株式会社Wilico
2 known investors
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.
Also known as Pricey · Wilico, Inc. · プライシー · 株式会社Wilico
Investors · 2
Also in the syndicate · 1
Company profile
researched Aug 2026株式会社Wilico (Wilico, Inc.) is a Tokyo-based startup that develops and operates Pricey (プライシー), a mobile shopping-support and price-comparison application for Japanese consumers. Users add products to a watchlist and Pricey tracks them automatically, sending notifications when a price drops or an item is restocked, and displaying price history charts so shoppers can judge when to buy.
A distinguishing feature is that price comparison can be triggered without opening the Pricey app: from a shopping app or browser, the user taps the share button and selects Pricey, which then runs the comparison and adds the item to the watchlist in two taps and without account registration. The company also offers a Safari configuration that displays results automatically. Pricey supports comparison across more than 50 e-commerce sites, and the company states it holds over 100 million price data records per year, which it also uses for editorial articles on sales, price increases and price-tracking methods.
The company states its mission as supporting as many people's "Will" as possible so that everyone can be the protagonist of their own life, and its vision as breaking down information asymmetry to create surprising choices in e-commerce. Its stated values include acting on excitement, operating openly, deciding solely for the customer, and learning quickly through failure.
Founding story
Wilico was founded on 11 June 2019 by Ibuki Yamamoto (山本息吹樹) while he was in his fourth year at Keio University, making it a student-founded company. The name is explained by the company as combining "Will" (意志) with "Co" (共に) — being together with a person's will. The current product emerged only after six pivots in the first eighteen months, culminating in the November 2020 release of Pricey.
Business model
Wilico develops and operates Pricey, a free consumer mobile app distributed through app stores. The app is offered to shoppers at no cost, with usage requiring no account registration for the price-comparison flow, and the company also publishes editorial content (sale calendars, price-trend and savings guides) on its website.
The app is offered as a free download to consumers; the sources do not describe how the company monetizes.
Traction
The company reports an average price decline of 15% on watched items and says a better price is found on another site for two out of three items. The November 2020 launch announcement received over 300 retweets on its first day, and the app was described in 2021 external coverage as popular with Generation Z. Headcount is listed at approximately 10 or fewer.
Latest developments
Company records were updated in 2025 and 2026 describing continued development and operation of the Pricey app, with staffing recorded at around 10 people as of August 2026 and the site publishing consumer price and sale guides dated 2026.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
Wilico is an early-stage, venture-backed Japanese startup classified in online services, mobile apps, BtoC e-commerce and price comparison. Third-party startup databases list it at Series A stage as of October 2023 with roughly 10 or fewer employees. Its own content positions Pricey as the smartphone counterpart to PC-based Amazon price-history tools such as Keepa.
Pricey positions itself around not requiring the user to open the app: comparison is initiated from the share sheet of any shopping app or browser and completes in two taps without member registration, with an optional Safari setting for zero-tap display. Coverage of more than 50 e-commerce sites, automated watchlist tracking with drop and restock alerts, and price history charts are the other stated points of difference.
Technology
The product combines automated tracking of watchlisted products with push notifications for price drops and restocks, price history charts, and a share-sheet integration that performs price comparison across more than 50 e-commerce sites without opening the app. The company states it holds and analyzes over 100 million price data records per year.
Go-to-market
Distribution is direct-to-consumer through free app downloads promoted from the pricey.jp website, supported by content marketing (articles on sale timing, price increases and how to check Amazon price history) and by integration into the mobile share sheet so users can adopt it inside their existing shopping habits. Early traction was driven by social media, with the launch post receiving more than 300 retweets on its first day.
Japanese online shoppers who buy across multiple e-commerce sites; testimonials cited by the company come from a homemaker in her 30s, a male student in Tokyo in his 20s, and a working woman in her 20s.
Geography
Operations are based in Tokyo, Japan. The company's About page lists an address at Takakaido Building 2F, 4-2-45 Roppongi, Minato-ku, Tokyo, while later database records list 5F ANOBASHO, Sumitomo Fudosan Toranomon Tower, 2-2-1 Toranomon, Minato-ku, Tokyo. The product is aimed at Japanese-language e-commerce sites.
History
The company was founded on 11 June 2019 by Ibuki Yamamoto while he was a fourth-year student at Keio University. In November 2019 it was selected for the sixth batch of Code Republic, an accelerator run by ZVC (Yahoo! Japan's corporate venture arm) and East Ventures, raising funding through the program. After six pivots over the first year and a half, it released the Pricey price-comparison app in November 2020, and carried out a second, seed-round financing in February 2021. Additional features were reported for Pricey in August 2021. The company has been categorized at Series A stage as of October 2023, and its registered office moved from Roppongi, Minato-ku to the Sumitomo Fudosan Toranomon Tower (ANOBASHO) in Toranomon, Minato-ku.
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 · 3
launches, deals, and filingsExternal news coverage reported the release of four new features for the price comparison app Pricey.
After six pivots during the first year and a half since founding, the company released Pricey, a price comparison app usable without opening the app; the launch post received over 300 retweets on day one.
Wilico was accepted into Code Republic, the accelerator program run by ZVC (Yahoo! Japan's CVC) and East Ventures, and raised funding through the program.
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Wilicopricey.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Wilico do?
- Japanese startup behind Pricey, a mobile app that tracks watchlisted products for price drops, restocks and cross-site price comparison.
- Who are 株式会社Wilico's investors?
- 株式会社Wilico's investors include W Inc..