What HRBrain does

HRBrain, Inc. (株式会社HRBrain) is a Tokyo-headquartered cloud HR SaaS company founded in 2016 that provides a modular platform covering talent management, performance evaluation, 360-degree feedback, skill management, organizational diagnostics (EX Intelligence), pulse surveys, stress checks, labor management, attendance management, benefits administration, LMS, workflow automation, and a generative AI assistant (HRBrain Brain) for cross-searching HR data and internal knowledge. The platform serves Japanese enterprises and SMEs across manufacturing, retail, IT, aviation, food service, and other verticals, with a 4,000+ cumulative customer base that includes LINE Yahoo, ANA, Honda Giken, Skylark Holdings, Shachihata, Toppan Printing, and Bookoff. Customers are reached through direct enterprise sales supplemented by channel partnerships with SB C&S (SoftBank group), Shoko Chukin Bank, and Juroku Bank, with SME referrals flowing through the bank's distribution networks.

HRBrain monetizes primarily through annual SaaS subscriptions (quote-based enterprise pricing) across the multi-module suite, with complementary professional services for HR evaluation system design, MVV formulation, and succession planning. The technology architecture is cloud-based and integrates with Japan's dominant HR/payroll/attendance stack via APIs — PCA Cloud Payroll, freee HR, KING OF TIME, OBC, Panasonic Chronowis, and moconavi — creating workflow dependency that deepens account stickiness. The platform holds ISO/IEC 27001:2022 and ISO/IEC 27017 certifications and Privacy Mark (JIS Q 15001), and is GDPR-compliant for international employees supported through WOVN.io multilingual UI.

Recent strategic moves include the January 2026 acquisition of Haul's recruitment business (RekMA, RekPro, what we use) extending the platform into pre-hire Talent Lifecycle, the December 2025 strategic alliance and minority investment from SB C&S for distribution scale, and the November 2023 capital partnership with global private equity firm EQT. The company is led by founder and CEO Hori Hiroki (堀 浩輝) with a recent CFO hire (Sakui Hideaki, ex-JDSC CFO with IPO experience) and outside directors including the president of OpenAI Japan and the former head of Adobe Japan — a governance profile consistent with pre-IPO scaling.

Name

HRBrain

Legal name

株式会社HRBrain

Website

https://hrbrain.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

HRBrain is a Japanese cloud-based HR SaaS platform offering modular talent management, performance evaluation, organizational diagnostics, and generative AI capabilities to enterprise and SME customers across Japan, with 4,000+ cumulative implementations.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscription (HRBrain Series): Cloud-based HR software subscription model covering talent management, evaluation, labor management, surveys, and related HR functions. Recurring subscription revenue from enterprise and mid-market customers with multi-year contracts.
2. Professional Services: Consulting services including MVV formulation support, evaluator training, HR evaluation system design, staffing logic design, recruitment strategy, and succession plan design. 100 different flexible system construction and operational support approaches.
3. Recruitment Solutions: Post-acquisition recruitment business through Haul's RekMA platform, enabling end-to-end support from recruitment through post-hire success.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

HRBrain provides a cloud-based HR SaaS platform (the "HRBrain Series") that centralizes employee data, streamlines performance evaluations, visualizes talent and skills, and supports organizational diagnostics. The platform includes a generative AI assistant ("HRBrain Brain") that cross-searches HR data and internal knowledge to support strategic decision-making, and covers the full employee lifecycle from hiring through development and engagement.

