株式会社ユーザベース

Market position

Uzabase positions itself as an economic information infrastructure provider with a stated goal of becoming Asia's No. 1 in that category by 2028. Sources describe NewsPicks as one of Japan's largest economic news platforms and INITIAL as a leading domestic startup information database, with its funding reports widely cited by media; Speeda is presented as a core B2B research platform in Japan.

The company combines a structured, in-house-maintained economic information base covering listed and unlisted companies, industries and markets with a large business-news community, allowing B2B research tools and consumer media to draw on the same data foundation. Interviewees emphasize an emphasis on usability in B2B software and on automating data gathering, and the firm operates a distinctive culture of freedom over working hours and location codified in "The 7 Values".

Technology

The company describes an economic information base built up since 2008 that structures company, industry, market, news, statistics and M&A data into an analysis platform. It obtained its first patent (Japanese Patent No. 6747683) for SPEEDA in August 2020. Recent product work extends this data layer to generative AI: in July 2026 it launched "Speeda MCP連携", enabling economic information held in Speeda to be called from major generative AI tools.

Go-to-market

Uzabase sells its B2B platforms directly to enterprises and uses NewsPicks media reach, published research (such as the Japan Startup Finance report series) and events to build awareness. It has repeatedly used capital and business alliances and joint ventures for distribution and data supply — including Tokyo Shoko Research, Baseconnect, Dentsu (NewsPicks Studio), TBS Holdings, Mitsubishi Estate, Docomo, Protosolution (UB Datatech), GlobalWonks and, in 2026, ユーソナー — as well as acquisitions such as Japan Venture Research, Mimir, AlphaDrive and グローバルインフォメーション.

Corporate users needing company and industry fundamentals — financial institutions, corporate planning, strategy, sales and marketing teams (Uzabase materials cited by Wikipedia state all five Japanese megabanks use スピーダ 経済情報リサーチ) — plus individual business professionals and enterprise subscribers of NewsPicks, students via NewsPicks-related media and education programs, and public-sector partners such as the Kamakura City Board of Education.

Geography

Headquartered in the Mitsubishi Building, Marunouchi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo, with a domestic office in Osaka and global offices in Shanghai (China), Singapore, Colombo (Sri Lanka) and the United States (San Francisco and New York); group entities include Uzabase Asia Pacific Pte. Ltd. (with a Thailand representative office), Uzabase Hong Kong Limited and Uzabase China Limited. The company describes business operations across North America, China and Southeast Asia.

History

After launching SPEEDA in May 2009, the company added overseas company information in 2012, opened a Shanghai representative office and established Uzabase Asia Pacific and Uzabase Hong Kong in 2013, and released NewsPicks (iPad) in July 2013, followed by iPhone, Android and web versions and a paid subscription plan in 2014. 株式会社ニューズピックス was spun out in April 2015, and Uzabase listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Mothers market on 2016-10-21 (ticker 3966). It acquired Japan Venture Research (later INITIAL) in January 2017, launched FORCAS in May 2017, formed the NewsPicks Studio joint venture with Dentsu and started UB Ventures in 2018, and acquired U.S. media outlet Quartz from Atlantic Media in July 2018. In 2019 it made AlphaDrive a wholly owned subsidiary and entered capital and business alliances with TBS Holdings; a Mitsubishi Estate alliance followed in March 2020, alongside the full acquisition of Mimir, the launch of NewSchool and FLASH Opinion, and an overseas financing of roughly ¥5 billion in July 2020. In November 2020 the company announced its withdrawal from the Quartz business and founder-CEO Umeda's move from CEO to board director. FORCAS and INITIAL were absorbed into the parent in April 2021, UB Datatech was formed with Protosolution in September 2021, and the head office moved to the Mitsubishi Building in Marunouchi. Carlyle's THE SHAPER announced a tender offer in November 2022, leading to delisting in February 2023 and the 2023 mergers that produced the current entity. A carve-out of part of AlphaDrive's business took place in February 2024, B2B brands were unified as スピーダ in July 2024, and グローバルインフォメーション was made a subsidiary in July 2026.

Risks & controversies

Wikipedia documents several incidents: in June 2020 subsidiary NewsPicks ended the NewsPicks Book publishing label operated with Gentosha, citing a series of problems involving editor-in-chief 箕輪厚介 of Gentosha, reported in connection with harassment allegations; in October 2021 subsidiary AlphaDrive withdrew a Shinagawa Station advertisement within a day after criticism and apologized for an inconsiderate expression; and in February 2024 NewsPicks apologized after the Japan Newspaper Publishers & Editors Association pointed out that photographs from rights-holding news organizations had been edited and published without permission. The company also exited its Quartz business in November 2020 after poor performance and an uncertain U.S. outlook, transferring it to Quartz Media Holdings established by former management. In 2022 its shares were designated as a security under supervision by the Tokyo Stock Exchange before delisting. The Japanese Wikipedia article itself carries maintenance notices regarding reliance on primary sources, neutrality and promotional tone.