What NearMe does

NearMe (ニアミー / 株式会社NearMe) is a Tokyo-headquartered, venture-backed private company founded on July 18, 2017, that operates an AI-optimized shared-mobility platform serving Japanese travelers, commuters, golfers, tourists, and regional communities. Its portfolio is structured as a platform-plus-modules architecture: the core booking and AI-matching engine powers NearMe Airport (shared ride to/from 15+ Japanese airports with fares from ¥1,980/person), NearMe Limo (private charter up to 9 passengers from ¥6,980/vehicle), NearMe Town (intra-city shared taxi with up to 50% off standard fares in Tokyo, Osaka, Hokkaido, Shizuoka/Izu, Kumamoto), NearMe Golf (door-to-door fixed-fare golf shuttle), NearMe Travel (sightseeing jumbo-taxi charter), and a Regional Shuttle Service co-developed with Japanese local governments to address transit gaps. A network of 50+ ニアミースポット (NearMe Spot) virtual bus stops in Tokyo extends airport-shuttle coverage into neighborhoods where airport limousine buses do not stop.

The company's underlying technology is a proprietary AI engine that ingests structured ride data (pickup/drop-off addresses, time windows, passenger counts, luggage) to optimize shared-route matching and to power a share-probability pricing engine (シェア割) and an early-bird dynamic pricing engine (早割). Operations are explicitly aligned with Japan's MLIT "相乗りサービス" regulatory framework introduced in November 2021, and the company reports a 4.6/5.0 customer rating across approximately 12.5 million cumulative reservations from October 2019 to August 2025. On top of the consumer stack, NearMe sells a LINE配車システム (LINE Dispatch System) SaaS package to fleet operators (運行会社) and operates a wholly-owned subsidiary, SmartShuttle, Inc., that conducts some of the transportation operations.

NearMe's business model is a mix of transaction fees on shared airport rides (per-seat, settled at ride completion), fixed per-vehicle charter fees (airport limo, golf, sightseeing), subscription/managed-service revenue from local-government and corporate regional shuttle contracts, and B2B SaaS revenue from the LINE Dispatch System. Distribution combines a direct-to-consumer mobile app (iOS/Android via App Store and Google Play) with co-marketing through five airline mileage partners (ANA, JAL, StarFlyer, Singapore Airlines, Emirates), travel agency JTB, golf course operators (First, Spoon, PGM, Accordia), and an enterprise/government partnership with J. Front Retailing. NearMe has raised approximately ¥2.8 billion cumulatively through Series C (Series C1 first close of ~¥490 million announced June 13, 2024), with investors including DBJ Capital, Global Brain Corporation, JFR MIRAI CREATORS Fund, JIC Venture Growth Investments, MSIVC, Nissay Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, Tokyu Fudosan, JA Mitsui Leasing, and Google for Startups. Revenue is not publicly disclosed.

Name

NearMe

Legal name

株式会社NearMe

Website

https://nearme.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

NearMe (ニアミー / 株式会社NearMe) is a Tokyo-based private company that operates an AI-optimized shared-mobility platform providing airport shuttles, chartered limo, town taxis, golf shuttles, tourism charters, and regional transit services across 15+ Japanese airports and multiple prefectures, serving individual travelers, corporate clients, and local governments.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Shared Mobility Services

NAICS

Taxi and Ridesharing Services (485310), Transit and Ground Passenger Transportation (485), Local Messengers and Local Delivery (4922)

SIC

Local & Suburban Transit & Interurban Hwy Passenger Trans (4100), Services-Auto Rental & Leasing (No Drivers) (7510)

akta.pro primary industry

Last-Mile On-Demand Feeder to Transit (First/Last-Mile Providers) (THAIAGAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Ride-Hailing / On-Demand Mobility for Business (Managed Ground Transport) (TLABALAF), Shared-Route Dial-a-Ride (Multi-Stop DRT) (THAIAHAI)

Keywords

• Shared airport shuttle
• AI ride matching
• Chartered taxi service
• Shared mobility platform
• Virtual bus stops