Product overview

HRBrain is a multi-product HR technology platform composed of a core Talent Management system supplemented by modular add-on products and professional services. The platform architecture centers on HRBrain Brain (generative AI for HR knowledge search and decision support) and the HRBrain AI Chatbot (automated internal inquiry handling), supported by the Talent Management core which provides employee data centralization and analytics. Modular add-ons include: Skill Management, Performance Evaluation, 360-Degree Feedback, Organizational Diagnostic Survey (EX Intelligence), Pulse Survey wellday, Stress Check, Labor Management, Attendance Management, Benefits, LMS, Workflow automation, and WorkSuite (no-code app builder). The HRBrain 採用ソリューション (Recruitment Solution), acquired from Haul Co., extends the platform into pre-hire recruitment, completing the Talent Lifecycle from candidate attraction through post-hire talent management. Professional consulting services covering MVV, evaluation systems, and succession planning complement the software portfolio. The platform is marketed as enabling 'Talent Lifecycle' management — supporting companies from pre-hire recruitment through post-hire performance, engagement, and development.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HRBrain Brain: AI-powered internal knowledge search and analysis tool that supports strategic HR decision-making by cross-searching HR data and internal information.
• HRBrain WorkSuite
• HRBrain 360度評価
• HRBrain 組織診断サーベイ
• HRBrain パルスサーベイ
• HRBrain コンサルティング
• HRBrain パルスサーベイ wellday
• RekMA (リクマ)

Products and services

• HRBrain Talent Management Unified HR data management platform that visualizes and analyzes people and organizations, supports optimal workforce deployment, and enables leader/management development for corporate HR departments.
• HRBrain Brain (Internal Generative AI) Internal generative AI assistant that cross-searches and analyzes HR data and internal company knowledge to propose strategic HR measures, automate internal HR inquiries, and support evidence-based decision-making.
• HRBrain AI Chatbot AI chatbot that automates responses to internal HR inquiries, eliminates information desking, and visualizes inquiry trends to optimize back-office communication.
• HRBrain Skill Management Skill visualization module that defines, maps, and analyzes employee competencies to support human capital management, optimal placement decisions, and development plan design.
• HRBrain Performance Evaluation Performance appraisal module that simplifies and streamlines the employee evaluation process with goal management, 1-on-1 support, evaluator bias analysis, and flexibility for any evaluation system.
• HRBrain 360-Degree Feedback Multi-source feedback module that streamlines 360-degree evaluation operations, supports manager/leader development, increases evaluation transparency, and aligns employees with corporate culture.
• HRBrain Organizational Diagnostic Survey / EX Intelligence Organizational diagnostic survey that visualizes employee experience, automatically prioritizes organizational challenges, and supports engagement improvement, turnover reduction, culture alignment, and human capital disclosure compliance.
• HRBrain Pulse Survey wellday Pulse survey module acquired from Wellday Co. that visualizes employee and organizational challenges, automates analysis of improvement actions, and supports sustainable continuous improvement.
• HRBrain Stress Check Mental health early detection and prevention module supporting stress checks and electronic labor standards submission, with self-care hints and progress tracking.
• HRBrain Labor Management Paperless employee onboarding/offboarding procedures and year-end tax adjustment module with electronic applications, MyNumber management, and employment contract digital signing.
• HRBrain Attendance Management Attendance tracking module that integrates talent management and attendance in one platform, supporting flexible work arrangements, leave management, shift scheduling, and labor reform compliance.
• HRBrain Benefits Employee benefits platform offering preferential access to 100,000+ partner stores, family guest inclusion at no extra cost, and mobile app access on iOS/Android.
• HRBrain Learning Management System (LMS) Learning management system for managing training programs and e-learning, supporting test delivery, post-training report submission, progress tracking, and learner assignment by attributes.
• HRBrain Workflow Workflow automation module that centralizes approval processes and document management, with data auto-sync, customizable approval flows, and mobile access for approvals anywhere.
• HRBrain WorkSuite No-code platform enabling custom HR business applications tailored to the organization's operations, with flexible customization, development support, and ready-to-use templates.
• HRBrain Recruitment Solution Recruitment enablement SaaS (branded RekMA) that improves candidate experience and acceptance rates, supporting talent pooling and recruitment content optimization as part of the Talent Lifecycle from hiring through post-hire performance.
• HRBrain Consulting Professional services including MVV formulation support, evaluator/trainee training, performance evaluation system design, workforce placement logic design, recruitment strategy planning, and succession plan design.

