Cluster

What Cluster does

Cluster, Inc. is a Tokyo-based metaverse platform operator founded in 2014 that enables users to create, host, and participate in virtual worlds, live events, and social gatherings across smartphones, PCs, and VR devices. The platform is built on Unity and emphasizes cross-device accessibility via dedicated apps for iOS, Android, Windows, macOS, and Meta Quest, with proprietary large-scale simultaneous connection infrastructure that allows hundreds to thousands of users to occupy a single virtual space concurrently. Core product surfaces include user-generated Worlds, scheduled and live Events, and a social Feed, supported by a Creator Hub and Discord community for world-builders.

The business operates a hybrid model combining a freemium consumer experience with an enterprise/government services line. On the consumer side, the platform is free to download and play, with revenue captured through item sales, premium features, and creator marketplace commissions. On the enterprise side, Cluster develops bespoke metaverse solutions for municipal and corporate clients through a dedicated B2B portal (biz.cluster.mu), including a disaster simulation platform for Sendai City, the Peace Foundation Metaverse digital twin for Okinawa Prefecture, the Metaverse Toyota program with Toyota City, virtual campuses for Japanese universities, and virtual retail experiences for retailers such as Daimaru Matsuzakaya Department Stores.

The company has raised approximately $13.8M across six funding rounds since 2014, with investors including Global Brain Corporation, KDDI, Skyland Ventures, East Ventures, Avex Ventures, DeNA, 31Ventures, KDDI Open Innovation Fund, TV Asahi, Wright Flyer Live Entertainment, and X Tech Ventures. Leadership comprises founder and CEO Naoto Kato, CTO Johnson Tanaka (also listed as Tanaka Hiroki), and COO/CFO Iwasaki Tsukasa. The company maintains a Japan-focused operating geography with no disclosed international expansion or revenue figures.

Name

Cluster

Legal name

Cluster, Inc.

Website

https://cluster.mu

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

Cluster operates a Unity-based, cross-device metaverse platform headquartered in Tokyo, enabling consumers to create and join virtual worlds and events, and delivering bespoke digital-twin and simulation solutions to Japanese government, education, and enterprise clients.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Metaverse Platform

NAICS

Business Associations (813910), Civic and Social Organizations (813410)

SIC

Services-Membership Organizations (8600)

akta.pro primary industry

Metaverse & Social Virtual Worlds (BPAMAKAF)

akta.pro secondary industries

Virtual Worlds & Social Sandbox Experiences (persistent social spaces) (MPAFAIAG), Virtual Conferences & Summits (Webinars, Keynotes) (MPAGAOAA)

Keywords

• Metaverse platform
• Virtual event hosting
• Cross-device VR
• Creator economy
• Digital twin solutions

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Platform Access (Freemium): Free platform access for users to create and join worlds, events, and social spaces. Revenue generated through item sales, premium features, and creator monetization tools.
2. Enterprise/Corporate Solutions: B2B services for government and corporate clients including disaster simulation platforms, urban planning digital twins, and virtual memorial spaces.
3. Creator Economy: Creators can sell items, accessories, and craft items on the platform, with the company taking a marketplace commission on transactions.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Cluster operates a Unity-based metaverse platform that lets users create, host, and join virtual worlds, events, and social spaces across smartphones, PCs, and Meta Quest VR headsets. It monetizes via a freemium model with item sales, premium features, and creator marketplace commissions, and provides B2B enterprise solutions including metaverse disaster simulation platforms for municipalities and 3D digital twin recreations of real-world monuments and campuses.

