YOUTRUST, Inc.
Founded 2017 · 59 employees on LinkedIn · 5 known investors
YOUTRUST operates a network-based recruiting and career platform in Japan, connecting users through their professional networks for hiring and job changes. It targets Japanese companies and professionals looking to address structural challenges in the job-change market.
Also known as YOUTRUST · ユートラスト · 株式会社YOUTRUST
Founders & leadership
YOUTRUST, Inc. was founded in 2017 by 岩崎 由夏 and 山田 昌弘.
Investors · 5
Company profile
researched Aug 2026YOUTRUST, Inc. (株式会社YOUTRUST) operates a Japanese "work-only" social network of the same name, positioning itself as a career SNS in which users complete a profile, connect with friends, colleagues and acquaintances, and receive scouting messages for job changes and side work through first- and second-degree connections. The platform combines profile and posting features (short "brain memo" style posts), messaging, referral comments from former co-workers, user-run communities, online and offline events, long-term internship and side-job listings across more than 220 job categories, an AI career simulator that estimates future career paths and income, and YOUTRUST Studio (ユースタ), a content studio publishing articles and video such as executive interviews and event reports.
On the client side, the company monetizes the same platform. YOUTRUST TALENT, the founding business, lets employers reach candidates through employees' first- and second-degree connections, building talent pools that the company describes as averaging around 10,000 people per client. YOUTRUST ADS sells advertising for BtoB marketing and recruitment communications; YOUTRUST SALES provides account-based, one-to-one direct outreach to sales targets; and YOUTRUST INSIGHT offers expert interviews and spot consulting with digital-sector specialists. The company also publishes owned media for corporate (YOUTRUST JOURNAL) and consumer (YOUTRUST Studio) audiences.
The stated vision is to "create a great company that raises Japan's momentum," framed around increasing labor mobility as a driver of economic growth, and the company describes the development of a broader "GROWTH ECOSYSTEM" addressing both workforce mobility and labor productivity.
Founding story
YOUTRUST was founded in December 2017 by Yuka Iwasaki and Masahiro Yamada. Iwasaki graduated from Osaka University's Faculty of Science, joined DeNA as a new graduate in 2012 where she handled new-graduate and mid-career recruiting, and was seconded to subsidiary Peroli in 2016 as a corporate planning member before starting the company. Yamada completed graduate study at Keio University, joined DeNA in 2012 as a server-side engineer, and co-founded YOUTRUST with Iwasaki, taking responsibility for product development, infrastructure and AI use.
Business model
YOUTRUST runs a two-sided platform: the work-focused social network is free for individual users, while corporate clients pay usage fees for services built on the platform. Paid client offerings include YOUTRUST TALENT (network-based recruiting and talent-pool building), YOUTRUST ADS (advertising for BtoB marketing and employer branding), YOUTRUST SALES (1-to-1 ABM outreach to sales targets) and YOUTRUST INSIGHT (expert-interview/spot consulting with digital professionals).
Revenue comes from business customers paying usage fees for platform-based services - recruiting (TALENT), advertising (ADS), sales/ABM (SALES) and expert research (INSIGHT) - while consumer use of the social network is free.
Traction
The platform reported approximately 500,000 registered users and around 700 communities in 2026, with roughly 450,000 users cited as of June 2025 and more than 10,000 new users per month; company materials describe about a twentyfold user increase over three years to 2023. Client adoption of the recruiting business reached more than 1,700 companies as of October 2025 and a cumulative 2,000 companies as of June 2026. The Android app has over 100,000 downloads and a 3.7 rating from 182 reviews. Headcount was 117 as of September 2025, with paid-in capital of JPY 100 million as of September 2024.
Latest developments
In March 2026 the company announced a "Scout AI Agent," described as Japan's first autonomous scouting AI function, for release in April 2026, and in April 2026 launched a three-part web commercial campaign for the consumer app. In June 2026 the recruiting service was reported to have passed 2,000 cumulative client companies. The company continued expanding YOUTRUST Studio content series in 2026 and published survey research on freelancers and on younger workers' attitudes.
▸Full profile — market position, technology, go-to-market, geography, history
Market position
The company positions its service as a Japanese analogue to LinkedIn - a work-specific social network - competing with direct recruiting and job-change platforms by reaching candidates who are not actively searching. Its user base is concentrated among digital professionals in their 20s and 30s, including CxO, manager and specialist profiles, and its client base spans large enterprises, mega-ventures and startups. Investors include Globis Capital Partners, Globis, Femto Partners, ANRI, STRIVE, W ventures, TLM, the Globis AA Fund and individual investors.
