EduLab

What EduLab does

EduLab, Inc. (株式会社EduLab, tyo:4427) is a Tokyo-headquartered, publicly listed EdTech company that develops AI-based educational measurement, learning, and document automation solutions, organized into four business segments: Test Licensing (CASEC, CASEC SPEAKING, Eiken Jr., TEAP CBT, StudyGear platform), Test Center Operations (40+ CBT centers across 28 Japanese prefectures via subsidiary EdTech RISE), AI Business (DEEP READ, DEEP GRADE, UGUIS.AI), and Test Operation/Entrusted Services (large-scale government surveys and exam administration). The company is one of Japan's most research-grounded EdTech players, combining 20+ years of psychometric expertise (Item Response Theory, Computerized Adaptive Testing) with proprietary deep-learning OCR achieving 98.66% single-character handwriting recognition and ChatGPT/GPT-4-powered automated grading with explainable AI (XAI) feedback, supported by a data corpus of 2.07M+ CASEC examinees, 5.3M StudyGear users, and 560M+ DEEP READ processed documents.

EduLab serves a diversified customer base spanning educational institutions and exam bodies (Eiken Foundation, universities including Obirin, Taisyo, Chiba, Eikei, and Myojo), corporate enterprises (Honda Group's ~20 subsidiaries for English proficiency testing, Orix Life Insurance, Shinkin Central Business, SCSK Serviceware, Toho Industries), BPO and service companies (Agreex), individual learners (Eiken preparation), and Japanese government agencies (MEXT, METI, NIER, Sports Agency for PISA, national academic surveys, and generative AI proof-of-concepts). Distribution is hybrid: direct enterprise sales for AI products and test licensing, a network of certified resellers and OEM partners (SB Mobile Service, Itochu Techno-Solutions, Layer's Consulting, Hachisisystem Products, Universal Computing, WingArc, Hammock, ABBYY, UiPath) for DEEP READ, plus RapidAPI-based global developer access.

The company monetizes through a mix of subscription (DEEP READ cloud at ¥100K+/month, StudyGear Prime at ¥500/month, StudyGear Learning Basic at ¥500/month), unit pricing (DEEP GRADE from ¥1M initial + ¥100K/month, Zkai x StudyGear CBT at ¥3,000/test), freemium and government-subsidized tiers (UGUIS.AI free for up to 50 schools under METI 探究・校務改革支援補助2025), and commissioned professional services for government test administration. Strategic capital partnerships with NTT Docomo, Obunsha, Z-kai, and early-stage EdTech investments (CodeMonkey, ELSA, Academic Merit, Authess, SpeakingPal, Listen Innovation) underpin its ecosystem strategy. EduLab also operates international R&D and sales hubs in Seattle, Boston, New York, Dublin, Singapore, Hong Kong, Beijing, Shanghai, Bangalore, and Pune.

Name

EduLab

Legal name

株式会社EduLab

Website

https://edulab-inc.com

Company type

Public

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

251–500 employees

Short description

EduLab is a Tokyo-listed Japanese EdTech company that builds AI-based educational measurement, automated grading, and document-OCR products (CASEC, DEEP READ, DEEP GRADE, UGUIS.AI), serving universities, corporations, government agencies, and individual learners in Japan and across Asia, the US, and Europe.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices12 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Test Licensing Services: Licensing of proprietary English assessment tests including CASEC (adaptive CAT-based English test), CASEC SPEAKING, and related learning services. Revenue from educational institutions, corporations, and individual learners. Services include Eiken Jr. operation and StudyGear learning platform.
2. Test Center Operations: CBT test center operations providing secure testing environments across 40+ locations in Japan. Revenue from providing test-taking venues and proctoring services to Eiken Association and other exam bodies. The subsidiary EdTech RISE operates the test centers.
3. AI Products (DEEP READ, DEEP GRADE, UGUIS.AI): AI-OCR product DEEP READ is sold as cloud-based or on-premise software with API access. DEEP GRADE AI auto-grading uses initial fees (from ¥1,000,000) plus monthly fees (from ¥100,000/month). UGUIS.AI is offered to schools with revenue from government subsidy programs and future direct sales.
4. Test Operation and Entrusted Services: Commissioned test operations for government agencies, educational institutions, and exam bodies including test development, printing, distribution, scoring, and analysis. Major contracts include Ministry of Education national academic surveys, PISA, and local government assessments.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion4 records