Product overview

Cluster operates a unified metaverse platform that provides tools for users to create virtual worlds, host events, design avatars, and sell digital items. The platform is accessible across multiple devices including Windows PCs, macOS computers, iOS and Android smartphones/tablets, and Meta Quest VR headsets. Core offerings include user-generated virtual spaces (Worlds), live and scheduled events, and social features. The platform also serves enterprise clients with specialized solutions including disaster simulation platforms for municipal governments and digital twin recreations of significant locations like the Peace Foundation monument in Okinawa.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Cluster Platform A metaverse platform enabling users to create, explore, and participate in user-generated virtual worlds, live events, and social spaces with avatar customization, accessible across smartphones, PCs, and VR devices.
• Cluster Worlds (ワールド) User-created virtual spaces and environments within the Cluster metaverse, ranging from social gathering spaces, games, art galleries, and entertainment venues, accessible to general users and creators.
• Cluster Events (イベント) Virtual events hosted within the Cluster metaverse, including music performances, talk shows, DJ sessions, radio shows, games, social gatherings, and educational events for individual users and organizers.
• Peace Foundation Metaverse A 3D digital twin recreation of the Peace Foundation monument in Itoman City, Okinawa, allowing users to search among over 240,000 engraved names of war victims and participate virtually in memorial events, supporting hundreds to thousands of concurrent users.
• Disaster Simulation Platform Metaverse-based disaster simulation platform developed with Sendai City using hazard maps, allowing residents to report hazardous areas and simulate flooding impacts for disaster preparedness and training.
• Digital Twin Solutions Enterprise B2B solutions for creating 3D digital twins of real-world locations, monuments, and urban areas for purposes including memorial sites, urban planning, and disaster simulation, delivered through biz.cluster.mu.
• Virtual Campus Solutions Educational virtual campus environments delivered for universities such as Osaka University of Electro-Communications and Aoyama Gakuin University, including multiple studio areas such as audio editing, video editing, motion capture, and full campus recreation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 10,000+ visitors within one week for virtual retail launches
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sendai CitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 May 2026Tokyo startup Cluster partnered with Sendai city to develop a metaverse-based disaster simulation platform that simulates flooding impacts using hazard maps, allowing residents to report hazardous areas.
• Toyota CitycoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 April 2026Cluster collaborated with Toyota City for the Shinagawa Tech Showcase 2026 exhibition, marking the company's first joint exhibition. The partnership is part of Toyota City's broader 'Metaverse Toyota' program, promoting metaverse adoption among youth.
• Takeoff Tokyo 2026minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 1 April 2026Cluster CEO Naoto Kato spoke at Asia's largest startup conference, discussing the future of virtual spaces and industry integration, highlighting company efforts to promote virtual environment utilization.
• Okinawa PrefecturecoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2026Okinawa Prefecture and Cluster developed the Peace Foundation Metaverse, a 3D digital twin recreation of the Peace Foundation monument in Itoman City, marking 80 years after the Okinawa War. The platform allows users to search among over 240,000 engraved names of war victims and participate virtually in memorial events.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• VRChat: User-created social VR platform supporting cross-device access (PC VR, standalone headsets, mobile-friendly). Most direct competitor to Cluster in the social-virtual-worlds category and the platform through which Cluster has hosted enterprise retail deployments (e.g., Daimaru Matsuzakaya).
• Rec Room: Cross-platform social VR/2D platform with user-generated worlds, events, and a creator economy. Closely comparable to Cluster in business model (UGC + marketplace + creator monetization) and target audience (social, gaming, events), though Rec Room operates globally with a larger user base.

Broad incumbents

• Meta Horizon Worlds: Meta's social metaverse product available on Quest headsets, backed by one of the largest consumer-tech R&D budgets in the world. Competes with Cluster in the social-VR/metaverse category but as part of Meta's much broader Reality Labs portfolio rather than as a focused standalone platform.
• Roblox: Dominant UGC gaming/metaverse platform with a mature creator-economy and marketplace commission model. Comparable to Cluster on the UGC-platform and creator-monetization dimensions, but vastly larger scale and broader demographic reach.
• Microsoft Mesh: Enterprise-oriented metaverse/immersive-spaces offering from Microsoft, integrated with Teams. Comparable to Cluster on cross-device enterprise virtual-spaces use cases (meetings, training, collaboration), backed by Microsoft's enterprise distribution.

Emerging players

• Mozilla Hubs: Browser-based social VR/spatial collaboration platform. Comparable to Cluster as a cross-device virtual-event and social-space tool, with stronger enterprise-meeting positioning though smaller consumer footprint.
• Spatial: Metaverse platform focused on spatial collaboration, virtual events, and NFT/gallery use cases. Comparable to Cluster on cross-device virtual-events and creator/brand activations, with a stronger art-NFT and enterprise-meeting tilt.
• Engage VR: Enterprise-focused immersive collaboration and training platform for education, healthcare, and corporate customers. Comparable to Cluster on the enterprise/education virtual-campus and virtual-training vertical.
• Manticore Games (Core): UGC metaverse/gaming platform (Core) with creator monetization tools. Comparable to Cluster on the UGC-platform, creator-economy, and marketplace-monetization dimensions, though Core skews more toward gaming than events/memorials.

Regional players

• HIKKY: Tokyo-based VR/metaverse company that organizes the annual Virtual Market (Vket) on Cluster-compatible and proprietary infrastructure. Comparable to Cluster as a Japan-domestic social/metaverse operator with overlapping event and creator-community activities.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• TikToktiktok.com/@cluster_official
• Xx.com/clusterVR
• Facebookfacebook.com/clustervr
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/cluster-inc.

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors13 records

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

M&A

Investments2 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Cluster