H2L

What H2L does

H2L, Inc. (株式会社H2L) is a Tokyo-based, privately held Japanese technology company founded on July 2, 2012 by Emi Tamaki to commercialize proprietary 'BodySharing®' technology for sharing human physical experiences — proprioception, movement, force, and muscle state — between humans, avatars, robots, and computers. Its vertically integrated stack includes an optical muscle-displacement sensor ('Optical Active Sensing'), a 28-electrode/14-channel multi-electrode functional electrical stimulation system, AI/ML inference on biosignals, avatar synthesis, and teleoperated robot control. The company has built a portfolio of nine commercial products spanning hardware controllers (FirstVR, UnlimitedHand, PossessedHand), an AI-driven non-wearable interface (Capsule Interface), a sensory-data marketplace (Maaart), and vertical applications including a hologram-based remote-work system (HoloD), a metaverse office with biometric well-being monitoring (BodySharing for Business), a remote agricultural robot control service (RaraaS), and a VR kayaking experience (VR-Kayak).

The company monetizes across multiple revenue streams: direct and channel hardware sales (Capsule Interface from 30M yen per unit; FirstVR and UnlimitedHand on Amazon); a freemium B2B SaaS subscription for BodySharing for Business (FREE up to 50 users; PRO 900 yen/month/user capped at 100 users); a transaction-based marketplace via Maaart; joint-development contracts with strategic partners (Toyota Boshoku for automotive in-cabin experiences, Ito Super Shortwave for rehabilitation devices, Nomura Kogei for BodySharing for Business, Bunshodo for HoloD, NTT DOCOMO/Meiji University for taste-sharing); and non-dilutive public R&D funding including the NEDO SCA program and the Cabinet Office's SIP Phase 3 national project. Cumulative paid-in capital reached 396,005,000 yen (~$2.6M USD) by June 30, 2025, with no disclosed revenue.

Name

H2L

Legal name

H2L株式会社 (H2L, Inc.)

Website

https://h2l.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

H2L, Inc. is a Tokyo-based privately held Japanese company founded in 2012 that develops proprietary BodySharing® technology — optical muscle-displacement sensing and multi-electrode electrical stimulation — to enable bidirectional transmission of physical experiences between humans, avatars, and robots across nine hardware, software, and marketplace products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Human Augmentation / Proprioception Hardware and Software

NAICS

Recreational Goods Rental (532284)

akta.pro primary industry

VR/XR Hardware & Accessories (Headsets, Controllers, Trackers, Haptics) (MPAFAGAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Digital Twins & Scenario-Based Systems Training (Equipment/Process Simulators) (EDAFAJAJ), Game Controllers & Input Devices (Gamepads, Wheels, Flight Sticks) (CRACAOAD)

Keywords

• BodySharing technology
• Muscle displacement sensing
• Haptic VR controllers
• Metaverse office platform
• Proprioception hardware

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Hardware Sales (Capsule Interface, FirstVR, UnlimitedHand, HoloD): Direct and channel sale of proprietary BodySharing hardware. Capsule Interface is a high-ticket product (from 30 million yen). FirstVR and UnlimitedHand are sold via Amazon at consumer price points. HoloD is a transparent hologram remote-work system.
2. BodySharing for Business (B2B SaaS Subscription): Browser-based metaverse office SaaS with FREE plan (up to 50 registered users, available until end of month following office registration) and PRO plan at 900 yen/month/user (excluding tax, up to 100 users, no time limit). Service launched 2023-06-29.
3. Maaart Marketplace Transactions: Digital marketplace for trading sensory experiential data (movement, force, touch, etc.) launched 2025-07-17. When a 'Sharer' uploads experiential data, the system instantly evaluates it and calculates compensation. Transactions may take a percentage or transaction-based cut.
4. Government/Public R&D Grants: Receives public R&D funding such as the Cabinet Office's SIP Phase 3 (Strategic Innovation Promotion Program) national project on virtual economy, and prior NEDO SCA adoption.
5. Joint Development / Co-Development Contracts: Revenue from joint product development with partners including Ito Super Shortwave (rehabilitation), Bunshodo (HoloD), and Nomura Kogei (BodySharing for Business), often supported by public subsidies (e.g., Tokyo Metropolitan SME Support Corporation).
6. AI-related Business: Per company registration, H2L's business scope includes 'AI planning, research, design, development, manufacturing, sales, licensing, export and support', indicating potential licensing/royalty revenue from its AI stack used for proprioception inference.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion5 records

