SB Innoventure

What SB Innoventure does

SB Innoventure Corp. (SBイノベンチャー株式会社) is a Tokyo-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank Corp. founded in 2012 to operate SoftBank Group's internal entrepreneurship program, SoftBank InnoVenture. The company's core function is to solicit, screen, incubate, and commercialize new business ideas originating primarily from SoftBank Group employees (with external proposals also accepted), channeling them through structured stage gates from idea to independent company or transfer back into SoftBank Group. Its product portfolio consists of three program tracks: Innoventure Lab (incubation from idea generation through final screening for SoftBank Group employees), Innoventure Studio (acceleration for post-screening projects providing mentorship and beta validation), and Innoventure Xross (paid consulting transferring the methodology to external enterprises, SMEs, educational institutions, and municipalities). The company does not develop proprietary technology itself; instead it operates as a corporate venture capital and incubator entity that supports portfolio companies building products in mobility (HELLO CYCLING bicycle sharing), delivery (Scatch!), childcare ICT (hugmo), IoT (e-kakashi, conect+), food export (umamill), events (MICE Platform), marketing tools (Marketing Bank), ticketing (PassMarket), AI services (TASUKI Annotation, Axross Recipe, SoftVoice, Visual Flow), and voice/community (DIGVOICE).

Cumulatively since 2011, the program has received approximately 8,300 idea submissions, advanced 127 projects through screening and beta release, and commercialized 23 ventures — of which roughly half were spun out as independent subsidiaries (OpenStreet, hugmo, MagicalMove, conect.plus, umamill, MICE Platform, HearTo, SmartCoach) and others were transferred or absorbed into SoftBank Group. The revenue model is hybrid: managed-services style returns from portfolio equity stakes and exit events plus consulting fees from Innoventure Xross, with individual portfolio companies setting their own consumer/SMB pricing (e.g., conect+ IoT platform at ¥0/month, Scatch! at ¥298-¥2,480 per order depending on tier). Notable strategic transactions include the 2018 Z Corporation investment in OpenStreet (Yahoo! JAPAN-backed), the 2022 transfer of Axross Recipe and TASUKI Annotation to SoftBank Corp. for scaling, and the 2024 transfer of DIGVOICE to HearTo. As of June 2025, Yasuyuki Genda succeeded Fumihiro Aono as Representative Director and CEO.

Name

SB Innoventure

Legal name

SBイノベンチャー株式会社 (SB Innoventure Corp.)

Website

https://sbinnoventure.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Short description

SB Innoventure is a Tokyo-based, wholly-owned subsidiary of SoftBank Corp. that operates SoftBank Group's internal entrepreneurship program, incubating employee-sourced ideas into ventures across mobility, IoT, AI, and consumer services. It runs three programs — Lab, Studio, and Xross — and has commercialized 23 of 8,300+ submitted ideas since 2011.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Corporate Venture Incubation

NAICS

Management of Companies and Enterprises (55111), Management Consulting Services (54161)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742)

akta.pro industry

PRIMARYFSANAHAC

Corporate Venture Studios & Incubators (Build/launch ventures)

Financial & Insurance/Private Equity & Venture Capital/Corporate Venture Capital (CVC)

SECONDARYFSANAAAH

Venture Studios / Company Builders

Financial & Insurance/Private Equity & Venture Capital/Venture Capital Firms

SECONDARYFSANAHAD

Corporate Accelerators & Startup Programs

Financial & Insurance/Private Equity & Venture Capital/Corporate Venture Capital (CVC)

Keywords

• Corporate venture incubation
• Startup incubation services
• Internal entrepreneurship programs
• Venture acceleration
• Innovation consulting

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Seed business investment, nurturing, and management: SB Innoventure's business is described as 'seed business investment, nurturing, and management' (シードビジネスへの投資・育成・管理). The company invests in and supports ideas selected through the SoftBank InnoVenture internal startup program, and manages portfolio companies. Revenue is derived from successful portfolio exits and operational support of subsidiaries.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SB Innoventure invests in, nurtures, and manages seed-stage businesses (シードビジネスへの投資・育成・管理) that emerge from SoftBank Group's internal entrepreneurship program (SoftBank InnoVenture). The company operates three program tracks — Innoventure Lab for employee incubation, Innoventure Studio for finalist project acceleration, and Innoventure Xross for external consulting — supporting ideas from pre-idea phase through commercialization, with successful proposals typically being established as new spin-off companies.

