What Smartround does

Smartround Inc. is a Tokyo-headquartered SaaS company founded in 2020 that operates a data platform unifying startup corporate operations with investor workflows on shared infrastructure. The platform serves a two-sided market of more than 7,500 startups and 7,000+ investors (including individual investors), with modules covering capital policy simulation, shareholder and board meeting management, stock option administration, securities data management, document library, management dashboards, chat/task management, and CRM-like investor attack lists for startups, plus portfolio monitoring, deal sourcing, LP investment management, and fund administration for investors. The system is built on AWS and integrates with Speeda's investor database of more than 85,000 profiles to power investor search and deal filtering.

The company monetizes through a freemium subscription model: a free tier, Standard at ¥3,000/month, Professional at ¥10,000/month, plus a BPaaS Corporate Delegate Service from ¥20,000/month and a one-time Valuation Service at ¥200,000 per engagement. Investor-tier pricing for VC, CVC, and LP segments is custom and sold through direct sales conversations. Go-to-market combines product-led growth (self-serve registration for startups) with enterprise field sales for institutional investors, supplemented by content marketing (a 21-step fundraising manual, Startup Next media) and signature events (Startup CxO Conference, investor wall-banging sessions).

Customer segments span startup companies from founding through pre-IPO, venture capital firms, corporate venture capital (CVC) units, LP investors, and advisors including lawyers and accountants. In September 2024, Smartround received strategic investments from Mizuho Financial Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Morgan Stanley Securities, Nomura Holdings, and GREE Ventures to develop a secondary trading platform for unlisted Japanese startup shares and to support its newly launched LP investment management module; Aozora Corporate Investment followed in April 2025. CEO Dai Sunagawa (砂川 大) and COO Ali Tomita lead a team of 11-50 employees from the Marunouchi headquarters in Tokyo.

Name

Smartround

Legal name

株式会社スマートラウンド

Website

https://jp.smartround.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2020

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

Smartround is a Tokyo-based SaaS platform that unifies startup corporate operations (cap tables, shareholder meetings, SO management, capital policy) and investor workflows (portfolio monitoring, deal sourcing, LP management) on shared data infrastructure, serving 7,500+ startups and 7,000+ investors in Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Cap Table and Equity Management Software

NAICS

Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Goal-Based & Micro-Investing Platforms (Round-ups, Fractional) (FSAGAEAG)

Keywords

• Cap table management
• Startup equity platform
• Fundraising management software
• Investor relations software
• Shareholder management platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SaaS Subscriptions - Startup Plans: Three-tier subscription model for startups: Free (basic features), Standard (¥3,000/month for small shareholder management with partner), Professional (¥10,000/month for comprehensive corporate operations). Revenue from monthly/annual recurring subscriptions.
2. SaaS Subscriptions - Investor Plans: Custom pricing for VC, CVC, and LP investor segments. Revenue from recurring subscriptions tailored to investor firm size and needs.
3. Valuation Services (株価算定): One-time professional valuation of stock option exercise prices for tax-qualified options, priced at ¥200,000 per engagement.
4. Corporate Delegate Service (BPaaS): Optional add-on service combining Professional plan with hands-on support starting at ¥20,000/month, for complex equity administration tasks outsourced to experts.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

Smartround provides a cloud-based SaaS data platform that connects startups and investors on a single system of record for corporate operations, fundraising, and fund management. The platform unifies capital policy simulation, shareholder and board meeting administration, stock option management, investor search, securities data, document sharing, and management dashboards, complemented by professional valuation and corporate outsourcing (BPaaS) services. It is sold primarily as a subscription product with freemium and tiered plans for startups and custom-priced plans for institutional investors.

Product overview

Smartround operates a data creation and sharing platform for startups and investors, built as a unified SaaS platform serving over 7,500 startups and 7,000+ investors on AWS infrastructure. The platform combines a suite of integrated modules for startups — including Capital Policy Management (資本政策), Shareholder Meeting Management (株主総会), Board Meeting Management (取締役会), Stock Option Management (SO管理), Investor Search & Attack List (投資家検索), Securities Data Management (証券データ), Document Library (ライブラリ), Management Dashboard (経営情報), and Chat & Task Management (チャット・タスク管理) — alongside complementary investor-facing modules covering Investment Portfolio Management (投資管理), LP Investment Management (LP投資管理), Deal Sourcing (案件管理), and Fund Administration (ファンドアドミ). The platform is complemented by two service offerings: a Valuation Service (株価算定サービス) providing professional stock price calculations for SO accounting, and a Corporate Outsourcing Service (コーポレート代行サービス/BPaaS) combining SaaS with hands-on professional support for complex equity administration. The company also operates Startup Next, a media and events sub-brand for the startup ecosystem, and is developing a secondary trading market for unlisted startup shares.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Startup Next: Media and event platform for startups providing interviews, event reports, and startup ecosystem content.

