What Gaiax does

Gaiax Co., Ltd. (株式会社ガイアックス) is a publicly listed Japanese startup studio founded in 1999 by Yuji Ueda and headquartered in Tokyo's Chiyoda ward (listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, ticker 3835). The company operates a distinctive internal venture creation model — teams build startups inside Gaiax using shared operational infrastructure, then carve out as independent companies with the founding team retaining 30-50% equity, while Gaiax keeps a stake for ongoing capital gains and dividend participation.

The portfolio spans three anchor domains: social media and the sharing economy, web3/DAO, and entrepreneurship education. Operating businesses include the Social Media Marketing Lab (SNS strategy, analytics, and account management for corporate clients), CREAVE and Snapmart (a creator-brand marketplace that reached ~450,000 followers and 1 billion cumulative views by 2026), DAOX (DAO governance and token-economy consulting), Gaiax Education and aini school (a free online school for truant and dropout youth), Remoful (remote-work recruitment), Snapboard (owned-media cloud), Gaiax ICT Solutions (web/system development), and Venture PR. Notable acquisitions include Snapmart (February 2023) and Matka (October 2025), the latter adding HR consulting for recruitment agencies.

Gaiax generates revenue through a mix of enterprise custom-quote retainer engagements (SNS Lab, CREAVE, DAOX), multi-year photo/video ambassador contracts on Snapmart (e.g., ¥900K–¥1.5M per engagement), freemium consumer services (aini school), and transaction/fee income from incubated startups (carve-outs, dividends, and IPO exit gains). As of mid-2024, carve-out and graduate-founded investee companies had reached a combined IPO market capitalization of approximately ¥2.1 trillion, with anycolor (¥3,100億) and LITALICO among the notable alumni.

Name

Gaiax

Legal name

株式会社ガイアックス

Website

https://gaiax.co.jp

Company type

Public

Founded year

1999

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Gaiax is a Tokyo-listed Japanese startup studio that incubates ventures internally across social media, web3/DAO, and education, then spins them out as independent companies while running enterprise SNS marketing, creator-economy (Snapmart), and DAO consulting services.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Startup Studio and Digital Marketing Services

NAICS

Management Consulting Services (54161), Portfolio Management and Investment Advice (523940), Software Publishers (513210)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Investment Advice (6282), Services-Prepackaged Software (7372)

akta.pro primary industry

Makerspace, Innovation Lab & Fab Lab Operations (Tools, Safety, Programming) (EDAEAGAI)

akta.pro secondary industry

Learning Experience Platforms (LXP) & Learning Portals (EDAFAAAB)

Keywords

• Startup studio services
• Social media marketing
• DAO consulting services
• Creator economy platform
• Entrepreneurship education

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Social Media Services (ソーシャルメディアサービス事業): Provides SNS marketing services to corporate clients including social media strategy planning, content creation, analytics, and ongoing account management. This is a core revenue-generating business segment with consistent growth. Reported as a key contributor to the company's overall revenue performance.
2. Incubation / Startup Studio (インキュbation事業): Building and nurturing startups internally, providing resources and support, with the goal of spinning them out (carve-out) as independent companies. Generates returns through retained equity stakes, dividends from investees, and capital gains upon exits (IPOs or acquisitions).
3. DAO/Smart Contract Consulting (DAO事業): Provides consulting and system development services for organizations seeking to implement DAO structures. Currently consulting-led; plans to transition to SaaS model in the future.
4. Creator Economy / CREAVE: Marketing support services centered on the creator economy, including Snapmart platform operations and creator-brand matching services. Revenue from brand campaigns, platform fees, and ambassador programs.
5. Gaiax Education: Next-generation education program planning and development. Provides entrepreneurship education for youth (e.g., 'enterpreneurship seminars' for high school students) and career development services.
6. Gaiax ICT Solutions:
7. Other Services: 包括Snapboard (オウンドメディアクラウドサービス), Remoful (remote work job placement), Matka (HR consulting), Venture PR (スタートアップPR支援), and various other service businesses under the Gaiax umbrella.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Gaiax is a publicly listed startup studio that internally incubates and nurtures multiple startups simultaneously, providing entrepreneurs with capital (up to 20 million JPY), co-working infrastructure (MIDORI.so), back-office support, and a carve-out mechanism that allows teams to spin off as independent companies with equity stakes. Beyond incubation, Gaiax directly operates an enterprise SNS marketing lab, a DAO/Web3 consulting practice (DAOX), a creator economy platform (Snapmart via CREAVE), HR consulting (Matka), online education for withdrawn students (aini school), and web/system development (Gaiax ICT Solutions).