Quantifiable outcome

• 4,000+ companies cumulative implementations
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration7 records

AI capability5 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Haul社 (株式会社Haul)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 January 2026Business acquisition of Haul's recruitment business including RekMA (recruitment enablement SaaS), RekPro (recruitment partner business), and what we use (tech stack database media). Expands HRBrain into pre-hire recruitment phase as part of Talent Lifecycle strategy.
• SB C&S (SB C&S株式会社)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 11 December 2025Strategic alliance with SoftBank group company SB C&S. HRBrain received minority investment from SB C&S while strengthening distribution partnership. SB C&S provides access to Japan's largest IT distribution network for expanding sales channels and accelerating product development.
• wellday (株式会社wellday)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 4 October 2023Acquired wellday pulse survey business to strengthen health management and employee engagement services. wellday's pulse survey product integrated as HRBrain Pulse Survey wellday.
• 商工会中金 (Shoko Chukin Bank)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 18 August 2022Business partnership for supporting SME human capital management. Shoko Chukin Bank refers its customers across all 47 prefectures in Japan to HRBrain's talent management and HR services.
• 十六銀行 (Juroku Bank)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 24 December 2021Customer referral partnership for Tokai region (Chubu area) enterprises. Juroku Bank introduces HRBrain services to its corporate customers in Gifu and surrounding areas.

Scale indicators5 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• SmartHR: Japan's leading cloud HR and labor management platform, focused on employee database, onboarding/offboarding, document management, and labor compliance. Directly comparable to HRBrain as a competing Japanese HR SaaS platform targeting similar mid-market and enterprise customers with overlapping (and increasingly competitive) modules.
• freee: Japanese cloud accounting and HR/payroll SaaS provider offering integrated HR (freee人事労務) with HRBrain-compatible APIs. Directly comparable in Japan mid-market HR SaaS with strong brand, large funding, and overlapping customer base competing for HR software wallet share.
• Money Forward: Money Forward Cloud HR and Money Forward Cloud Payroll compete head-to-head with HRBrain in Japanese enterprise HR SaaS, including labor management, attendance, and HRIS. Broad portfolio SaaS player with overlapping products and comparable enterprise sales motion.
• KING OF TIME (Human Technologies): Japanese cloud attendance/time-tracking SaaS that is both an integration partner and a competitor to HRBrain's Attendance Management module. Closely comparable in target market and cloud HR/attendance functionality for Japanese SMBs and mid-market.
• HRMOS (BizReach): HRMOS by BizReach offers talent management, HRIS, and recruitment-focused HR SaaS in Japan, directly overlapping with HRBrain's core Talent Management and the newly acquired Recruitment Solution. Comparable enterprise sales motion and customer segment.
• Talent Palette (Persol): Persol subsidiary offering Japanese talent management and HR analytics SaaS in direct competition with HRBrain's talent management and skill management modules. Comparable enterprise customer base and analytics-led positioning.

Broad incumbents

• Workday: Global enterprise HCM and talent management cloud platform with growing Japan presence. Comparable as a broad incumbent offering HCM/talent management at the high end of the Japanese enterprise market, where HRBrain increasingly competes for large-logo deals (e.g., ANA, Honda, Toppan).
• SAP SuccessFactors: Global enterprise HCM suite with established Japan enterprise customer base. Comparable as a broad incumbent in the talent management / HCM category where HRBrain is expanding up-market through partnerships like SB C&S.

Emerging players

• CrowdLog (Crowdcast): Japanese employee engagement and pulse survey SaaS that competes with HRBrain's EX Intelligence and Pulse Survey wellday modules. Comparable in target customer (Japanese HR teams) and use case (engagement measurement) though narrower product focus.

Others

• Eight Roads Ventures Japan (investor reference): Not a direct peer but a capital partner of HRBrain and a venture arm that has backed competing Japanese HR tech companies; included as an ecosystem reference for investors comparing HRBrain to other Japan HR SaaS portfolio companies.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/HRBrain_hr
• Facebookfacebook.com/hrbrainbiz
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/hrbrain-jp

Compliance10 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles10 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors14 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 HRBrain