Core offering

H2L develops and sells proprietary BodySharing® hardware and software products that enable bidirectional sharing of physical experiences (movement, force, muscle state) between humans, robots, and avatars. Its commercial portfolio includes the Capsule Interface (AI-driven body-state interface), FirstVR (world's first muscle-displacement-sensor VR controller, 34g), UnlimitedHand (haptic game controller with electrical muscle stimulation), PossessedHand (28-electrode finger-control device), HoloD (hologram remote-work system), BodySharing for Business (metaverse office SaaS with biometric monitoring), Maaart (digital marketplace for trading experiential data), RaraaS (remote agricultural robot operation), and VR-Kayak (immersive kayaking system).

Product overview

H2L offers a platform-plus-modules architecture built around its proprietary "BodySharing" technology, which transmits body skills and sensations between people. The core platform concept is delivered through multiple modules: Capsule Interface (the AI-driven body-state interface), Maaart (the experience/sensation marketplace), and FirstVR and UnlimitedHand (the hardware sensors and actuators that capture and reproduce muscle signals). On top of this base, H2L offers vertical applications: HoloD (remote-work holograms), BodySharing for Business (metaverse office with biometric monitoring), RaraaS (remote agricultural robot operation), VR-Kayak (VR kayaking system), and PossessedHand (an earlier electrical-muscle-stimulation research device). Legacy/research products PossessedHand, UnlimitedHand, and FirstVR are sold as hardware, while Capsule Interface, Maaart, BodySharing for Business, HoloD, RaraaS, and VR-Kayak represent the company's evolution toward software, AI, and service-based offerings.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Capsule Interface An AI-driven experience-sharing interface comprising muscle displacement sensors, speakers, and a display mountable on chairs or beds that reads the user's body state (relaxation, energy) and operates devices and software through body-based control. Enables teleoperation of remote robots/avatars without wearables, controls, or training. Targeted at enterprises and advanced research programs; high-ticket unit (from 30 million yen).
• Maaart A digital marketplace for trading sensory experiential data (movement, force, touch, etc.). Users upload experiences recorded via FirstVR-compatible hardware; the system evaluates and pays compensation. Accessed via web browser and dedicated iOS/Android apps. Multi-sensory content combining visual, auditory, and proprioceptive/haptic data.
• FirstVR The world's first muscle-displacement-sensor-equipped VR controller (34g) worn on the arm that captures arm/hand muscle motion and force via Bluetooth to smartphone or PC. Enables intuitive gesture and force control for VR applications, training, and teleoperation.
• UnlimitedHand A wearable haptic game controller that uses proprietary multi-electrode functional electrical stimulation of forearm muscles to move the wearer's fingers and deliver force feedback, enabling hands-free immersive tactile gameplay in VR.
• PossessedHand An early research/legacy H2L device that uses electrical stimulation of forearm muscles (28 electrodes, 14 independently controlled channels) to induce finger movement, demonstrating the foundational BodySharing® technology later commercialized in UnlimitedHand and FirstVR. Also applied to rehabilitation research with Ito Super Shortwave.
• HoloD A remote-work system that projects life-size transparent holograms of remote colleagues for more natural presence and collaboration, integrating BodySharing® technology (planned to be applied to the HoloD avatar for body-movement transmission). Co-developed with Bunshodo Co., Ltd.
• BodySharing for Business A browser-based B2B metaverse office SaaS that lets remote teams share presence via avatars, communicate by chat, and have biometric well-being data (relaxation, energy levels inferred from FirstVR muscle displacement data via proprietary ML) visualized for managers. FREE plan up to 50 users; PRO plan 900 yen/month/user up to 100 users.
• RaraaS (Remote Agricultural Robot as a Service) A remote agricultural robotics service that lets an operator intuitively drive robots (including agricultural robots for tasks like strawberry picking and harvesting) from a distance using H2L's FirstVR body-signal hardware and AI-assisted control over 5G.
• VR-Kayak A VR kayaking system that combines immersive visuals (via VR headsets/large displays) with H2L's body-actuation technology to let users experience the resistance of water by paddling in mid-air.

