HERP

What HERP does

HERP (株式会社HERP), founded in March 2017 in Tokyo by CEO Ichiro Shoda (庄田 一郎), is a Japan-domestic recruitment-technology SaaS provider targeting companies that hire digital and engineering talent. The company sells a platform-plus-modules architecture centered on HERP Hire, an applicant tracking system (ATS) that automates job-posting aggregation across recruitment platforms and integrates with Slack and Chatwork to enable "scrum-style" team-based hiring workflows. Layered onto the ATS are HERP AI Recruiter (text/NLP capabilities for interview summarization, interviewer enablement, and candidate communication), HERP Nurture (employee-referral talent pool management), HERP Trust (online reference checking), HERP DataHub (recruitment analytics dashboards), and HERP Agent Network (a matching service connecting employer ATS workflows with 1,000+ staffing agencies). Adjacent offerings include HERP Career (a job portal covering 1,000+ startup companies), ジョブミル/Jobmiru (a job-proposal platform for staffing agencies), HERP 採用コンサルティング (recruitment strategy consulting), and HERP Re-start (re-employment support services).

HERP operates a primarily subscription-based revenue model across the SaaS products, supplemented by professional services revenue from consulting and re-employment engagements. The go-to-market is sales-led, with each product line operating on its own dedicated landing page and inquiry funnel (lp.herp.cloud, herptrust.cloud, jobmiru.cloud, herp.careers), targeting enterprise and mid-market buyers through direct sales rather than a self-serve PLG motion. Marketing channels include content platforms (HERP Lab, HERP TechHub), event sponsorships in the Japanese developer community (関数型まつり2026, AI Engineering Summit Tokyo 2026), and organic social on X, Facebook, note, and YouTube. The company is headquartered at CIRCLES Gotanda 3F in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, employs 104 full-time staff (正社員), and operates exclusively within the Japanese market with no disclosed international expansion. To date the company has disclosed approximately $4.5M in funding across a 2017 seed and a 2019 Series A led by DCM Ventures and DNX Ventures, with no subsequent financing rounds disclosed.

Name

HERP

Legal name

株式会社HERP

Website

https://herp.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2017

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

HERP is a Japan-domestic recruitment-management SaaS platform that sells an ATS (HERP Hire) plus modular add-ons — including AI Recruiter, talent-pool, reference-check, analytics, and a 1,000+ agent staffing marketplace — to enterprise and mid-market companies hiring digital and engineering talent.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Recruitment Management Software

NAICS

Employment Placement Agencies (561311), Human Resources Consulting Services (541612), Employment Services (5613)

SIC

Services-Employment Agencies (7361), Services-Management Services (8741), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)

akta.pro primary industry

Talent Acquisition (Recruiting) & Applicant Tracking (ATS) (BPACAPAD)

akta.pro secondary industries

RPO Technology, ATS Administration & Recruitment Operations (BPACABAN), Vendor Management System (VMS) & MSP-Led Contractor Programs (BPACAGAF), Recruiting Administration Outsourcing (Recruitment Support, Scheduling, Onboarding Ops) (BPACAKAG)

Keywords

• Applicant tracking system
• Recruitment management software
• Talent acquisition platform
• AI recruitment automation
• Reference check tools

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. HERP Hire (SaaS Subscription): Subscription-based ATS (Applicant Tracking System) providing digital talent recruitment acceleration through automated job posting integration and team collaboration features
2. HERP AI Recruiter (SaaS Subscription): AI-powered recruitment process support service working in conjunction with HERP Hire
3. HERP Agent Network: Matching service enabling one-click job posting to 1,000+ recruiters with recommendation acceptance from staffing agencies
4. HERP DataHub: Analytics dashboard tool for recruitment metrics visualization and data-driven decision making
5. HERP Nurture: Talent pool system for managing employee referral networks and optimizing candidate communication
6. HERP Trust: Online reference check tool integrated with HERP Hire for streamlined candidate evaluation
7. HERP Career: Job portal for startup companies with company information and job listings, potentially freemium model
8. HERP 採用コンサルティング: Customized consulting services for recruitment strategy formulation, operation design, creative production, and advertising operations
9. ジョブミル (Jobmiru): Job proposal platform for staffing agencies providing automatic job aggregation and job database services
10. HERP Re-start: Re-employment support project services for career transitions and job placement

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

HERP provides a recruitment management platform (HERP Hire) and a suite of AI-powered talent acquisition tools that help Japanese companies streamline the full hiring workflow — from sourcing, applicant tracking, and interview evaluation through reference checks and onboarding. The platform is distinguished by deep, native integrations with Slack and Chatwork that allow recruiters to operate hiring directly from their chat workspace, and by an AI Recruiter module that automates candidate matching and outreach.

