COOL

What COOL does

COOL INC. (株式会社COOL) is a Japan-based operator of a loan-based crowdfunding, or social lending, platform that connects individual and corporate investors with small and mid-sized Japanese businesses needing debt financing. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in Setagaya, Tokyo, the company offers themed investment funds (typically 8-12 month durations) covering real estate development, renewable energy infrastructure, and business succession projects, with target annual returns ranging from 4.2% to 6.0% and a 10,000 yen minimum investment per unit. Investors participate via anonymous partnership (匿名組合) contracts; COOL's operating subsidiary COOL SERVICES INC. (a money-lending licensee) acts as the business operator that on-lends funds to borrowers and distributes principal and interest back to investors after deducting operator fees and a 20.42% withholding tax.

The platform is delivered as a direct-to-consumer web application with eKYC-based online account opening (using smartphone document capture and facial recognition) and is accessible 24/7. COOL holds a Type II Financial Instruments Business registration (Kanto Finance Bureau #2229) and is a subsidiary of listed fintech parent ZUU Co., Ltd. (TSE Growth: 4387). Since April 2025, customer deposits have been held in money trust with Nikko Securities Trust Bank as trustee, legally segregated from COOL's corporate assets. The GTM motion is overwhelmingly digital: own-website content marketing, PRTIMES press releases on new fund launches, and email newsletters to registered users, with corporate accounts added in November 2023.

Revenue is generated through transaction fees on intermediated loans (operator fees deducted from borrower repayments before distribution to investors). Notable repeat borrowers include listed real estate developer Meiho Enterprise (TSE Standard: 8927), City Homes, Century 21 Reicious, LEVECHY for real estate projects, Elevista (SOLSEL) for used solar plant acquisition, and Sukima Department for vending machine operator succession financing. COOL does not publicly disclose revenue, transaction volume, or AUM, and the platform is restricted to Japanese residents.

Name

COOL

Legal name

株式会社COOL

Website

https://c8l.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2007

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

51–100 employees

Short description

COOL is a Japanese loan-based crowdfunding (social lending) platform, founded 2007 and backed by listed parent ZUU, that lets retail and corporate investors fund real estate, renewable energy, and business succession loans starting from 10,000 yen with target returns of 4.2%-6.0%.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Social Lending / Loan-Based Crowdfunding Platform

NAICS

Other Financial Vehicles (525990), Open-End Investment Funds (525910)

SIC

Loan Brokers (6163), Miscellaneous Business Credit Institution (6159)

akta.pro primary industry

Large-Cap / Sponsor Finance Direct Lending (FSANADAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Real Estate Funds — Core-Plus (FSANAEAG), Renewables & Energy Transition Funds (Solar, Wind, Hydrogen, CCUS) (FSANAEAD)

Keywords

• Social lending platform
• Loan-based crowdfunding
• Alternative investment funds
• Real estate investment funds
• Peer-to-peer lending

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Services

Cost components

Operations, Technology or R&D, Personnel, Marketing or Sales, Supply Chain

Revenue model

1. Investment Returns Distribution: COOL facilitates loans from investors to borrowers through anonymous partnership structures. Investors receive periodic interest distributions from borrowers' loan repayments. The platform acts as intermediary, collecting repayments from borrowers and distributing principal and interest to investors after deducting operator fees and withholding taxes.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

COOL operates a web-based loan-type crowdfunding (social lending) platform that lets Japanese individual and corporate investors commit capital to themed funds starting from 10,000 yen per unit. Each fund is structured as an anonymous partnership in which COOL's operating subsidiary extends loans to vetted Japanese businesses across real estate development, renewable energy, and business succession, with investors receiving periodic principal and interest distributions after operator fees and withholding tax.

