Nulab
Nulab is a Fukuoka-headquartered Japanese SaaS company offering team collaboration and project management software — led by Backlog, Cacoo, Nulab Pass, and the Backlog AI Assistant — used by 4 million people worldwide across development, design, product, marketing, and enterprise teams.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2006
- HeadquartersFukuoka, Japan
- Headcount101–250
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingSoftware
What Nulab does
Nulab is a privately held Japanese SaaS company headquartered in Fukuoka, with a secondary office in Tokyo, that builds team collaboration and project management software used by more than four million people worldwide. Its core product portfolio centers on Backlog, an all-in-one project management platform with issue tracking, Kanban, Gantt charts, Git/SVN integration, and wikis; Cacoo, a real-time visual collaboration and diagramming tool; and Nulab Pass, an enterprise security layer providing SAML authentication, audit logs, automated provisioning, and centralized admin controls. The company sells primarily through a product-led growth motion with freemium signup, self-serve trials, and annual Premium and Enterprise subscriptions, supplemented by a reseller/sales-partner channel for larger accounts. Pricing is tiered, with AI Assistant bundled into paid tiers (2,000 complimentary monthly credits) and additional credit packs sold on a usage-based basis.
The product stack has been meaningfully extended through AI in 2026. Backlog AI Assistant (launched March 2026) layers natural language processing, smart search/summarization, document drafting, and task automation onto the Backlog workspace, with a human-in-the-loop approval model that requires manual sign-off before any AI-generated action is executed. Nulab Flowbase (announced June 2026) extends the company's footprint into AI-powered business process automation, leveraging 20 years of accumulated Backlog project data to help organizations design, implement, and improve reproducible workflows; general public availability is planned for 2027. AI capabilities are delivered through third-party foundation models (Anthropic, OpenAI, Amazon Bedrock) rather than proprietary models, with domain specialization rather than novel research serving as the differentiator.
Nulab serves a horizontal mix of customers spanning development teams, UX and design teams, product management, marketing, and small businesses, with named enterprise users including Toyota Motor Corporation, JPX, DMM, BuzzFeed, Lineastoria, and Fukuoka City. The company has raised approximately $5.9 million across two disclosed rounds (East Ventures in 2017 and a 2020 round led by NOW Japan, Shinsei Corporate Investment, and XTech Ventures) and remains founder-controlled under co-founder and CEO Masanori Hashimoto. Recognition includes G2 High Performer Winter 2026, G2 Best Relationship Winter 2026, Capterra Shortlist 2026, and SaaSworthy Top 20 Q2 2024.
Nulab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Nulab
- Legal name
- Nulab Inc.
- Website
- https://nulab.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2006
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 101–250 employees
- Short description
- Nulab is a Fukuoka-headquartered Japanese SaaS company offering team collaboration and project management software — led by Backlog, Cacoo, Nulab Pass, and the Backlog AI Assistant — used by 4 million people worldwide across development, design, product, marketing, and enterprise teams.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Nulab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Project Management Software
- NAICS
- Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)
- akta.pro primary industry
- AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs) (HDAEANAJ)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- Managed Workplace Services (DaaS/Workplace-as-a-Service) (BPAEAIAA)
Keywords
Where Nulab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Fukuoka
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices2 records
Markets served
Nulab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Personnel, Infrastructure, Marketing or Sales, Operations
Revenue model
- Subscription Plans (Premium/Enterprise): SaaS subscription model with monthly or annual billing. Premium and Enterprise plans include Backlog AI Assistant with complimentary monthly credit allowances (2,000 credits). Additional credits can be purchased as add-ons. Free plans available with limited functionality.
- AI Assistant Credit Packs: Usage-based consumption model where users purchase additional credit packs when they exceed their monthly allowance. Credits are consumed per AI Assistant interaction (task organization, issue drafting, etc.).
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Monthly | Free Plan - Limited features with basic functionality |
| Subscription | Annual | Premium Plan - Full features with AI Assistant and 2,000 monthly credits |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise Plan - Advanced features for large organizations |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels5 records
Nulab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Nulab develops and sells cloud-based SaaS collaboration and project management software, anchored by Backlog (project management, issue tracking, Git/SVN integration, Kanban, Gantt, and wikis), Cacoo (real-time visual diagramming and whiteboarding), and Nulab Pass (enterprise SAML authentication, provisioning, and audit logs). The suite is enhanced by Backlog AI Assistant for AI-driven task automation and the recently announced Nulab Flowbase platform for AI-powered workflow automation, all integrated with each other and third-party tools.
Product overview
Nulab offers a portfolio of collaboration and project management tools centered around its core products: Backlog (all-in-one project management), Cacoo (visual collaboration/diagramming), and Nulab Pass (enterprise security). The Backlog platform is enhanced by the AI Assistant module for intelligent automation, and the company recently announced Nulab Flowbase as an AI-powered workflow automation platform. Nulab's products serve over 4 million users worldwide and integrate with each other as well as third-party tools including Slack, Microsoft Teams, Google Workspace, Jenkins, and various project management platforms.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Backlog: All-in-one project management tool with AI-powered features for teams
- Cacoo
- Nulab Pass
- Nulab Flowbase
Products and services
- Backlog All-in-one project management and issue tracking platform for software and cross-functional teams. Supports Git/SVN integration, Kanban boards, Gantt charts, wikis, and integrates with Slack, Microsoft Teams, Jenkins, Jira/Redmine importers, Google Workspace, and other tools.
