Logbar
Logbar Inc. develops the ili wearable offline voice translation device supporting English, Chinese, and Japanese, selling hardware direct-to-consumer and through enterprise partnerships with hotels, tourism authorities, and global platforms like Booking.com for international travelers and the inbound tourism industry.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2013
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingHardware or Manufacturing
What Logbar does
Logbar Inc. is a Tokyo-based wearable technology company founded in February 2013 by Takuro Yoshida (CEO) and Takayuki Yamazaki (COO), with a wholly-owned US subsidiary in San Francisco. The company's flagship product is ili, a standalone wearable offline voice translation device supporting English, Chinese, and Japanese. ili runs on a proprietary operating system with a travel-optimized dictionary and operates without Wi-Fi, 3G, or any internet connection, differentiating on instant offline translation in a wearable form factor. The earlier Ring ZERO gesture-control ring was discontinued in December 2017, and the company has since consolidated around the ili product line and its enterprise variant, ili for Guest.
The company monetizes primarily through one-time hardware sales of the ili device at 19,800 yen retail (pre-order pricing 16,800 yen), distributed through Amazon.jp, major Japanese electronics retailers, Best Buy in North America, and Macy's in the US. A B2B service (ili for Guest), launched June 2017, extends the hardware into hotels, malls, tourism authorities, and transportation for multilingual guest communication. Additional revenue comes from co-branded partnerships (notably a Booking.com collaboration distributing ili in 13 countries), an airport rental service through Vision Co. at 13 Japanese airport locations, and licensing/promotional arrangements. Customer segments span individual international travelers (primary B2C) and inbound-tourism industry verticals (primary B2B), with government and tourism-authority endorsements in Japan, Taiwan, and Hawaii reinforcing credibility.
Logbar has raised approximately $7.2M in cumulative funding, including a $880,998 Kickstarter campaign in April 2014 for Ring and subsequent venture rounds led by Field Management, TYO, MSIVC, and Nippon Venture Capital in 2017–2018. The company employs approximately 30 people and has been recognized with multiple international design awards (CES Innovation 2015 and 2016, Good Design 2015 and 2017, DFA 2015 and 2017, Red Dot Design 2018). Notable enterprise customers and partners include Booking.com, AeON Mall, Tokyo Metro, Hawaii Tourism Japan, Narita City, Beppu City, and Green World Hotels in Taiwan.
Logbar firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Logbar
- Legal name
- 株式会社ログバー
- Website
- https://logbar.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2013
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Logbar Inc. develops the ili wearable offline voice translation device supporting English, Chinese, and Japanese, selling hardware direct-to-consumer and through enterprise partnerships with hotels, tourism authorities, and global platforms like Booking.com for international travelers and the inbound tourism industry.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Logbar industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Wearable Translation Devices
- NAICS
- Telephone Apparatus Manufacturing (33421)
- SIC
- Telephone & Telegraph Apparatus (3661)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Conversational AI Platforms (chat/voice bots, orchestration) (HDAAAFAC)
Keywords
Where Logbar is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices2 records
Markets served
Logbar business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Hardware or Manufacturing
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Supply Chain, Marketing or Sales, Personnel, Operations
Revenue model
- Hardware Sales - ili Device: One-time purchase of wearable translation device. Primary consumer product priced at 19,800 yen (regular) with pre-order pricing at 16,800 yen.
- Enterprise Services - ili for Guest: B2B service targeting hospitality industry (hotels, malls, tourism). Enables businesses to provide translation services to inbound tourists.
- Rental Services: Partnership with Vision (株式会社ビジョン) for rental services at 13 airport locations across Japan, targeting outbound travelers.
- Corporate Branding/Promotion: Branded cases and promotional partnerships with major brands like Booking.com for co-branded products.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | ili Standard Model - Pre-order/Limited Edition |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | ili Standard Model - Regular Price |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Ring ZERO |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels9 records
Marketing channels8 records
Logbar product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Logbar develops and sells the ili wearable offline voice translation device, which delivers instant speech-to-speech translation between English, Chinese, and Japanese without requiring internet connectivity. The company also offers ili for Guest, an enterprise service that deploys ili devices at hotels, malls, tourist attractions, and transit hubs to enable staff to communicate with inbound foreign tourists. A previous product, the Ring ZERO gesture-controlled wearable ring, was discontinued in December 2017.
Product overview
Logbar develops wearable devices focused on communication solutions. The primary current product is ili (イリー), a standalone offline wearable voice translator supporting English, Chinese, and Japanese translation. Previously offered Ring ZERO, a gesture-controlled ring device, which was discontinued in 2017. The company also provides enterprise services (ili for Guest) for hospitality businesses serving tourists.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- ili: Wearable translation device that provides instant voice translation without internet connection. Currently supports English, Chinese, and Japanese.
- Ring ZERO
Products and services
- ili (Wearable Translator) Standalone wearable offline voice translator that provides instant speech-to-speech translation between English, Chinese, and Japanese without requiring internet connectivity. Features a proprietary OS and travel-optimized dictionary, designed for individual travelers and global tourism use cases.
- ili for Guest (Enterprise Service) Enterprise-facing service that deploys ili translation devices at hotels, malls, tourist attractions, and transit facilities so staff can communicate with inbound foreign tourists without hiring additional multilingual personnel.
- Ring ZERO (Gesture Control Wearable) World's smallest wearable input device that allowed users to control compatible devices through simple gestures in the air, delivering the 'Shortcut Everything' concept. Discontinued December 2017.
- ili x Booking.com Co-branded Bundle Limited edition co-branded bundle combining ili translation device with Booking.com-branded case, distributed across 13 countries through the Booking.com partnership to promote barrier-free travel.