Product overview

COOL is a loan-type crowdfunding (social lending) platform offering a portfolio of themed investment funds. The core COOL platform connects investors with various business financing opportunities, primarily targeting real estate development, renewable energy infrastructure, and business succession projects. Individual funds include the Dear Reicious Fund (real estate development), EL FARO Fund (premium rental apartments), THE CITY Fund (commercial buildings), SOLSEL Renewable Energy Fund (solar power), LEVECHY Real Estate Regeneration Fund (used property), and Sukima Department Business Succession Fund. All funds operate as anonymous partnership contracts with returns generated from loan interest payments, starting from 10,000 yen minimum investment per unit.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• COOL Social Lending Platform Web-based loan-type crowdfunding (social lending) platform enabling investors to browse, subscribe to, and manage themed funds starting from 10,000 yen per unit, with returns generated from interest on loans extended by COOL SERVICES to vetted Japanese businesses.
• EL FARO Fund Series Premium rental apartment fund series financing EL FARO-branded buildings developed by Meiho Enterprise (TSE Standard: 8927) in Tokyo 23 wards, with target annual returns around 4.2–4.8% for retail and corporate investors.
• THE CITY Real Estate Fund Series Commercial rental building investment fund series targeting THE CITY branded central Tokyo commercial buildings developed by City Homes, with dining perks for investors and target returns around 4.7% annually.
• Dear Reicious Fund Series Real estate development fund series financing new condominium projects developed by Century 21 Reicious in Tokyo 23 wards and Nagoya areas, with target returns of 4.3% annually and minimum investment of 10,000 yen.
• SOLSEL Renewable Energy Infrastructure Fund Series Renewable energy infrastructure fund financing the procurement of used photovoltaic power plants via Erevista Corporation's SOLSEL platform, with target return of 6.0% annually and guarantee included.
• LEVECHY Real Estate Regeneration Fund Series Used real estate procurement and sales fund supporting property renovation managed by LEVECHY (formerly Japan Properties), with target returns of 5.0% annually and minimum investment of 10,000 yen.
• Sukima Department Business Succession Zebra Fund Business succession fund financing vending machine operator succession transactions for Sukima Department, providing 6.0% target annual return via recource loan structure for industry consolidation.
• Corporate Investor Account Service (法人口座開設サービス) Corporate (法人) account opening service that allows Japanese legal entities including 株式会社 and 合同会社 to register as investors on the COOL platform, complete corporate KYC, and subscribe to themed investment funds alongside individual investors.

Quantifiable outcome

• Average expected annual return of 4.5% based on historical fund performance (versus 0.025% bank deposit rates)
• +1 more outcomes

Named customers6 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

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• 株式会社COOL SERVICEScoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerThe fund operator (営業者) that actually extends loans to borrowers. Investors enter anonymous partnership agreements with COOL SERVICES, which then extends loans to borrowers and manages loan monitoring, collection, and investor distributions. Registered as money lending business (東京都知事（3）第31603号).
• GMOあおぞらネット銀行minorOthersPrimary banking partner for fund custody and transfers. Handles customer deposits and withdrawals through the COOL platform. Listed as main transactional bank relationship.
• 日証金信托銀行（Nikko Securities Trust Bank）coreOthersTrust bank providing escrow services for customer funds since April 2025. Holds customer deposits in legally separated trust accounts to protect investor assets in case of company default.
• みずほ銀行 銀座中央支店minorOthersListed as primary business banking partner for COOL SERVICES lending operations.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Crowdcredit: Japanese lending-based crowdfunding platform pooling investor capital into private credit / SME and consumer loans across multiple geographies. Directly competes with COOL in the regulated social-lending niche serving Japanese retail investors.
• OwnersBook: Japan-focused real-estate crowdfunding platform operated by Loadstar Capital. Competes with COOL's real-estate-themed funds (EL FARO, Dear Reicious, THE CITY) for Japanese retail yield-seeking capital.
• CrowdRealty (クラウドリアルティ): Japanese real-estate crowdfunding operator targeting institutional and retail investors in Tokyo and regional properties. Closely comparable in product type and investor base to COOL's property funds.
• Crowdbank (クラウドバンク): Long-running Japanese social-lending platform offering loan-based crowdfunding to individuals. Same regulatory class (Type II Financial Instruments) and overlapping retail investor pool as COOL.
• TATERU Funding: Real-estate crowdfunding arm of TATERU offering themed Japanese property investment funds. Overlaps directly with COOL's real-estate fund series on product, minimums and target audience.
• Wealth Brothers: Japanese real-estate crowdfunding platform specializing in income-producing Tokyo properties. Comparable to COOL's THE CITY and EL FARO fund series in offering retail-yield access to commercial and residential property.
• Maneo Marketplace (マネーオマーケット): Pioneer Japanese social-lending marketplace connecting individual investors to SME and consumer loans via anonymous partnerships. Operates in the same regulated lending-crowdfunding space as COOL.

Broad incumbents

• Rakuten Securities: Large Japanese online broker offering stocks, mutual funds, and NISA-wrapped products. Competes with COOL for the same Japanese retail savings wallet, although via listed instruments rather than private credit.
• SBI Securities: Japan's largest online broker with broad retail-investor reach and NISA / robo-advisory offerings. Adjacent competitor for retail capital that COOL targets with its crowdfunding funds.

Emerging players

• Money Design (マネーデザイン): Japanese robo-advisory / fund-wrap manager offering automated portfolio products inside NISA wrappers. Competes for the alternative-yield-conscious retail investor that COOL targets, especially post-withholding-tax considerations.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Instagraminstagram.com/meiho_enterprise
• Xx.com/c8ljp

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 records

Subsidiaries1 record

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 COOL