Distribution channels6 records

Marketing channels7 records

Core offering

EduLab develops and operates AI-powered educational testing and assessment technologies for the Japanese and global markets. Its core offerings include CASEC, Japan's first IRT-based computerized adaptive English test; DEEP READ, a deep learning AI-OCR for handwriting recognition; DEEP GRADE, a ChatGPT-powered AI auto-grading solution; and UGUIS.AI, an AI English writing learning service. The company also operates a nationwide network of 40+ CBT test centers in Japan through its subsidiary EdTech RISE, and provides commissioned test operation services for government agencies and educational institutions.

Product overview

EduLab operates as a Deep Tech company in the EdTech and AI space, organized into four business segments: Test Licensing, Test Center Operations, AI Business, and Test Operation/Entrusted Services. The AI Business segment is the primary technology differentiator, offering three core AI products — DEEP READ (AI-OCR), DEEP GRADE (ChatGPT-powered auto-grading), and UGUIS.AI (AI English writing learning) — which can be combined into a total solution for automating workflows that previously required human labor. The AI technologies are grounded in cognitive science research: DEEP READ incorporates how humans physically and cognitively form characters to achieve industry-leading recognition accuracy, while UGUIS.AI and DEEP GRADE implement linguistic and NLP expertise to distinguish LLM-generated text from human-authored work and provide educationally appropriate feedback. The test licensing business provides CASEC (adaptive English test), CASEC SPEAKING, Eiken Jr., and TEAP CBT. The platform brand スタギア aggregates exam registration, learning services (Eiken/Kanken/Suken), and university information. CBT testing infrastructure includes 40+ company-operated test centers nationwide. Through these offerings, EduLab addresses the education and business sectors with AI-empowered measurement, learning, and automation solutions.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• DEEP READ: AI-based OCR service for handwritten character recognition
• UGUIS.AI
• DEEP GRADE
• CASEC
• CASEC SPEAKING
• スタギア (Studygear)
• 英検Jr.

Products and services

• CASEC (Computerized Assessment System for English Communication) Japan's first IRT-based Computerized Adaptive Test (CAT) for measuring English communication ability. Adapts question difficulty in real-time based on examinee responses, enabling faster and more precise proficiency measurement than conventional paper tests. Used by universities for placement testing and by corporations for pre/post-training English assessment.
• CASEC SPEAKING

Quantifiable outcome

• 70% reduction in document processing workload for large-scale academic surveys
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration8 records

AI capability12 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship and core.

