up to 300 g/h, adopted as part of the Integrated Continuous Manufacturing Module at AIST Tsukuba and completed in April 2022), iFactory Ripple (pilot scale) and iFactory Medicinal (commercial scale). Standalone unit-operation machines are also sold, including the Cleco™ Taylor-vortex continuous crystallizer and, as Mitsubishi Kakoki products, the CURUPO® continuous rotary filter, miniCURUPO and the DyF® dynamic ceramic-membrane filter. Consumable "enchant items" such as iFoot jacketed-pipe kits, CLICK mixer tubes, iJanction slurry branch fittings and Gather level-detection radar guides round out the catalogue."]

Founding story

CEO Takao Saito, a pharmacist with a master's degree from Meiji Pharmaceutical University and a doctorate in engineering from Osaka University, worked at Takasago International, developing asymmetric synthesis with Nagoya University's Professor Noyori and others, inventing the first asymmetric hydrogenation of β-keto esters and later the Segphos catalyst. He became an executive officer and head of the fine chemicals business in 2006, and served as president of Takasago Chemical and a Takasago fellow. As technology development lead for a NEDO strategic energy-saving technology innovation program, he founded iFactory in April 2019 as the exit strategy for that work and became its president.

Business model

The company sells and rents continuous-manufacturing equipment and modules, and provides accompanying services: consulting and technical advice, process feasibility studies, contract experiments run by its process chemists, engineering support for equipment selection and process design, IQ/OQ validation support, custom module design and build, joint development and contract equipment development, plus after-sales service.

Revenue comes from equipment sales, rental of lab and unit-operation equipment, and fee-based testing and engineering services. Published ShareLab list prices (excluding tax) are ¥180,000 for a first trial test (one sample, one day), from ¥800,000 for a five-day share-lab use of one machine, and from ¥2,000,000 for a five-day contracted test.

Traction

The first iFactory machine was completed in 2023 and NEDO published a release on successful demonstration testing in December 2023. The Trigger model was adopted at AIST Tsukuba in April 2022. The company lists partner companies for its Continuous Manufacturing Project and iFactory Project, and offers a shared laboratory with published service pricing.

Latest developments

In July 2025 a consortium in which the company participates was selected for a large NEDO program; on 31 October 2025 the company announced a Series A round totaling ¥1 billion. In April 2026 media pieces on the NEDO project and the development story of the iFactory® continuous manufacturing equipment, including an interview with CEO Saito, were published.