Quantifiable outcome
- 100 million+ social media video views within 2 weeks of product launch event
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Logbar
Customer profileNamed customers9 records
Segments4 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Logbar technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature5 records
Logbar partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, minor and core.
- Booking.comflagshipGlobal partnership with the world's largest online hotel booking platform. Co-branded ili device cases distributed in 13 countries. Joint marketing to promote travel without language barriers, leveraging Booking.com's global customer base.
- Narita Cityminorili devices donated to Narita City Mayor Koichi Koizumi for supporting inbound tourists at Narita Airport and AeON Mall Narita, with focus on 2020 Tokyo Olympics tourism.
- Macy'scoreRetail distribution partnership at Macy's Manhattan (NYC), San Francisco, and Los Angeles stores. In-store experience and sales for American market.
- Green World Hotels (Taiwan)coreili sales and demonstration at 3 Green World Hotels in Taipei, Taiwan targeting Japanese tourists. Hotel-based retail presence for travelers.
- Beppu CitycoreTOMODACHI-CITY project: World-first city-wide ili deployment at 4 tourist locations (Kannawa Jigokumushi Kobo, Kaihin Sunayu, Takewaza Traditional Industry Hall, Takegawara Onsen) to facilitate communication with foreign tourists at Japan's top hot spring city.
- AeON MallcoreDemonstration experiments at AeON Mall Okinawa Rikamu testing two-way communication between staff and foreign customers using ili devices. 150 malls nationwide managed by AeON.
- Tokyo MetrocorePilot program under Tokyo Metro Accelerator 2016. Demonstration experiments at Ginza Station and Meiji Jingumae-Harajuku Station for passenger guidance using ili devices.
- Vision Co., Ltd. (株式会社ビジョン)coreRental service partnership at 13 airport locations (Haneda, Narita, Kansai, etc.) for outbound Japanese travelers. Vision operates Global WiFi counters at airports.
- Hawaii Tourism Japanflagshipili designated as Official Product by Hawaii Tourism Japan. Adopted to enhance travel experience for 8+ million annual tourists to Hawaii. First major tourism authority endorsement.
Scale indicators7 records
Recent moves8 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Logbar competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Pocketalk: Pocketalk is the most direct competitor to Logbar's ili, offering dedicated handheld translation devices supporting 80+ languages with built-in cellular data. Targets the same B2C travelers and B2B hospitality use cases.
- Timekettle: Timekettle makes the WT2 and M3 AI translation earbuds, a direct wearable competitor to ili. Focuses on real-time bidirectional translation via earbud form factor for travelers and business users.
- Waverly Labs: Waverly Labs developed the Ambassador over-ear translation device targeting travelers and enterprise customers. Direct competitor to ili's wearable voice translation category.
- Langogo: Langogo produces the Genesis and Summit AI pocket translators, directly competing with ili in the standalone handheld translation device category with cloud+offline hybrid architecture.
Broad incumbents
- Google Translate: Google's free smartphone translation app supports 100+ languages with offline mode, covering conversational translation as part of a broader productivity portfolio. The free substitute competes with ili's paid dedicated hardware.
- Apple Translate: Apple's built-in Translate app on iOS offers free offline voice translation across 11+ languages. As an integrated, no-cost alternative, it directly pressures dedicated translation hardware like ili.
- Microsoft Translator: Microsoft Translator offers free multi-language voice translation across mobile and enterprise channels (including Teams). The broad incumbent's enterprise distribution threatens Logbar's B2B ili for Guest positioning.
- Sony: Sony is a major Japanese consumer electronics manufacturer with deep retail distribution in Japan. As a broad incumbent with potential to enter wearable translation, Sony represents both a competitive threat and a potential acquirer/partner for Logbar.
- Samsung: Samsung is a global consumer electronics giant integrating AI translation features into Galaxy devices and wearables. As a broad incumbent with vast scale and marketing budget, Samsung represents a structural competitor to dedicated translation hardware like ili.
Emerging players
- iFLYTEK: iFLYTEK is a Chinese AI leader in speech recognition and machine translation with consumer translator devices and B2B platforms. An emerging player in Asia that overlaps with ili's translation technology and Chinese-market focus.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Logbar social profiles
Digital presenceLogbar financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Logbar leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
Logbar subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Logbar funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds7 records
Investors7 records
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Logbar M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Logbar
What does Logbar do?
Logbar develops and sells the ili wearable offline voice translation device, which delivers instant speech-to-speech translation between English, Chinese, and Japanese without requiring internet connectivity. The company also offers ili for Guest, an enterprise service that deploys ili devices at hotels, malls, tourist attractions, and transit hubs to enable staff to communicate with inbound foreign tourists. A previous product, the Ring ZERO gesture-controlled wearable ring, was discontinued in December 2017.
Is Logbar a public or private company?
Logbar is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Logbar founded?
Logbar was founded in 2013. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Logbar based?
Logbar is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Logbar make money?
Four revenue lines are on record. Hardware Sales - ili Device is the primary driver. The others are enterprise Services - ili for Guest, rental Services and corporate Branding/Promotion.
Who are Logbar's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Pocketalk, Timekettle, Waverly Labs and Langogo. Broad incumbents are Google Translate, Apple Translate, Microsoft Translator, Sony and Samsung. iFLYTEK is listed as an emerging player.
Does Logbar have an API?
No public API is recorded for Logbar.
What industry is Logbar in?
Logbar's product category is Wearable Translation Devices. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAAAFAC, Conversational AI Platforms (chat/voice bots, orchestration). Its NAICS code is 33421 and its SIC code is 3661.