Quantifiable outcome

• PossessedHand selected by TIME as one of the '50 Best Inventions' in 2011
• +8 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability7 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Eleven partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Human Augmentation Consortium (TOPPAN, Toyota Motor, Mizuno, Mitsubishi Research Institute)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 December 2024Co-founding member with NTT DOCOMO, TOPPAN, Toyota Motor Corporation Future Creation Center, Mizuno Corporation, and Mitsubishi Research Institute. Consortium goal: validate human-augmentation system components (devices, platforms, apps), drive international technical standardization, and publish white papers and symposiums to expand the human-augmentation ecosystem.
• NTT DOCOMO, Inc. (株式会社NTTドコモ)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 December 2023Jointly developed the world's first foundational technology for sharing taste tailored to the recipient's perception, combining NTT DOCOMO's 'Human Augmentation Platform' / 'FEEL TECH' with H2L/Miyashita Lab taste-reproduction technology. Showcased at docomo Open House '24 (2024-01-17). Also co-founding member of the Human Augmentation Consortium (since 2024-12-17). NTT DOCOMO 'Human Augmentation Platform' and 'FEEL TECH' are registered trademarks.
• Meiji University — Yoshiharu Miyashita Laboratory, School of Mathematical SciencescoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 21 December 2023Joint research partner for the world's first taste-sharing technology, including the 'TTTV3' actuation device for taste reproduction. The Miyashita Lab's 'electric taste' research won the 2023 Ig Nobel Prize. Co-developed and co-published with H2L and NTT DOCOMO.
• Nomura Kogei Co., Ltd. (乃村工藝社)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 29 June 2023Co-developed and co-launched the BodySharing for Business metaverse office (launched 2023-06-29). Jointly operates the 'BodySharing for Business' service website (business.bodysharing.jp). Nomura Kogei contributes spatial design and NOMLAB digital-innovation capabilities; H2L contributes BodySharing® proprioception technology. Beta was operated from October 2022; full release on 2023-06-29 with FREE and PRO pricing plans.
• Bunshodo Co., Ltd. (文祥堂)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 9 August 2022Co-developed the HoloD transparent-hologram remote-work system, with a new model opened for orders on 2022-08-09. Bunshodo contributes workplace design and distribution; H2L contributes BodySharing® technology (planned to be applied to the HoloD avatar to enable body-movement transmission). HoloD is sold via holo-d.com and includes a free 1-week trial.
• Ito Super Shortwave Co., Ltd. (伊藤超短波)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 23 June 2022Jointly developing rehabilitation devices for finger-movement therapy in patients with paralysis from neurological disorders (e.g., spinal cord injury), using H2L's PossessedHand and BodySharing technologies. Funded by Tokyo Metropolitan Small and Medium Enterprise Support Corporation. Jointly exhibited at the 59th Annual Meeting of the Japanese Society of Rehabilitation Medicine in Yokohama, 2022-06-23 to 06-25. The product is not yet approved under the Pharmaceutical and Medical Devices Act.
• NTT DOCOMO (5G x BodySharing partnership)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2017Joint 5G × BodySharing idea contest and successful 5G avatar-robot tourism proof-of-concept. Reinforces H2L's 5G-enabled BodySharing deployment and led to the later 6G taste-sharing collaboration.
• Keio University (Graduate School of System Design and Management)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmi Tamaki (H2L CEO) is a Professor at Keio University's Graduate School of System Design and Management — provides H2L with academic affiliation, talent pipeline, and HCI research collaboration.
• Okinawa Electric Power Company, Inc. (沖縄電力)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEmi Tamaki serves as an Outside Director — provides H2L with regional (Okinawa) business connections and aligns with the company's Okinawa branch.
• Apple App Store (iOS) and Google Play (Android) for MaaartcoreTechnology or IntegrationMaaart is distributed as a dedicated iOS app (iPad/iPhone) and Android app (scheduled August 2025) for recording experiential data via the FirstVR device.
• Amazon (Amazon.co.jp)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAmazon Japan is the consumer retail channel for FirstVR and UnlimitedHand hardware.