Product overview

Gaiax operates as a startup studio focused on solving social issues through three main business domains: social media marketing services, the sharing economy, and web3/DAO technologies. The company provides a portfolio of products and services including the Social Media Lab (SNS analysis and operations), Gaiax Startup Studio (national entrepreneurship platform), Gaiax Education (next-generation education programs), Snapboard (owned media cloud), Remoful (remote work recruitment), DAOX (DAO consulting), CREAVE (creator economy marketing with Snapmart platform), Matka (HR consulting - acquired), Gaiax ICT Solutions (website/system development), and aini school (online free school). Gaiax also maintains investments in various ventures including TRUSTDOCK (eKYC), ADDress (multi-location living), PlanetDAO (historical building preservation via DAO), and others.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Snapmart: クリエイティブプラットフォーム（Snapmart10周年キャンペーン開催中） CREAVEが運営。
• Matka
• Gaiax ICT Solutions
• Gaiax Startup Studio
• Gaiax Education
• Snapboard
• Remoful
• DAOX
• CREAVE
• aini / aini school
• ベンチャー広報

Products and services

• Social Media Marketing Lab (SNS分析・運用) Enterprise social media strategy, content creation, posting, and analytics service. Targets corporate brand clients seeking outsourced SNS account management across platforms.
• Gaiax Startup Studio Startup incubation program that provides capital, infrastructure, and operational support to internal entrepreneurs, with the ability to spin out as an independent company with equity.
• Gaiax Education Education program planning and development, including entrepreneurship seminars for youth and career development services.
• Snapboard Owned-media cloud service for managing and publishing content across a company's owned digital channels.
• Remoful Job-change recruitment agency specialized in remote-work positions, helping professionals find remote employment.
• DAOX Consulting and implementation services for organizations seeking to adopt DAO structures, governance design, token/community frameworks, and new DAO-based ventures.
• CREAVE Marketing support services centered on the creator economy, operating the Snapmart creative platform for photo/video ambassador campaigns.
• Snapmart Creative platform connecting brands with photo and video creators for marketing campaigns and ambassador programs.
• Matka HR consulting services supporting career autonomy and organizational transformation, primarily serving recruitment agencies.
• Gaiax ICT Solutions Website production and system development services for enterprise clients.
• aini school Free online school for students who have withdrawn from or cannot attend traditional school, providing social connection and learning through a video-chat and pixel-art-game environment.
• Venture PR (ベンチャー広報) Public relations support service that helps startups secure media exposure and communications.

Quantifiable outcome

• Portfolio companies have achieved total market cap of ~2,129 billion JPY at IPO (2024).
• +4 more outcomes

Named customers5 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Matka Co., Ltd.coreOthers · 1 October 2025Gaiax acquired Matka Co., Ltd. in October 2025, adding HR consulting services for recruitment agencies to its portfolio. The acquisition was motivated by Matka's founder facing resource limitations and industry challenges. Transaction was facilitated through the M&A Navigator platform. Matka provides career autonomy and organizational transformation support services.
• M&A NavigatorminorOthers · 1 October 2025M&A Navigator is an M&A platform used by Gaiax for deal sourcing and matching. Used for the Matka acquisition. Provides structured criteria for evaluating potential acquisition targets and facilitates negotiation processes.
• Snapmart (CREAVE)coreTechnology or Integration · 14 February 2023Gaiax acquired creator platform Snapmart in February 2023 to strengthen value co-creation marketing in the creator economy. The platform enables photo/video creator-brand matching. In 2026, CREAVE (the entity operating Snapmart) celebrated Snapmart's 10th anniversary with a special campaign (photo/video ambassador discount: normally 1.5M JPY → 900K JPY).
• F&Em Co., Ltd. (エフアンドエム社)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 December 2022F&Em Co., Ltd. participated in Gaiax's December 2022 third-party allocation of new shares. The companies have collaboration in sharing economy-related initiatives. F&Em increased its commitment to Gaiax following the capital partnership.

Scale indicators11 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Dentsu Group: Global Japanese-headquartered advertising and marketing services group whose Dentsu Ventures invests in marketing-tech and creator-economy companies; comparable to Gaiax as a Japan-rooted enterprise marketing services and investment platform.
• Digital Garage: Tokyo-listed internet and payments company with a long-running CVC/incubation arm (DG Incubation) and diversified holdings, comparable to Gaiax as a Japan-based public company that both operates and invests in ventures.
• Recruit Holdings: Japanese HR/media/incubation conglomerate whose matching platforms and seed-stage investments overlap with Gaiax's SNS-driven matching, HR consulting (Matka), and Startup Studio functions.
• CyberAgent: Large Japanese internet conglomerate with internet advertising, media, and venture investment arms (CA Startups). Comparable to Gaiax as a domestic incumbent combining SNS/ads services with early-stage venture exposure.

Direct peers

• freaks (formerly FreakOut Holdings): Tokyo-listed digital marketing group with proprietary ad-tech and a venture investment function, overlapping with Gaiax's SNS Marketing Lab and venture/incubation activities.
• Sun Asterisk: Japanese digital creative studio that also runs a startup studio / venture creation model, comparable to Gaiax's nurture-and-carve-out approach with a similar diversified services portfolio.
• High Alpha: US-based venture studio that builds and launches B2B SaaS companies, structurally the closest international analogue to Gaiax's startup studio model with carve-outs.
• Septeni Holdings: Japanese digital advertising and marketing holding company with SNS advertising services and an internet-focused venture investment arm, directly comparable to Gaiax Social Media Lab.
• Betaworks: New York-based startup studio investing in and building internet platforms; comparable to Gaiax as a venture studio operating across social, web3, and creator-economy themes.

Others

• Mercari: Tokyo-listed marketplace operator with a venture arm (Mercari Ventures). Comparable as a Japan-headquartered public tech company combining a core consumer platform with equity investments in adjacent ventures.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/gaiax
• YouTubeyoutube.com/c/gaiaxofficial
• Facebookfacebook.com/GaiaX.Official
• Instagraminstagram.com/gaiax_official
• TikToktiktok.com/@gaiax.official

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles15 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A3 records

Investments17 records

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

Frequently asked questions about Gaiax