What FINOLAB does

FINOLAB Inc. is a Tokyo-based fintech innovation hub and members-only community, incorporated on July 11, 2019 as a joint venture between Mitsubishi Estate Co., Ltd. (51%) and DENTSU SOKEN Inc. (49%), with 300,000,000 JPY registered capital and headquarters at 1-6-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda, Tokyo. The company operates the FINOLAB Community — a physical and online space where fintech startups and corporate financial institution members collaborate on open innovation — alongside the FINOLAB SANDBOX digital demonstration system (which stores, processes, and analyzes internet user data for market analysis), the FINOLAB FUND early-stage investment vehicle (seed investments in Nudge, Crezit Holdings, LUCA Japan), the FINOLAB RESEARCH division, and the SUBPOSI suite of shared back-office, IT, marketing, creative, and administrative services.

FINOLAB generates revenue through three streams: recurring membership fees from startup and corporate members, fees and sponsorship from flagship events (the annual Japan Financial Innovation Award co-organized with FINOVATORS, the FINOPITCH global pitch contest, and the 4F fintech festival during Japan Fintech Week), and returns from FINOLAB FUND portfolio companies. Its go-to-market is community-led and event-driven, acquiring members through flagship programs that have evaluated hundreds of financial initiatives annually and recognized winners including SBI Securities, Rakuten Bank, Hokkoku Bank, Credit Saison, and East Japan Railway Company.

The company is led by a seven-person executive bench drawn primarily from Mitsubishi Estate and DENTSU SOKEN: CEO Oda Yasuaki (2026 appointment), Director Eiko Shimada, Head of FINOLAB/CCO Makoto Shibata (Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ veteran and FINOVATORS co-founder), CAO Junji Hara, CIO Takeshi Ohara (Head of FINOLAB FUND), COO Kakuta Inoue (2025 appointment), and CGO/Investment Partner Kazuya Komon (2025 hire, repatriated from DENTSU SOKEN's U.S. operations). The business is Japan-focused with no disclosed geographic expansion, no external funding rounds, and no AI/ML capabilities in its product stack.

Name

FINOLAB

Legal name

FINOLAB Inc.

Website

https://finolab.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2019

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

FINOLAB Inc. operates a members-only fintech innovation hub in Tokyo's Otemachi district, serving fintech startups and corporate financial institutions through community programs, the FINOLAB SANDBOX digital demonstration platform, the FINOLAB FUND early-stage investment vehicle, and flagship events including the Japan Financial Innovation Award and FINOPITCH.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Fintech Innovation Hub

NAICS

Open-End Investment Funds (525910)

SIC

Finance Services (6199)

akta.pro primary industry

Transaction Analytics & Cash-Flow Insights (risk signals, forecasting) (FSAGACAG)

akta.pro secondary industry

Billing, Subscription & Revenue Management Infrastructure (FSAGABAM)

Keywords

• Fintech innovation hub
• Startup community platform
• Venture capital fund
• Digital sandbox platform
• Open innovation services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Membership Fees: FINOLAB operates as a members-only fintech community, generating revenue through membership fees from both startup and corporate members who join the innovation ecosystem.
2. FINOLAB FUND Investment Returns: The company manages an investment fund that provides capital to fintech startups in seed to early stages, with returns generated from successful portfolio companies.
3. Event and Program Fees: Revenue from organizing flagship events including JFIA awards ceremony, FINOPITCH pitch contests, and the 4F fintech festival.

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

FINOLAB operates a members-only fintech innovation ecosystem in Tokyo's Otemachi financial district, providing physical co-working space, a digital demonstration platform (FINOLAB SANDBOX), an early-stage investment fund (FINOLAB FUND), and shared back-office services (SUBPOSI suite). It connects fintech startups with corporate financial institutions through community programs and flagship industry events including the Japan Financial Innovation Award (JFIA), FINOPITCH pitch contest, and the 4F Fintech Festival.

Product overview

FINOLAB operates as a fintech innovation ecosystem platform consisting of multiple interconnected products and services. The core offerings include FINOLAB Community (a members-only fintech hub in Tokyo's Otemachi area), FINOLAB SANDBOX (a digital demonstration system for data analysis), and FINOLAB FUND (an investment vehicle for early-stage startups). The SUBPOSI suite provides shared business services including back-office, IT, marketing, creative, and administrative functions. FINOLAB also organizes the Japan Financial Innovation Award (JFIA) and FINOPITCH pitch contest, produces the Japan Financial Innovation Yearbook, and hosts the 4F festival. Together, these offerings create a comprehensive fintech ecosystem supporting innovation, investment, networking, and knowledge sharing.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• FINOLAB Community: Members-only fintech innovation ecosystem and community space in Otemachi, Tokyo
• FINOLAB FUND
• FINOLAB RESEARCH
• FINOLAB SANDBOX
• Japan Financial Innovation Award (JFIA)
• FINOPITCH
• 4F (Fintech Festival)