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Airport shuttle shared-ride fare (シェア乗り): Per-seat transaction fee on shared airport rides priced from ¥1,980/person, settled at ride completion under the MLIT "相乗りサービス" framework; revenue is usage-based and fluctuates with share-matching success.
2. Airport charter/limo (NearMe Limo) and town taxi (NearMe Town) charter fares: Fixed per-vehicle charter fees (airport limo from ¥6,980/vehicle, max 9 passengers) and town-shuttle charter fares with no reservation/ pickup surcharges; prepaid by credit/debit card.
3. Golf shuttle fixed-fare charter (NearMe Golf): Door-to-door round-trip charter (¥48,000 for Chiba courses, ¥29,800 for Tokyo courses) plus luggage and ANA-mileage elements; a per-trip service revenue stream.
4. Tourism/chartered jumbo-taxi time charter (NearMe Travel): Time-based charter packages (1-day or hourly "freelance plan") for tourism in Tokyo/Osaka/Kyoto/Nara, with all tolls included in the fixed upfront price.
5. Regional shuttle / 地域シャトル municipal & corporate contracts: Subscription- and contract-style revenue from local governments and corporate partners for on-demand shared mobility in regions lacking public transit, including collaborations with J. Front Retailing to address rural transportation issues.
6. LINE dispatch SaaS for transport operators (運行会社向け): Software package sold to fleet operators combining LINE customer communication and dispatch functionality, generating B2B software/managed-service revenue.
7. Ancillary fees: luggage, surcharges and commissions: Per-item luggage fees, service/commissions on share-matching, and occasional surcharges for vehicle securing on tight capacity, settled on the same card transaction.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels8 records

Marketing channels11 records

Core offering

NearMe develops and operates an AI-optimized shared-mobility platform that matches multiple passengers traveling in similar directions into a single vehicle for door-to-door airport transfers, intra-city rides, golf course shuttles and sightseeing charters across Japan. The company also sells a B2B LINE-based dispatch SaaS to transport operators and contracts regional shared-ride services with local governments and corporate partners. All services share a common proprietary AI routing/matching engine, a share-probability pricing engine, and a physical network of "NearMe Spot" virtual pickup stops in Tokyo.

Product overview

NearMe operates a single integrated mobility platform composed of distinct, named service lines that share a common proprietary AI matching and routing engine. The portfolio is structured as a platform-plus-modules architecture: the core booking and AI-matching platform powers NearMe Airport (shared ride, the flagship シェア乗り product), NearMe Limo (private airport charter), NearMe Town (intra-city shared taxi), NearMe Golf (golf-course shuttle), NearMe Travel (sightseeing jumbo-taxi charter), and Regional Shuttle (rural and tourism transit run with local governments). On top of this consumer stack, NearMe sells the LINE配車システム, a B2B add-on that wraps a dispatch system in LINE for fleet operators, and the NearMe iOS/Android apps that surface the full portfolio. NearMe Spots, a virtual bus-stop network with 50+ Tokyo locations, extends the airport-shuttle product into areas where limousine buses do not serve. All services interoperate on the same AI-driven routing and ride-matching foundation originally developed to address mobility challenges in Japan.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• NearMe Airport: Airport shuttle service providing door-to-door shared ride transportation between home/hotel and airports across Japan, with AI-optimized route matching.
• NearMe Limo
• NearMe Golf
• NearMe Town
• NearMe Travel

