Retail Tech Startups

Esper is an AI-powered e-commerce analytics tool that automatically analyzes sales data, advertising spend, and contributing factors, and forecasts future sales. It provides improvement recommendations and 24/7 monitoring through a simple interface aimed at making consulting-style EC analysis accessible to non-experts.

1 investor

tanonda is a QR-code based self-ordering system for restaurants, letting customers scan a table QR to browse a photo menu, order, and pay from their own smartphones without an app, while staff manage incoming orders, kitchen, and hall service across synced devices. Aimed at restaurant owners, including solo-operated establishments, it also offers bill-splitting, sales reporting, and menu management features, with pricing in Japanese yen.

1 investor

SPRING OF FASHION runs STYLISTA, a shopping social network where anyone can act as a stylist by curating and recommending coordinated outfits and items to followers. The service links real retail stores with digital commerce to serve fashion shoppers and enthusiasts in Japan.

1 investor

Tokyo Base operates select shop and fashion brand businesses, running multiple retail concepts including STUDIOUS, UNITED TOKYO, PUBLIC TOKYO, and others across Japan and international markets. The company creates and distributes Japanese fashion brands globally through physical storefronts and aims to promote "Made in Japan" fashion products worldwide.

1 investor

A Japanese data analytics company that helps consumer goods manufacturers, retailers, and marketers leverage POS and ID-POS purchase data for product development, marketing strategy, and area-based store planning.

1 investor

USEN is a Japanese company operating across retail store digital transformation, entertainment, music distribution, media, and robotics sectors. Founded in 1961, it serves retail businesses and entertainment consumers through a portfolio of diversified services.

1 investor

Pricey (プライシー) is a shopping assistant app that tracks products on a user's watchlist and sends notifications when prices drop or items are restocked. It offers price comparison across more than 50 e-commerce sites and price history charts to help consumers decide when to buy.

1 investor

Inglewood provides end-to-end retail solutions including market research, product development, marketing, e-commerce, and fulfillment services for brands selling in Japan and internationally. The company operates across product sourcing, private label manufacturing, direct-to-consumer sales, and IT staffing.

1 investor

Interfactory provides EC (e-commerce) platform and related services in Japan, including the "EBISU PIM" product data integration/management platform and the "EBISU AGENT" AI service for e-commerce operations. It serves retailers, manufacturers, and BtoC marketers with tools for product information management, EC operation outsourcing, and multichannel commerce.

1 investor

Katitas buys used houses—including older or hard-to-sell homes—renovates them, and resells them as move-in-ready properties aimed at affordable homeownership for individual buyers in Japan. It operates a nationwide store network offering fast cash purchase of homes and support with mortgages and tax matters.

1 investor

Kibera is a Japan-based custom shoe brand that designs and sells semi-customized footwear tailored to individual women's foot shapes, sizes, and concerns. The company combines measurement data and design technology to deliver shoes for women seeking both comfort and aesthetic appeal.

1 investor

Smaregi provides a cloud-based POS (point-of-sale) and register system for retail and store operations. The company is a registered IT implementation support vendor supporting Japanese digitalization and AI adoption subsidies.

1 investor

Naturum is an online retailer and service provider specializing in fishing and camping equipment, with a focus on outdoor lifestyle experiences. The company operates as part of Scroll Inc., a publicly listed group in Japan, and has served outdoor enthusiasts since 1996.

1 investor

Netstars is a fintech company that develops payment solutions and digital transformation platforms, including the StarPay gateway that connects payment systems with enterprises and financial institutions in Japan and internationally.

1 investor

Net Protections provides "NP Atobarai", a buy-now-pay-later (deferred payment) service that lets shoppers pay after receiving goods without credit card registration or account sign-up. The service is offered to merchants in Japan and is used by roughly 1 in 7 people in the country across about 179,000 stores.

1 investor

Subsidiary of Impact Holdings that runs a BPO center handling back-office field-marketing work such as mystery shopping, in-store promotional material installation, and surveys, and operates field marketing and IoT digital signage services in the Kyushu and Okinawa regions of Japan. It also provides staffing and recruitment matching, debugging, and call center services.

1 investor

Log Note provides an electronic receipt platform (iReceipt) that digitizes paper receipts for retail stores, enabling store digital transformation and new customer engagement experiences.

1 investor

World Party is a Japanese company that plans, manufactures, and wholesales rain goods under brands such as Wpc., KiU, and unnurella by WPC. Founded in 1985, it operates from Osaka with offices in Tokyo and trading subsidiaries in Beijing and Xiamen, China.

1 investor

Watts operates a chain of discount retail stores, primarily 100 yen shops, selling everyday goods and miscellaneous items across Japan and internationally. The company manages subsidiary retail operations in multiple regions and maintains overseas presence in Peru and Thailand.

1 investor

Taiwan-based company that makes modular upgrade hardware and a cloud SaaS platform to convert existing vending machines and other unmanned/self-service equipment into smart, connected devices. Its offering includes remote sales/inventory/fault monitoring, AI analytics, and integration with 40+ electronic payment methods, targeting smart retail operators with a core market in Japan and expansion across Southeast Asia.

1 investor

Luckin Coffee operates a technology-driven coffee and food & beverage retail chain that delivers high-quality products at affordable prices with convenient access. The company employs data analytics and AI to optimize customer engagement, store operations, and supply chain management across its store network in China and Singapore.

1 investor

CaptainBI provides an Amazon seller analytics and operations platform that uses AI for keyword discovery, automated advertising management, full-funnel sales data analysis, inventory and profit tracking, and review and competitor monitoring. As an Amazon SPN service provider and technology partner, it serves Amazon marketplace sellers across global markets including the US, Europe, Japan, and the Middle East.

1 investor

Kinsho Store operates a supermarket chain with three retail brands serving customers across the Kansai region since 1956. The company provides groceries, food products, and daily household items through 36 stores in Osaka, Nara, and Kyoto prefectures.

1 investor

Kintetsu Retailing operates restaurants, shops, and retail spaces inside train stations along the Kintetsu railway lines in Japan, including locations at stations such as Yamato-Saidaiji, Osaka-Namba, Kyoto, and Kintetsu-Nara. It also runs other businesses including an online mall of regional specialty products ("Irodori Mall"), craft beer sales, and e-commerce sites such as one for the Tennoji Zoo.

1 investor