BackSlash

What BackSlash does

BackSlash (BACKSLASH DESIGN CO., LTD., ビースラッシュ株式会社) is a Japan-based software engineering firm headquartered in Shin-Yokohama that has operated for over 20 years with a headcount of 1-10 employees. The company targets embedded software developers inside Japanese manufacturing and electronics organizations, providing three interlocking offerings: software architecture design consulting, structured architect training seminars (with more than 2,000 cumulative attendees), and its flagship AtScope tool, which performs design-intent discovery across C, C++, Java, and C# source code.

AtScope is BackSlash's core technology asset. It analyzes source code to recover structural design intent, supporting both static analysis and, as of the November 2025 V9 release, dynamic structure analysis. The tool integrates into continuous integration pipelines via the companion AtScopeExe component, and an AI-assisted review feature (AtScopeAI) was exhibited as a reference product at EdgeTech+ 2023. BackSlash also operates the annual Design Diagram Forum (since 2014) and the AtMuseum knowledge repository to entrench its design methodology within the Japanese embedded software community.

BackSlash's business model combines per-seat AtScope software licensing, paid architect training seminars, and bespoke consulting engagements with enterprise customers. Named reference customers include Panasonic, Amada, Fuji Xerox, and Casio. Distribution is anchored by a long-standing partnership with SparkSystems Japan, and the company is privately held with no disclosed funding events. Industry recognition includes the EdgeTech+ AWARD 2025 in the dynamic analysis category.

Name

BackSlash

Legal name

ビースラッシュ株式会社 BACKSLASH DESIGN CO.,LTD.

Website

https://bslash.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2006

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

BackSlash provides software architecture design consulting, architect training seminars, and the AtScope source-code analysis tool (C/C++/Java/C#) to embedded software developers at Japanese manufacturing and electronics firms such as Panasonic, Amada, Fuji Xerox, and Casio.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Embedded Software Architecture Tools

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Engineering Services (54133), Computer Systems Design Services (541512)

SIC

Services-Engineering, Accounting, Research, Management (8700), Services-Engineering Services (8711), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)

akta.pro primary industry

IT Architecture & Solutions Design (Enterprise/Cloud Architecture, Integration) (EDABAFAK)

akta.pro secondary industry

Systems Engineering & Technical Program Management (BPAHAIAI)

Keywords

• Embedded software architecture
• Source code analysis tools
• Software architecture training
• Design intent discovery
• Refactoring consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Yokohama

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Professional Services - Seminars: Open seminars and on-site training for software architecture, structured modeling, refactoring, and architect development. Prices vary by course type and duration.
2. Software Development Tools - AtScope: Tool licensing for design intent discovery. Trial versions available. Version 9 released November 2025.
3. Consulting Services: Source code diagnosis and assetization services, architecture reconstruction, reverse engineering and refactoring services.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

BackSlash develops and licenses AtScope, a proprietary design-intent discovery tool that derives static and dynamic structural diagrams from C/C++/C#/Java source code. The company also delivers architect-training seminars (open and on-site) covering structured modeling, architecture design, and refactoring, and provides consulting services such as source-code diagnosis, assetization, architecture reconstruction, and 7-step code-centric product-line development. All offerings target embedded/IoT software development teams in Japanese manufacturing enterprises.

Product overview

BackSlash is a software architecture design firm offering a unified portfolio centered on AtScope, its flagship design-intent discovery tool that extracts structural architecture diagrams from C/C++ source code. The core tool is complemented by architect support services that bridge business strategy and technical implementation through multi-view architecture documentation, and by a comprehensive education division providing seminars on architecture design, structured modeling, and source code diagnostics. Additional offerings include the Software Architecture Museum (AtMuseum) as a knowledge resource, the annual Design Diagram Forum as an architect community event, and specialized services for source code diagnosis, assetization, and code-centric product line development. The company targets embedded systems and IoT development teams seeking to transition from code-centric to design-centric development practices.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AtScope: Design intent discovery tool that derives design structure from source code (C/C++/C#/Java). Helps identify design intentions and detect structural degradation.

Products and services

• AtScope (アッとスコープ) Proprietary design-intent discovery tool that derives static and dynamic structural diagrams (component diagrams, file-structure diagrams, refactoring scores) from C, C++, Java, and C# source code, reducing code-handover lead time and impact-range search time. Licensed via annual subscription with a trial version available.
• AtScope Trial Experience (AtScope体験会) Hands-on workshop in which participants experience creating architecture diagrams from code and improving them with AtScope, delivered at the Shin-Yokohama BackSlash office or online. Targeted at engineers evaluating AtScope prior to purchase.
• Architect Support Service (アーキテクト応援サービス) Consulting service in which BackSlash architects connect business and technology by diagramming multi-view architecture documents, bridging existing source code and target architecture. Targeted at Japanese enterprises needing embedded-software architecture leadership on demand.
• Source Code Diagnosis & Assetization (ソースコード診断＆資産化) Service that creates structural diagrams from source code, identifies improvement areas, performs actual code improvements with delivery, and transforms legacy code into maintained software assets. Targeted at organizations with aging embedded codebases facing software fatigue.
• Design Skill Improvement Seminars (設計力向上セミナー) Comprehensive paid seminar program covering architecture design, structured modeling, abstraction, coding principles, cohesion and coupling, and C-language secure coding to develop professional architect competencies. Delivered on-site or as open seminars to enterprise teams and individuals.
• Open Seminars (オープンセミナー) Publicly available paid seminar courses on architecture design basics, structured modeling (static and dynamic), component refactoring, logical thinking, and C-language secure coding, held in person (Shin-Yokohama, Tokyo, Osaka) and online via Zoom and Miro.
• 7-Step Code-Centric Product Line Development (7STEPコード起点プロダクトライン開発) Development service that builds architecture from running code and implements design for variable points, creating code synchronized with diagrams through structured improvement. Contract development with on-site architecture recovery is offered. Targeted at engineering organizations scaling product lines.

Quantifiable outcome

• 2000+ architects trained through seminars
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers4 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature8 records

Partnerships

Six partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• SparkSystems Japan (スパークスシステムズ ジャパン株式会社)coreTechnology or Integration · 17 September 2008Partnership for architecture design tools integration. SparkSystems Japan provides Enterprise Architect modeling tools, which BackSlash incorporates into its architecture design training and AtScope ecosystem.
• TOPPERS ProjectminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerExhibited together at ET2019 (Booth B-69) as part of TOPPERS project pavilion for embedded systems education and tools.
• Yokohama Business Support Foundation (横浜企業経営支援財団)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorRegular exhibitor at EdgeTech+ and ET exhibitions with booth space provided by the foundation at Yokohama venue. Booth numbers include BG-12, AF-11, A-H14, etc.
• Tokai Soft (東海ソフト株式会社)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerJoint seminar at ESEC 2013 on architecture design and implementation middleware.
• Mamezou (株式会社豆蔵)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerJoint hosting of free seminar on upstream improvement in embedded software development in August 2010.
• TriCEP (株式会社トリケップス)minorImplementation/ SI/ Consulting PartnerCo-hosted embedded software modeling and reverse modeling seminars.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Market position

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/backslash-design

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 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 BackSlash