- Backlog AI Assistant AI-powered assistant embedded within Backlog that uses natural language processing, knowledge retrieval, generative AI, and process automation to handle task creation and breakdown, smart search and summarization, content polishing for docs and wikis, smart updates, daily prioritization, and progress reporting. Includes human-in-the-loop approval for all generative or action-oriented commands.
- Cacoo
Quantifiable outcome
- Searching past issues with AI Assistant saves several minutes to tens of minutes each time
Companies that use Nulab
Customer profileNamed customers6 records
Segments5 records
Ideal customer profiles6 records
Nulab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration15 records
AI capability8 records
Feature3 records
Nulab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.
- OASIS FUNDcoreNulab co-hosted a partner event for SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 with OASIS FUND on April 28, 2026 at Nulab's Tokyo office. The event focused on service development in the AI era, featuring discussions by entrepreneurs and investors on practical insights for launching and scaling services.
- DEEPCOREcoreNulab co-hosted a partner event for SusHi Tech Tokyo 2026 with DEEPCORE on April 27, 2026. The event featured a panel discussion on innovation talent required after the rise of LLMs, with Learner's Learner CEO Kurokawa Katsuaki presenting based on Minerva University's educational approach.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights6 records
Nulab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Monday.com: Monday.com competes head-to-head with Backlog in SMB/mid-market PM and has aggressively bundled AI features. Comparable horizontal GTM and freemium-led growth model.
- ClickUp: ClickUp is a direct competitor positioning as an 'everything app' for work, overlapping Backlog's PM, docs, and collaboration surfaces with aggressive AI feature rollout.
- Atlassian: Atlassian's Jira and Trello are the most direct competitors to Backlog in issue tracking and team PM. Atlassian has been expanding its own AI agent (Rovo), directly competing with Nulab's AI Assistant and Flowbase direction.
- Asana: Asana is a direct peer in horizontal project management with overlapping personas (PMs, marketing, cross-functional teams) and a similar subscription + AI add-on monetization model.
- Linear: Linear is an emerging direct peer focused on software development teams—the same primary segment Nulab targets with Backlog. Modern UX and growing AI capabilities make it a strong direct threat.
- Notion: Notion competes through docs, wikis, and lightweight project tracking, overlapping Backlog's wiki features and increasingly its task management. Notion AI is a comparable monetization lever.
- Miro: Miro is the closest direct peer to Cacoo in visual collaboration and diagramming. Same target buyer (design, product, and UX teams) and now expanding into adjacent workflow automation.
- Wrike: Wrike is a direct competitor in team-based project management with strong marketing and PM use cases that overlap Nulab's customer segments.
- Smartsheet: Smartsheet competes with Backlog for project managers handling roadmaps, sprints, and stakeholder reporting. Comparable subscription model and AI roadmap.
Broad incumbents
- Airtable: Airtable overlaps with Nulab's workflow use cases (campaign planning, content workflows, custom workflows) and competes with Nulab Flowbase's automation ambitions as a broader platform.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Nulab social profiles
Digital presenceNulab compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
Nulab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Nulab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Nulab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds2 records
Investors4 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Nulab M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Nulab
What does Nulab do?
Nulab develops and sells cloud-based SaaS collaboration and project management software, anchored by Backlog (project management, issue tracking, Git/SVN integration, Kanban, Gantt, and wikis), Cacoo (real-time visual diagramming and whiteboarding), and Nulab Pass (enterprise SAML authentication, provisioning, and audit logs). The suite is enhanced by Backlog AI Assistant for AI-driven task automation and the recently announced Nulab Flowbase platform for AI-powered workflow automation, all integrated with each other and third-party tools.
Is Nulab a public or private company?
Nulab is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Nulab founded?
Nulab was founded in 2006. It employs 101 to 250 people.
Where is Nulab based?
Nulab is headquartered in Fukuoka, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Nulab make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Subscription Plans (Premium/Enterprise) is the primary driver. The others are AI Assistant Credit Packs.
Who are Nulab's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Monday.com, ClickUp, Atlassian, Asana, Linear, Notion, Miro, Wrike and Smartsheet. Airtable is listed as a broad incumbent.
Does Nulab have an API?
Yes. Nulab provides a public API that developers can use to build integrations and automate workflows. The Terms of Service (Article 2(4)) reference API keys, access tokens, and other authentication credentials, indicating API availability. Developer resources are accessible at https://developer.nulab.com/. Developer documentation is at developer.nulab.com.
What industry is Nulab in?
Nulab's product category is Project Management Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEANAJ, AI Application Enablement Platforms (Copilot/Agent Frameworks, SDKs), with a secondary code of BPAEAIAA, Managed Workplace Services (DaaS/Workplace-as-a-Service). Its NAICS code is 5415 and its SIC code is 7372.