What Flywheel does

Flywheel (株式会社フライウィール, FLYWHEEL, Inc.) is a Tokyo-headquartered IT company founded in February 2018 by Naoto Yokoyama (CEO) and Daigo Hamura (CTO) that provides enterprise data utilization and artificial intelligence services, primarily to large Japanese corporates. Its flagship product, the Conata® data utilization platform, transforms siloed, individualized, and unstructured enterprise data into AI-ready states through proprietary ontology technology, multi-cloud data infrastructure (certified across AWS, Azure, GCP, Snowflake, and Databricks), and a stack of data applications including Discovery Search (RAG-based), Demand Planner (predictive forecasting), Data Agent (LLM-based conversational assistant), and Analysis/Engagement/Offer engines for personalization and yield management. The company monetizes through Conata platform subscriptions and recurring generative AI/LLM solutions, layered with substantial professional services covering data strategy, consulting, UX/UI design, integration, and ongoing operations. Flywheel sells and delivers via direct enterprise sales with a consulting-led motion, supported by technology partnerships with Snowflake, Databricks, KDDI, Progress Software, and Altius Link.

The company operates within the KDDI Group (one of Japan's largest telecommunications conglomerates), evidenced by KDDI Group procurement policy links on its website and joint product positioning with KDDI for closed-network AI deployment. Flywheel targets six primary verticals: e-commerce/retail/distribution, traffic infrastructure, media & entertainment, manufacturing, financial, and smart cities, with marquee Japanese enterprise customers including LOHACO/Askul, CCC/Tsutaya, SmartNews, Panasonic Electric Works, KDDI, Mizuho, Osaka Metro Ad Era, BlueMuse, Coop Kobo, and Fortinet Japan. The company has conducted AI-Ready diagnostic assessments for over 400 companies and reports quantified outcomes including a 4x click-through rate improvement and 2.2x profit increase at LOHACO, a ~20% sales rate improvement at CCC across ~800 stores, and a 30.8% increase in mutual aid subscriptions at Coop Kobo following data integration.

The company has raised approximately $10.9M in a single disclosed funding round (February 2020, led by World Innovation Lab with Globis Capital Partners and JAFCO), and has not required additional external financing since, consistent with its KDDI Group affiliation providing capital stability. Recent strategic momentum includes the 2024 launch of Conata Data Agent, the inaugural AI Innovator Partner of the Year award from Progress Software (2025), expansion into expanded Tokyo offices in 2025, selection for Japan's METI/NEDO GENIAC AI Development Support Project in 2026, and featured speaker/exhibitor presence at Gartner IT Symposium/Xpo 2025 and Gartner Data & Analytics Summit 2026. Flywheel is ISMS-certified (ISO/IEC 27001) and is not publicly listed.

Name

Flywheel

Legal name

FLYWHEEL, Inc.

Website

https://flywheel.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure

Revenue model

1. Conata Platform Licensing: AI-ready data platform subscription providing data integration, management, and AI utilization capabilities. Includes data apps (Data Agent), data infrastructure components
2. Professional Services: Consulting services covering data strategy, planning, development, implementation, and ongoing operations support. Includes data consulting, UX/UI design, data integration, and sales consulting
3. Generative AI/LLM Solutions: Custom AI solutions leveraging RAG technology, precision verification and improvement, efficient development, and scalability/customization services
4. Vertical Solutions: Industry-specific solutions for EC/Retail, Media/Entertainment, Traffic Infrastructure, Manufacturing, Financial, and Smart Cities sectors

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Flywheel provides Conata®, an AI-Ready Data Utilization Platform that transforms siloed enterprise data into AI-ready state using proprietary ontology technology and integrates RAG, generative AI, and AI Agent capabilities. The company complements this software platform with professional services covering data strategy consulting, platform implementation, generative AI solution development, and cloud engineering for large enterprise customers.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Conata® (コナタ): Flywheel's flagship data utilization platform that transforms enterprise data into AI-ready formats, enabling AI implementation across organizations. Conata provides data infrastructure, discovery search, demand forecasting, recommendation engines, and the Conata Data Agent (data utilization assistant powered by generative AI and RAG).
• Conata Data Agent
• DataLab by FLYWHEEL
• AI-Ready データ基盤 (AI-Ready Data Infrastructure)

Products and services

• Conata® (Data Utilization Platform)

Named customers9 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability9 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SnowflakecoreTechnology or IntegrationCertified Snowflake Services Select partner. Flywheel leverages Snowflake's multi-cloud data warehouse for enterprise data integration and analytics, enabling seamless data processing across different cloud environments.
• DatabrickscoreTechnology or IntegrationCertified Databricks Registered partner. Provides lakehouse architecture support and joint solutions for enterprise data platforms.
• KDDIcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCollaboration with KDDI to position Conata Data Agent as a solution enabling AI utilization in closed network environments, addressing data security concerns for Japanese enterprises.
• Progress SoftwareminorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerSitefinity Partner awarded AI Innovator Partner of the Year 2025 for excellence in delivering AI-powered digital experiences.
• Altius Link (アルティウスリンク)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerBusiness partnership in data business domain, signing a cooperation agreement for joint service development.
• Sun*minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerDevelopment partner collaborating on Panasonic sumgoo project, working alongside Flywheel in the three-company partnership model.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• BrainPad: Japanese data analytics and AI solutions provider offering data platform consulting, AI implementation, and analytics products to enterprise clients. Comparable in target market (Japanese enterprises) and service mix (analytics consulting + proprietary platform).
• ABEJA: Japanese AI platform company providing AI-Ready data infrastructure, retail AI, and generative AI solutions to enterprise customers. Directly comparable as a Japanese AI/data platform vendor competing for similar enterprise transformation budgets with overlapping customer verticals.
• Treasure Data: Japanese-origin customer data platform now owned by SoftBank Group. Comparable as a Japan-rooted enterprise data platform with strong marketing/retail customer overlap and similar AI-on-data positioning.
• PKSHA Technology: Tokyo-listed Japanese AI software company providing natural language processing, machine learning, and AI agents to enterprise customers. Comparable in enterprise AI software positioning, Japanese market focus, and recurring software-plus-services revenue model.

Broad incumbents

• Deloitte Tohmatsu: Big 4 professional services firm with a Japanese enterprise analytics and AI consulting practice. Comparable as a competing systems integration vendor for large Japanese enterprise AI and data platform initiatives.
• Accenture Japan: Global consulting giant with significant Japanese enterprise data and AI practice. Comparable as a competing implementation partner for enterprise AI transformation programs, though not specialized in Flywheel's data readiness niche.
• NTT Data: Japan's largest IT services firm with a broad data, AI, and digital transformation consulting practice. Comparable as a competing vendor for large Japanese enterprise data platform engagements, though NTT Data's portfolio is far broader and not specialized to Flywheel's niche.

Emerging players

• Fivetran: Automated data integration platform serving enterprise customers across cloud warehouses. Comparable as an emerging player in the modern data stack with partial overlap to Flywheel's data infrastructure and integration capabilities.

Others

• Snowflake: Cloud data platform vendor and Flywheel's certified partner. Related through the data platform ecosystem where Flywheel provides implementation services; not a direct competitor but a key ecosystem dependency that shapes Flywheel's go-to-market motion.
• Databricks: Data lakehouse platform vendor and Flywheel's certified partner. Related through the data platform ecosystem where Flywheel provides joint implementation services; not a direct competitor but a key ecosystem dependency alongside Snowflake.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/flywheel_jp
• Facebookfacebook.com/flywheel.jp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/flywheel-jp

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Flywheel