What Fenrir does

Fenrir Inc. (フェンリル株式会社) is a privately held Japanese design and technology firm founded in 2005 in Osaka, operating across two business pillars: collaborative development services for enterprise clients and a portfolio of self-developed software products. The services business spans consulting, co-development, UX/UI design, and startup support, with a horizontal segmentation approach targeting enterprise clients across mobility (ANA, JR Tokai, JR West, Kubota), finance and loyalty (Ponta), retail (Life Corporation), media (NHK), entertainment (Nintendo, Pony Canyon), real estate (Mitsubishi Estate), and healthcare (Sysmex). Engagement is project-based and direct-sales-led, with the firm running co-creation from upstream strategy through post-launch growth and operating dedicated units (e.g., the AD Promotion Division for ANA X). The proprietary product portfolio includes the Sleipnir browser family (desktop, mobile, TV, Windows), NILTO headless CMS with MCP-based AI agent integration, WINNITY gaming community platform, DROMI iPad storyboard app (Good Design Award 2024), Brushup review tool (spun off 2017), and BoltzEngine push notification technology.

The firm is built on modern web and mobile stacks including Angular, React, Laravel, Swift/SwiftUI, Kotlin/Jetpack Compose, and cloud-native infrastructure on AWS and Microsoft Azure. It operates from 9+ offices across Japan (Osaka HQ, Tokyo, Nagoya, Kyoto, Hokkaido, Shimane), China (Chengdu, Dalian, Shanghai), and the US (Sunnyvale, California, established 2024), with 300+ group employees and a cumulative track record of 600+ projects for 400+ clients. The company is led by co-founder and CEO Kazushi Makino (牧野兼史) and COO Mitsuru Serizawa (芹澤満), both Japanese nationals, and remains founder-controlled with no disclosed institutional investment or public listing. Notable recognized capabilities include 100+ AWS certifications across the team and two Japan Institute of Design Promotion Good Design Awards (2017, 2024).

Name

Fenrir

Legal name

Fenrir North America Inc.

Website

https://fenrir-inc.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

Fenrir is a privately held Japanese design and technology firm founded in 2005 that delivers UX/UI design, co-development, and consulting services to enterprise clients across Japan, with a secondary portfolio of self-developed software products.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Osaka

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices10 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Consulting: Domain specialists providing flexible, end-to-end consulting services with on-site results from strategy to daily operations. The consulting practice leverages front-line experiences to uncover core issues and co-develop digital solutions.
2. Collaborative Development Services: Client partnership model working over the entire solution lifecycle from upstream planning through post-launch. Revenue generated through project-based development contracts with enterprise clients.
3. UX/UI Design Services: Design services starting upstream with prototyping based on human-centered design principles. Designers collaborate with development teams from project inception to rapidly translate user insights into products.
4. Startup Support Services: Accelerating startup technology and ideas with proven application materialization capabilities, helping design user-focused projects and capitalize on startup strengths for business growth.
5. Proprietary Products: Self-developed products including Sleipnir browser, NILTO headless CMS, WINNITY gaming community, DROMI storyboard app, Brushup collaboration tool, and other software products sold or licensed.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Fenrir is a design and technology professional services firm that provides UX/UI design, mobile and web app development, branding, growth marketing, and consulting services to enterprise clients. The company combines in-house design and engineering teams to deliver end-to-end collaborative development from upstream planning and strategy through post-launch growth support. In addition to services, Fenrir develops and sells proprietary software products including the Sleipnir browser, NILTO headless CMS, DROMI storyboard app, and BoltzEngine push notification technology.

Product overview

Fenrir operates a dual business model comprising self-developed products (proprietary software) and collaborative development services (client projects). The self-developed product portfolio includes 8+ consumer and professional products: Sleipnir (web/mobile browser), NILTO (headless CMS with MCP-based AI agent automation), WINNITY (gaming community platform), DROMI (iPad storyboard app, Good Design Award 2024), Brushup (review/communication tool), BoltzEngine (high-speed push notification technology), and several utility products (SnapCrab, PictBear, FenrirFS, VLabo, Picky-Pics). Services include consulting, collaborative development, UX/UI design, startup support, and cloud development support (GIMLE). Collaborative development has produced 600+ projects including major apps for ANA, JR Tokai, JR West, Kubota, Ponta, NHK, Pony Canyon, and Life Corporation across mobility, finance, retail, entertainment, media, construction, and healthcare sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Sleipnir: Ultimate web browser with minimalist gesture-based interface, available as desktop and mobile versions
• NILTO
• WINNITY
• DROMI
• Brushup
• BoltzEngine
• GIMLE