Product overview

HERP offers a suite of recruitment technology products organized as a platform-plus-modules architecture. The core platform HERP Hire serves as the central ATS, which integrates with HERP AI Recruiter for AI-powered process automation, HERP Nurture for talent pool management, HERP Trust for reference checks, and HERP DataHub for analytics. Additional products include HERP Agent Network for recruiter matching, HERP Career as a job board, ジョブミル (Jobmiru) for staffing agency job distribution, HERP 採用コンサルティング for consulting services, and HERP Re-start for re-employment support. The portfolio covers the full recruitment lifecycle from sourcing to onboarding and alumni management.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• HERP Hire: Digital talent acquisition applicant tracking system that automates job posting aggregation and integrates with Slack and Chatwork to enable scrum-based recruitment.
• HERP AI Recruiter
• HERP Agent Network
• HERP DataHub
• HERP Nurture
• HERP Trust
• HERP Career
• HERP 採用コンサルティング
• HERP Re-start
• ジョブミル (Jobmiru)

Products and services

• HERP Hire HERP Hire is an applicant tracking system (ATS) designed for Japanese companies that streamlines the recruitment workflow — from job posting and candidate intake to interview scheduling, evaluation, and offer management — directly inside Slack and Chatwork. It targets HR and hiring teams at growth-stage and mid-market Japanese companies, especially in the technology sector.
• HERP AI Recruiter HERP AI Recruiter is an AI-powered candidate matching and outreach tool that uses natural language processing to match job descriptions with candidate profiles, automate personalized outreach messaging, and recommend qualified applicants to recruiters. It is aimed at corporate recruiting teams seeking to reduce manual sourcing effort.
• HERP Agent Network HERP Agent Network connects corporate recruiting teams with a curated network of 1,000+ external staffing agencies and recruitment partners through the HERP platform, enabling companies to scale hiring by routing open requisitions to qualified external recruiters.
• HERP Nurture HERP Nurture is a talent engagement and candidate nurturing platform that helps recruiting teams manage long-term relationships with passive candidates through targeted email and message campaigns tied to the ATS.
• HERP DataHub HERP DataHub is a recruitment analytics and data integration platform that aggregates hiring data, provides dashboards on recruiting KPIs, and supports data-driven decision making across the hiring funnel.
• HERP Trust HERP Trust is a reference check platform that automates employment and background reference verification by collecting and verifying candidate references from previous employers and colleagues, integrated into the HERP Hire workflow.
• HERP Career HERP Career is a job portal and company-branded career site platform that enables employers using HERP Hire to publish openings and capture candidate applications through their own branded careers pages.
• Jobmiru (ジョブミル) Jobmiru (ジョブミル) is a job proposal and aggregation platform designed for staffing agencies in Japan, automatically aggregating job postings from ATS and job databases and proposing suitable openings to registered candidates.
• HERP Recruitment Consulting (HERP 採用コンサルティング) HERP Recruitment Consulting is a professional services offering that provides Japanese companies with expert consulting on hiring strategy, recruiting operations, and adoption of the HERP platform — built on the team's experience scaling recruiting at tech companies.
• HERP Re-start HERP Re-start is a re-employment support service that helps displaced or transitioning workers — including those affected by corporate restructuring — find new roles, leveraging the HERP network of employers and recruiters.

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability2 records

Feature9 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Talentio: Talentio is a leading Japan-based ATS/recruitment management system directly competing with HERP Hire for mid-market and enterprise digital talent hiring. Both target Japanese companies with subscription SaaS ATS, applicant tracking, and recruitment workflow features.
• SmartHR: SmartHR is one of Japan's largest HR tech platforms offering HR/LM/ATS functionality including new recruitment module capabilities. Overlaps with HERP in serving Japanese enterprise HR buyers with subscription cloud HR software, though SmartHR is broader (payroll, employee management) versus HERP's recruitment-focus.
• HRMOS: HRMOS provides a recruitment management system directly comparable to HERP Hire and offers adjacent HR products (HRMOS勤怠, HRMOS Payroll). Competes in the same Japanese ATS market for mid-market and enterprise customers.
• BizReach: BizReach operates one of Japan's largest mid-career recruitment platforms (BizReach) and an ATS offering (HRMOS), directly competing with HERP for high-end digital and professional talent recruitment. They also run staffing-agency-facing products overlapping with HERP's Jobmiru business.
• Wantedly: Wantedly operates Japan's leading startup-focused job matching platform and visitor analytics, directly competing with HERP Career for startup employer branding and job seeker traffic. Also overlaps with HERP Hire as both target tech/startup hiring teams.
• Green: Green is a major Japanese job portal with strong positioning in engineering and digital talent, directly competing with HERP Career and adjacent recruitment advertising services for Japanese mid-market and enterprise tech hiring.

Broad incumbents

• Indeed (Japan): Indeed operates Japan's largest job search engine and is a broad incumbent in Japanese online recruitment, with overlap to HERP Career and to ATS-sponsored job distribution features that HERP Hire aggregates. Competes indirectly across the recruitment tech stack.
• Greenhouse: Greenhouse is a leading global ATS focused on structured hiring and enterprise sales, providing a relevant global benchmark for HERP Hire's product capabilities, GTM motion (sales-led), and target customer base (mid-market through enterprise).
• Lever: Lever is a global ATS + Talent CRM platform operating in the same category as HERP Hire, with comparable modules for talent nurturing and analytics (comparable to HERP Nurture and HERP DataHub). Useful benchmark for international product positioning.

Emerging players

• Lapras: Lapras is a Japanese engineer-focused job matching platform with strong overlap to HERP Career for startup hiring and tech talent acquisition. Smaller scale but directly comparable product offering for the digital talent segment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/herp_inc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@herp_scrum
• Facebookfacebook.com/herpinc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/herp-inc

Compliance1 record

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds6 records

Investors5 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 HERP