The service is framed as a social network rather than a job-change site, so it reaches a large "latent" candidate pool of people not actively job hunting; users set their appetite for side work or a job change on a four-level scale, and companies are notified when that changes. Scouting arrives through trusted first- and second-degree connections, which the company associates with reply rates of roughly 30-40%, materially above generic direct recruiting. Referral comments from past co-workers add trust signals that a resume alone would not carry, and community and event features create ongoing engagement outside hiring cycles.
Technology
The product is delivered as web and mobile applications (an Android app with over 100,000 downloads). Platform features include a connection graph used to surface first- and second-degree scouting paths, a four-level job-change/side-work intent setting with real-time notifications to employers, community and event modules, referral comments, feed recommendations, and AI features such as an AI Career Simulator that analyzes profiles to project career paths and estimated annual income, plus an announced autonomous scouting AI agent for recruiters.
Go-to-market
User acquisition relies on network effects from connection invitations, user-run communities, online and offline events, owned media and mobile apps, supplemented by mass-market advertising such as the 2026 "#ユートラストはじめました" web commercials featuring entertainers and creators. On the client side the company sells subscription services to growth companies ranging from large corporates and mega-ventures to startups, supported by owned media (YOUTRUST JOURNAL), recruiting-related events including an annual joint entrance ceremony for startup new graduates, and partnerships such as taxi video advertising with News Technology and side-event sponsorship at IVS2026.
On the user side, business professionals in Japan, primarily in their 20s and 30s, including CxOs, managers and specialists in digital roles, plus students seeking long-term internships and people pursuing side work or freelance projects. On the client side, growth-oriented employers from startups and mega-ventures to large corporations hiring mid-to-senior digital talent, plus BtoB marketers and sales teams.
Geography
Operations are focused on Japan. Headquarters are at Aoyama Oval Building 9F, 5-52-2 Jingumae, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo 150-0001, with a second office in Osaka at Yodoyabashi Station One, 3-6-22 Kitahama, Chuo-ku, Osaka.
History
The company was founded in December 2017 by Yuka Iwasaki, previously in new-graduate and mid-career recruiting at DeNA, together with Masahiro Yamada, a former DeNA server-side engineer. Recruiting support (TALENT) was the original business, later joined by advertising, sales-support and research-support lines. Outside financing began with a seed round in January 2019 (several tens of millions of yen), followed by a pre-Series A of JPY 110 million in January 2020, a Series B totaling JPY 450 million in August 2021, and a Series C announced in May 2024 of more than JPY 2 billion including debt, accompanied by a capital and business alliance with Globis. Akihiro Kaneko joined in October 2021 and became a director in October 2023. Offices were established in Tokyo and Osaka, and headcount reached 117 as of September 2025.
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 · 10
launches, deals, and filingsSTATION Ai cooperated on the company's '#ユートラストはじめました' initiative, with an experience program held on June 24.
Three simultaneous web commercials for the work-focused SNS YOUTRUST featuring Reiwa Roman, Kasumi Mori and HIKAKIN.
Launch of the YOUTRUST Studio (ユースタ) series 『ズルい働き方向上委員会』.
Announcement of a 'Scout AI Agent' function, described as the first autonomous scouting AI feature in Japan, to be offered from April.
The company announced the sixth edition of its joint entrance ceremony event for startup new graduates, recruiting participants and participating companies.
Third-party allotment of shares; Series C round raising a total of more than JPY 2 billion including debt financing.
Capital and business tie-up with Globis covering cooperation in business development, sales activities and market expansion.
Launch of a video advertising menu aimed at taxi passengers that clients can use for recruitment communications.
Dated company events from announcements, filings, and press; legal rows summarize public dockets and regulator releases.
▸Research sources · 8
primary sources listed
- YOUTRUST, Inc.youtrust.co.jp · web
8 public sources were cited for this profile; the first-party ones are listed here.
Frequently asked questions
- What does YOUTRUST, Inc. do?
- Japanese work-focused social network whose connection-based platform powers paid recruiting, advertising, sales and expert-research services.
- Who founded YOUTRUST, Inc.?
- YOUTRUST, Inc. was founded by 岩崎 由夏, 山田 昌弘 in 2017.
- Who are YOUTRUST, Inc.'s investors?
- YOUTRUST, Inc.'s investors include Femto Partners, Globis Capital Partners, mint VC, STRIVE, W Inc..