Products and services

• NearMe Airport (シェア乗り / Shared-ride Airport Shuttle) Door-to-door AI-matched shared-ride shuttle connecting homes/hotels with major Japanese airports (Haneda, Narita, Itami, Kansai, New Chitose, Chubu, Fukuoka, Naha, Aomori, Nanki-Shirahama, Tokushima, Kitakyushu, Hiroshima, Sendai, Asahikawa, Obihiro, Shizuoka) at a per-person fixed fare from ¥1,980, up to 80% cheaper than standard taxi. Settled at ride completion under Japan's MLIT "相乗りサービス" framework. For individual travelers needing affordable airport transfers.
• NearMe Limo (空港貸切 / Airport Charter Limo) Flat-rate private airport charter/limousine service accommodating up to 9 passengers between any address and a supported Japanese airport, with all tolls, late-night surcharges, and parking fees included. Pricing starts at ¥6,980 for Haneda. Includes full refund for flight delays/cancellations and 24/7 multi-language chat support. For groups and families needing a private airport transfer.
• NearMe Town (まち乗りシェアタクシー / Intra-city Shared Taxi) Pre-reservation shared-taxi service for in-city rides offering up to 50% off standard taxi fares when a ride-share match is formed, plus early-bird discounts up to 23% off for advance booking. Operating areas include Tokyo, Kyoto, Osaka, Hokkaido, Shizuoka/Izu, Ehime, Kumamoto, and Okinawa; operates 24 hours including late night/early morning. For urban residents needing affordable pre-booked intra-city rides.
• NearMe Golf (Door-to-door Golf Course Shuttle) Door-to-door shared chartered shuttle to golf courses in Tokyo and Chiba with a fixed round-trip price (¥48,000 for Chiba courses; ¥29,800 for Tokyo courses), with ANA miles accrual, online payment, and the ability to transport golf bags in-vehicle. Service area: Tokyo 23 wards to golf courses in Tokyo and Chiba prefectures. For small groups of golfers.
• NearMe Travel (観光・貸切ジャンボタクシー / Sightseeing Jumbo-Taxi Charter) Hourly or full-day chartered jumbo taxi service (up to 9 passengers) for sightseeing and business trips departing from Tokyo, Osaka, Kyoto, and Nara. Pricing is fixed at booking time and includes expressway tolls; professional drivers provide a flexible free-plan itinerary. For tourists and business groups needing private sightseeing transport.
• Regional Shuttle Service (地域シャトルサービス) Reservation-based shared-ride service co-developed with local governments and companies to supplement insufficient public transit in regional areas ("地域の足" and "観光の足"). Provides a lower-cost, more efficient mobility option for residents' commuting/shopping and tourists. For Japanese local governments and corporate partners addressing mobility gaps.
• LINE 配車システム (LINE Dispatch System for Fleet Operators) All-in-one package combining LINE with a dispatching system, sold to transport operators (運行会社) to enable direct customer messaging, vehicle dispatch, and digital transformation (DX) of fleet operations. Sold on a multi-year subscription/contract basis to corporate and municipal fleet operators.

Named customers4 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration4 records

AI capability6 records

Feature7 records

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• GO (GO Inc.): GO is Japan's largest taxi-hailing app, operating "GO" ride-hailing across major Japanese cities. It is the most direct Japanese competitor to NearMe's shared-taxi and airport-transfer services, with overlapping target customers, business model, and Japan-only footprint.
• JapanTaxi / Japan Taxi Co. JapanTaxi is a major Japan taxi-hailing platform spun off from Nihon Kotsu and now part of SoftBank's mobility group, directly comparable to NearMe on Japan-focused on-demand taxi dispatch and corporate/government ride services.
• S.RIDE: S.RIDE is a Tokyo-based premium taxi-hailing app backed by Taxi App Japan, Green Cab, Kotoku and other major taxi operators. It competes with NearMe's NearMe Town and NearMe Limo in intra-city and airport routes within Japan.
• Via Transportation: Via is a global shared-ride and on-demand transit software provider that pioneered algorithmic ride-pooling — the same AI-matched shared-ride concept NearMe uses for its Airport and Town services. It is a direct functional peer in shared-ride matching technology.
• BlaBlaCar: BlaBlaCar is the largest global carpooling/intercity shared-ride marketplace. It is directly comparable to NearMe on the carpooling/sharing-economy positioning, intercity and long-distance shared mobility, though focused on Europe rather than Japan.

Broad incumbents

• Uber: Uber operates UberX Share, Uber Taxi and airport transfer products globally, including Japan. It is a broad incumbent in the same ride-hailing and shared-ride category where NearMe competes, with vastly larger capital and driver supply.
• DiDi Mobility: DiDi is a global ride-hailing incumbent that has previously partnered with or attempted entry into Japan, offering shared-ride and taxi-hailing products. Comparable to NearMe on shared-mobility product mechanics and on-demand matching at scale.

Regional players

• Kakao Mobility: Kakao Mobility is the dominant Korean ride-hailing and taxi-dispatch platform, with a shared-ride/taxi-hailing product analogous to NearMe Airport/Town. Comparable on shared-mobility product, but primarily serving Korea rather than Japan.
• Careem: Careem (Uber-owned) operates ride-hailing, taxi and shared-mobility products in the Middle East and North Africa. Comparable to NearMe on shared-ride matching and multi-product mobility, but operates in a different geography.

Emerging players

• SmartRyde (Mozio): SmartRyde is an airport-transfer aggregator and operator serving travelers worldwide. It is comparable to NearMe on the airport-shuttle value proposition and the integration with travel/taxi supply, though with a global rather than Japan-only focus.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/nearme_jp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/nearme-jp

Compliance5 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds7 records

Investors10 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 NearMe