Scale indicators13 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• CTRL-Labs (Meta Platforms): Acquired by Meta in 2019, CTRL-Labs developed EMG-based wristbands for gesture and intent control — the closest direct competitor to H2L's muscle-displacement sensing approach. Represents the big-tech scale that H2L competes against in neural/biosignal interfaces.
• Thalmic Labs (North / Google): Thalmic Labs built the Myo armband — an EMG gesture-control wearable directly comparable to H2L's FirstVR. The company rebranded to North (smart-glasses) before shutting down, illustrating the difficulty of commercializing EMG wearables as a startup and a competitive benchmark for H2L's go-to-market.
• HaptX: HaptX builds force-feedback haptic gloves for VR/robotics teleoperation. It competes with H2L in the haptic-feedback dimension of BodySharing® (electrical muscle stimulation vs. HaptX's pneumatic force feedback) for enterprise VR and robot-control use cases.
• bHaptics: bHaptics makes consumer-priced haptic vests, arm bands, and gloves for VR gaming — directly comparable SKUs to H2L's UnlimitedHand and FirstVR on price point and use case, though using vibrotactile rather than EMS-based actuation.
• Teslasuit: Teslasuit produces a full-body haptic suit and motion-capture system for VR training and enterprise simulation. Competes with H2L's HoloD and FirstVR in immersive VR haptics, with a focus on enterprise/training rather than consumer gaming.

Emerging players

• Ultraleap: Ultraleap combines mid-air ultrasonic haptics with hand-tracking. Compared to H2L, it is at a more mature commercial stage in touchless haptics for XR/automotive/retail, but addresses a different (non-contact) haptic modality than H2L's wearable electrical-stimulation approach.
• SynTouch (Tactile Sensors): SynTouch develops BioTac tactile sensors that mimic human fingertip sensing. Relevant peer as another bio-inspired tactile/proprioception sensing company, though focused on robotic fingertips rather than human-body wearables.
• Emerge: Emerge builds ultrasonic mid-air haptics devices (Emerge Wave-1) for touchless tactile experiences in XR. Comparable as a peer in next-generation haptic experience-sharing, though focused on non-contact haptics rather than H2L's wearable EMS approach.

Broad incumbents

• Sony (PlayStation / Sony Innovation Fund): Sony is a documented H2L investor (Sony Innovation Fund + Environmental Energy Investment) and a major incumbent in VR/AR (PlayStation VR2), haptic game controllers, and entertainment — making it both a financial backer and a broad incumbent competitor in consumer haptic hardware.
• Meta Reality Labs: Meta's Reality Labs invests heavily in EMG/neural interfaces (via CTRL-Labs), hand-tracking, and Quest VR. It is the dominant broad incumbent in the consumer XR + neural-interface category H2L targets, with vastly larger distribution and capital.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/h2linc
• YouTubeyoutube.com/@h2linc609
• Facebookfacebook.com/H2LInc
• Instagraminstagram.com/h2l_inc_official?igsh=MWJ1M2VodWhxamR2Yw==
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/h2l-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles7 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds3 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 H2L