• 株式会社Z会 (Zkai)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 5 March 2026Co-hosted webinar on AI translation and English training design. Partnership for StudyGear platform integration. Joint development of 'Zkai x StudyGear University Common Test Achievement Test (CBT)' service. Zkai provides learning retention expertise and educational content.
• ABBYY (ABBYY Japan)coreTechnology or Integration · 28 April 2021Integration between DEEP READ and ABBYY FlexiCapture for IDP (Intelligent Document Processing). Combines ABBYY's document processing capabilities with EduLab's handwriting recognition for high-accuracy processing of handwritten documents in enterprise workflows.
• UiPathcoreTechnology or Integration · 4 December 2020Technical partnership with global RPA leader UiPath. DEEP READ AI-OCR integrated with UiPath RPA platform to enable end-to-end automation of handwritten document processing workflows. Targets financial services, insurance, education, healthcare, manufacturing, and public sectors globally.
• 上海国昂技術開発有限公司 (Shanghai Guoang Technology Development)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 28 September 2020Partnership with Shanghai Guoang Technology Development, a Chinese state-owned enterprise, for operating the 'Self-Study Room' tutoring business in China. Shanghai Guoang takes over operations while EduLab provides computer systems, content, and technology support. Partnership covers 24 provinces and 70 cities with 255 classrooms in China.
• Box, Inc.coreTechnology or Integration · 22 October 2018Technical integration enabling DEEP READ-powered automatic digitization of handwritten documents stored on Box cloud platform. Enables search functionality for handwritten content in Box repositories. EduLab was the only Japanese company bronze sponsor at BoxWorks 2018.
• 旺文社 (Obunsha)Strategic or Co-development Partner · 27 October 2017Capital and business partnership with Obunsha, a major Japanese educational publisher. Jointly developed StudyGear learning app, university exam information services, and other EdTech products. Obunsha provides content expertise and EduLab provides AI/technology capabilities.
• NTTコミュニケーションズ / NTT DocomoflagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2017Capital and business partnership for English 4skills service development. NTT Docomo invested in EduLab and jointly developed 'English 4skills' service for smartphones and tablets covering all four English skills. EduLab provided test development and content expertise; Docomo provided service platform and distribution.
• LearnLaunch (LEARNLAUNCHX, LLC)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 June 2016Global partnership with Boston-based EdTech accelerator LearnLaunch for cross-border startup support and market access. EduLab gains access to LearnLaunch's network for Asian EdTech startups to reach US market, while LearnLaunch portfolio companies gain access to EduLab's China, Japan, India distribution channels. EduLab also made LP investment in LearnLaunch Accelerator Fund II.
• オリックス生命 (Orix Life Insurance)coreOthersEduLab provides DEEP READ AI-OCR technology for Orix Life Insurance's industry-first claim web procedure service with automatic medical receipt reading. This is a major enterprise customer deployment of DEEP READ for insurance document processing.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Duolingo: Global AI-first language learning platform with NLP-driven exercises and proctored assessment offerings (Duolingo English Test). Overlaps with EduLab's CASEC/UGUIS.AI in the AI English proficiency and learning category, but with a consumer-mobile primary GTM.
• Educational Testing Service (ETS): Developer of TOEFL and other large-scale English proficiency assessments. Defines the global standardized English testing category that CASEC competes against at the corporate/university placement level, especially in Japan.
• Pearson plc: Owns PTE Academic and Pearson English, a computer-based English assessment franchise directly competing with CASEC for university placement and corporate training use cases globally.
• TAL Education Group: Large Chinese K-12 education and AI tutoring provider with comparable AI-powered learning and assessment ambitions, including adaptive testing products for Asian markets. Broadly comparable on scale and AI roadmap, though geographically distinct.
• Benesse Corporation: Japanese education conglomerate operating K-12 assessment, cram school services, and English learning products. Direct overlap with EduLab through English education, school-facing assessment tools, and Eiken-aligned content, but with a much broader domestic education portfolio.
• Recruit Holdings: Larger Japanese parent of study-search platforms and HR/staffing including English education tools. Competes in adjacent education verticals but does not focus on the IRT-based adaptive testing niche that defines EduLab's CASEC franchise.

Emerging players

• ELSA Speak: AI-powered English speaking pronunciation coach that uses speech recognition to score learner utterances. Backed by EduLab's early-stage investment and a direct conceptual peer to UGUIS.AI's speaking practice features.
• Gradescope (Turnitin): AI auto-grading platform for subjective assignments now part of Turnitin. Closest direct functional peer to DEEP GRADE for LLM-augmented grading of written responses in academic settings.
• Squirrel AI Learning: China-based AI adaptive learning platform that uses machine learning to personalize K-12 instruction. Comparable as an AI-driven adaptive education company pursuing Asian/English-language learners, though focused on core subjects rather than language assessment.

Others

• ABBYY: Enterprise OCR/IDP vendor whose FlexiCapture integrates with EduLab's DEEP READ. Competitor in adjacent handwriting OCR for documents while also serving as a partner channel into enterprise IDP workflows.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/edulab-inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds4 records

Investors3 records

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

M&A

Investments3 records

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

Frequently asked questions about EduLab