Products and services

• FINOLAB Community A members-only fintech innovation ecosystem based in Tokyo's Otemachi area, creating a collaborative environment for fintech startups and corporate stakeholders to lead financial digital revolution.
• FINOLAB SANDBOX A digital demonstration and experimentation system that allows users to store, process, and analyze internet user data for market analysis and marketing information purposes.
• FINOLAB FUND An investment fund providing cooperative investment to improve startup corporate value, supporting social issue-solving startups from seed to early stage.
• SUBPOSI Back-office sharing service that provides shared administrative services for startups and member companies.
• SUBPOSI IT IT department sharing service offered in collaboration with ISID-AO (Information Services International-Dentsu) providing shared IT resources to member startups.
• SUBPOSI MARKETING Marketing-focused new business development sharing service for member startups.
• SUBPOSI CREATIVE Video production and delivery support service for member startups and corporate partners.
• SUBPOSI SOUMU Administration sharing service providing office administration support for member companies.
• FINOLAB RESEARCH Research division established to produce industry publications and analysis on Japan's fintech landscape.
• Japan Financial Innovation Award (JFIA) Annual award program organized by FINOLAB and FINOVATORS evaluating hundreds of financial initiatives within Japan to recognize innovative fintech solutions.
• FINOPITCH Global pitch contest for FinTech startups, featuring international and domestic categories to showcase innovative fintech companies.
• 4F (FinTech Frontier Festival) Multi-day financial innovation festival held during Japan Fintech Week celebrating and showcasing fintech innovation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Hundreds of financial initiatives evaluated annually through JFIA program
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered minor and flagship.

• TOKYO MXminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 10 October 2019Business partnership for video content delivery platform, supporting FINOLAB's media and content distribution initiatives.
• FINOVATORSflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016Co-founder and co-organizer of the Japan Financial Innovation Award (JFIA) and FINOPITCH pitch contest. FINOVATORS was founded by Makoto Shibata and focuses on fostering fintech innovation in Japan.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves7 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Inspired.Lab: Mitsubishi Estate's own innovation hub in the Marunouchi area, managed by the same Innovative Communities Dept that oversees FINOLAB. It is the closest functional peer: a corporate-backed innovation space targeting startups and corporates with similar community and event-driven models.
• Plug and Play Japan: Japan arm of the global Plug and Play accelerator network, running fintech and other vertical-specific programs in Tokyo. It is directly comparable as a fintech-focused startup accelerator with corporate sponsorship and an event/pitch contest model.
• DG Lab (Digital Garage): Digital Garage's open innovation lab focused on fintech, blockchain, and Web3. Highly comparable as a Japanese fintech innovation hub that runs community programs, invests in startups, and hosts industry events.
• Open Network Lab (WiL): Japanese startup accelerator/incubator run by WiL that supports early-stage startups including fintech, with a similar community-plus-investment model. Direct peer in the Japanese startup ecosystem support space.
• FINOVATORS: Co-founder and co-organizer of the JFIA and FINOPITCH programs alongside FINOLAB. Founded by Makoto Shibata (FINOLAB's CCO), it operates in the same fintech community/innovation space in Japan.

Emerging players

• B Dash Ventures: Japan-focused fintech investor that runs the B Dash Camp conference, a major Japanese startup/fintech gathering. Comparable as a community-plus-capital model targeting Japanese internet and fintech startups.

Broad incumbents

• Money Forward: Leading Japanese fintech company providing PFM, accounting, and SaaS finance tools. Comparable as a prominent Japanese fintech ecosystem participant that has benefited from and contributed to Japan's fintech maturation.
• SBI Holdings: Large Japanese financial conglomerate with a fintech-focused investment and operating arm. Has produced multiple JFIA Grand Prix winners and is a major ecosystem player that FINOLAB engages with through its awards and events.
• Techstars: Global accelerator network that has run fintech-focused programs. Comparable as a startup accelerator with corporate-sponsored programs and a community/investment model, though primarily operating outside Japan.

Regional players

• 500 Global Japan: Global venture firm and accelerator with Japan operations targeting early-stage startups. Comparable as a startup accelerator with a fintech-relevant portfolio and community model, but operates at a different geographic scale.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/finolab_pr

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments11 records

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

Frequently asked questions about FINOLAB