Products and services

• Capital Policy Management (資本政策) Capital policy simulation module that enables startups to model equity dilution, fundraising rounds, and stakeholder scenarios from founding through exit. Targeted at startup founders and finance staff preparing for investment rounds.
• Shareholder Meeting Management (株主総会) Digital module for convening shareholder meetings, distributing notices online, collecting and aggregating proxies, and managing the entire shareholder meeting workflow for Japanese startups.
• Board Meeting Management (取締役会) End-to-end digital support for board meetings, including notice distribution, agenda management, meeting minutes, and electronic signatures, built for Japanese startups and their boards.
• Stock Option Management (SO管理) Stock option administration module covering issuance, vesting, exercise tracking, and accounting support for startups granting tax-qualified stock options.
• Investor Search & Attack List (投資家検索・アタックリスト) Investor sourcing and pipeline tool that lets startups search an 85,000+ investor database, build attack lists, track status, and log notes through a CRM-like workflow to manage fundraising outreach.
• Securities Data Management (証券データ) Underlying data module that accurately manages share and stock warrant records, used across cap table, SO, and corporate governance features.
• Document Library (ライブラリ) Permission-controlled document repository that allows startups to organize and securely share due diligence materials, financial reports, and corporate documents with investors and advisors.
• Management Dashboard (経営情報) Auto-generated management dashboard built from startups' financial data, used for monthly investor reporting and internal sharing.
• Chat & Task Management (チャット・タスク管理) Secure external chat rooms and task management module that ties communication with investors and advisors to company email accounts to prevent data leakage when employees leave.
• Investment Portfolio Management (投資管理) Investor-side module that enables VCs and CVCs to manage, monitor, and report on their portfolio companies and fund performance.
• LP Investment Management (LP投資管理) LP-facing module that helps limited partners manage and track their investments in VC funds, supporting standardization of LP-side investment management.
• Deal Sourcing & Prospect Management (案件管理) Pipeline management tool for investors to organize and screen potential investments, track deal flow, and manage prospect lists.
• Fund Administration (ファンドアドミ) Fund-level administrative module for VC and CVC investors, supporting fund reporting and Excel export for LP communications.
• Valuation Service (株価算定サービス) Professional service that calculates stock option exercise prices required for tax-qualified stock option accounting, delivered by experienced startup support professionals at ¥200,000 per engagement.
• Corporate Outsourcing Service / BPaaS (コーポレート代行サービス) Bundled SaaS-plus-service offering that handles complex equity administration tasks for startups, combining the Professional platform with hands-on operational support starting at ¥20,000/month on top of the Professional subscription.

Quantifiable outcome

• Monthly administrative work reduced by approximately 80% for VC firms (case study: XTech Ventures)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers10 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration1 record

Feature13 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Speeda (スタートアップ情報リサーチ)coreTechnology or IntegrationSmartround integrates with Speeda's investor database of over 85,000 profiles, enabling startups using smartround to search and filter investors by investment theme, ticket size, lead/follow investment patterns, and funding amounts. Core feature integration that enhances deal sourcing capabilities.
• 200+ Smartround Partners (Investors & Advisors)minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorOver 200 partner firms including investors and advisors whose members are searchable within the smartround platform. Partners can be connected with through one-click connection requests, expanding the network available to startups on the platform.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Carta: Carta is the global leader in cap table management, equity administration, and investor management for startups and venture funds. It is the closest direct analogue to Smartround's core offering and is widely viewed as the global benchmark Smartround is replicating for the Japanese market.
• Pulley: Pulley provides cap table management, 409A valuations, and equity plan support for startups and investors. It directly competes with Smartround in cap table, valuation, and investor management workflows and targets a similar early- to growth-stage startup audience.
• AngelList: AngelList operates a platform for startup fundraising, investor deal flow, and fund administration. Its roll-up of cap table, fund management, and LP tooling overlaps directly with Smartround's startup-investor-LP product surface.
• Ledgy: Ledgy offers equity management, cap tables, and ESOP administration for European startups and investors. It mirrors Smartround's domain-specialized approach to startup equity and cap table workflows with comparable PLG pricing.
• Capdesk: Capdesk provides equity management, cap table, and shareholder services for private companies and investors. It is a comparable SaaS-first equity management platform serving startups, investors, and employees.

Broad incumbents

• Morgan Stanley at Work (Shareworks): Morgan Stanley at Work, formerly Shareworks, is a large incumbent offering equity administration, cap table management, and financial wellness for public and private companies globally. It is a broader incumbent with overlapping cap table and shareholder management capabilities but a much wider enterprise focus.
• Fidelity Private Shares: Fidelity Private Shares offers cap table management, 409A valuations, and equity compensation tools for private companies, leveraging Fidelity's broader financial services brand. It overlaps with Smartround's startup cap table and valuation services from an incumbent vantage point.

Regional players

• freee: freee is a leading Japanese cloud accounting and HR SaaS provider serving SMBs and startups. While not a cap table peer, it shares Smartround's PLG, freemium SaaS motion targeting Japanese startups and small businesses.
• Money Forward: Money Forward provides cloud accounting, payroll, and fintech SaaS for Japanese businesses. It is a comparable Japanese SaaS incumbent targeting similar SMB/startup finance back-office workflows with a broader product portfolio than Smartround.

Emerging players

• Fundbook: Fundbook operates a Japanese platform supporting VC fund operations, LP reporting, and portfolio management. It is an emerging Japan-focused player whose LP and fund administration overlap directly with Smartround's investor-side modules.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/smartround_jp
• Facebookfacebook.com/smartroundjp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/%E6%A0%AA%E5%BC%8F%E4%BC%9A%E7%A4%BE%E3%82%B9%E3%83%9E%E3%83%BC%E3%83%88%E3%83%A9%E3%82%A6%E3%83%B3%E3%83%89

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds5 records

Investors7 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 Smartround