Products and services

• Consulting Service End-to-end consulting services leveraging domain specialists with decades of expertise in Japan and the US, providing flexible hands-on support from strategy to daily operations for sustainable business growth.
• Collaborative Development Co-development approach working closely with clients across the entire solution lifecycle, from upstream planning through strategy to post-launch growth, combining user-first approach with modern technology.
• UX/UI Design

Quantifiable outcome

• 30% reduction in screen transitions compared to existing systems (Kubota PAD4.0)
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers13 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• NintendocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFenrir collaborated with Nintendo to jointly develop the Nintendo Switch Online app, a built-in function for Nintendo Switch 2 and Nintendo Switch. Fenrir formed a dedicated development team with expertise in prototype production, user design, mockup, data measurement, and main development. Used AWS infrastructure for operational load reduction and fault tolerance.
• Kubota CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFenrir designed and developed the Kubota-PAD4.0 global service parts catalog system as part of a replacement for Kubota's existing system. The system uses SPA architecture with Angular framework on Microsoft Azure cloud infrastructure.
• ANA X CorporationcoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFenrir serves as co-creation partner for the ANA Mileage Club app, handling planning, development, release, and growth phases. Established a dedicated 'AD Promotion Department' as a specialized unit for this partnership.
• Central Japan Railway Company (JR Tokai)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerFenrir developed the EX App for seat reservation and the CAST tablet system for train crew operations. Development includes UX/UI design, front-end and back-end development, and infrastructure construction support.
• JR Kyushu ConsultantsminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFenrir developed a tunnel inspection support iPad app for efficient tunnel inspection with Apple Pencil integration for recording cracks and deterioration data.
• Shimane UniversityminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerFenrir participates in projects with Shimane University to strengthen engineer training and development in the region associated with the Ruby programming language.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves9 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Hakuhodo: Major Japanese advertising and integrated communications group with significant digital design and technology service offerings for enterprise clients. Comparable as a broader Japanese incumbent with overlapping UX/digital capabilities.
• Dentsu: Japan's largest advertising group with a substantial digital and customer experience practice serving enterprise clients across Asia. Operates as a much larger incumbent with overlapping UX, design, and digital transformation capabilities versus Fenrir's Japanese enterprise book.
• Accenture Song (formerly Fjord): Global design and digital customer experience consultancy within Accenture, delivering end-to-end strategy, design, and engineering for large enterprises. Overlaps with Fenrir's full-lifecycle design-plus-development service offering at much larger scale.
• R/GA: Global digital agency combining brand, product, and technology services for enterprise clients. Comparable in that it pairs design thinking with custom digital product engineering, though at significantly greater scale and geographic reach than Fenrir.
• AKQA: Global design and innovation agency delivering strategy, design, and technology solutions for enterprise brands. Overlaps with Fenrir's enterprise-focused UX and app development work, particularly for Japanese and global multinational clients.
• frog design (Capgemini Engineering): Iconic global design consultancy now part of Capgemini Engineering, providing design and engineering services across hardware and software. Comparable as a larger, more established design-led firm with adjacent capabilities.

Direct peers

• ustwo: Global design and technology studio that combines UX/UI design with custom digital product development, often working with enterprise clients. Closely mirrors Fenrir's collaborative design-plus-engineering service model.
• ArcTouch: US-based mobile and connected experiences agency specializing in custom mobile app development and UX for enterprise clients. Highly comparable service offering to Fenrir's mobile app development practice.

Regional players

• Nomura Research Institute (NRI): Major Japanese IT services and consulting firm with significant digital transformation and software development practices serving large Japanese enterprises. Comparable as a Japanese incumbent in IT services, though with a broader systems integration focus than Fenrir.
• CyberAgent: Japanese internet and digital media conglomerate with significant in-house design, mobile app development, and digital advertising operations. Comparable as a Japan-headquartered operator combining proprietary products with creative/digital services.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks4 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/fenrir-inc-
• Xx.com/fenrir_inc

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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 Fenrir