Product overview

SB Innoventure operates SoftBank Group's internal entrepreneurship system 'SoftBank InnoVenture' as an incubator and accelerator. The company supports idea creation, business development, and scaling of new ventures through three programs: Innoventure Lab (incubation for SoftBank employees), Innoventure Studio (acceleration for final-stage projects), and Innoventure Xross (consulting for external companies). The portfolio includes 23 successfully commercialized ventures spanning diverse sectors: digital services (PassMarket, Heart Comics), marketing technology (Marketing Bank), telecommunications (SmartIX, Ubiden), mobility (HELLO CYCLING, Scatch!), childcare ICT (hugmo), events (MICE Platform), food export (umamill), IoT (e-kakashi, conect+), AI/ML services (Axross Recipe, TASUKI Annotation, SoftVoice), advertising (Oohmatch), and emerging technologies (DIGVOICE, Visual Flow). The company has supported approximately 8,300 idea submissions with 127 passing reviews and 23 achieving commercialization since 2011.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Innoventure Lab: SoftBank Group employee incubation program supporting entrepreneurship from idea generation through final screening.
• Innoventure Studio
• Innoventure Xross

Products and services

• Innoventure Lab Incubation program for SoftBank Group employees that supports the entire lifecycle from business idea generation to proposal submission and final screening review. Open to any employee across SoftBank Group subsidiaries regardless of prior submissions, with no restriction on proposal topic as long as it aligns with the SoftBank Group philosophy of 'using information revolution to make people happy'.
• Innoventure Studio Acceleration program for projects that have passed final screening under SoftBank InnoVenture, providing mentorship, consulting content, and tools to support business strategy development and beta product validation prior to commercialization.
• Innoventure Xross Consulting service providing programs for new business development and internal entrepreneurship system operations to external companies and organizations. Serves large enterprises, SMEs, educational institutions, and local municipalities seeking to establish or improve their own internal startup programs, applying SoftBank InnoVenture's operational know-how.

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability13 records

Partnerships

16 partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• ヒアートゥー株式会社 (HearTo Co., Ltd.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 June 2024SB Innoventure transferred DIGVOICE voice AR project to HearTo Co., Ltd. for further development and commercialization. HearTo specializes in voice AR technology and location-based services, continuing DIGVOICE as the operator of the sports fan voice streaming app.
• SoftBank Corp.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 22 April 2022SB Innoventure transferred two projects — Axross Recipe (AI/DX training platform) and TASUKI Annotation (AI annotation service) — to SoftBank Corp. for continued operation and scaling under the parent company's larger digital transformation initiatives.
• 名鉄協商株式会社 (Meitetsu Kyosho Co., Ltd.)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 24 December 2020Meitetsu Kyosho invested in umamill Inc. via third-party allocation and entered a cooperation agreement to support food export businesses targeting food manufacturers in the Tokai region. The partnership leverages Meitetsu Kyosho's customer network to expand umamill's user base and attract new overseas buyers.
• OpenStreet株式会社coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerOpenStreet was established through SB Innoventure's SoftBank InnoVenture program and operates the HELLO CYCLING IoT bike-sharing platform. SB Innoventure provided initial investment and operational support. OpenStreet subsequently received capital from Z Corporation and others.
• 株式会社hugmocoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished via SoftBank InnoVenture in November 2016, hugmo provides ICT solutions for the childcare sector, including the hugnote communication app connecting childcare workers and parents.
• MagicalMove株式会社coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in May 2017 to operate the Scatch! early morning/night-time e-commerce delivery service. SB Innoventure spun out the Scatch! service it had been operating since 2015 into this dedicated subsidiary.
• conect.plus株式会社coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in April 2019 from SB Innoventure's SoftBank InnoVenture program to operate conect+, a cloud IoT app creation platform. SB Innoventure ran the beta service from June 2017 to April 2019 before spinning it out.
• umamill株式会社coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in April 2019 as a food export platform company through SoftBank InnoVenture. The platform connects Japanese food manufacturers with overseas buyers, handling sample shipments, negotiations, and export logistics.
• スマート coach株式会社minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerEstablished in October 2015 from the SmartCoach project proposal, operating a platform for receiving private sports lessons from professional athletes via smartphone and PC.
• 株式会社Jコミックテラス (J Comic Terrace)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerHeart Comics (electronic comic app) business was transferred from SB Innoventure to J Comic Terrace in December 2015, enabling integration with J Comic Terrace's Manga Library Z service.
• 株式会社あさひminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for HELLO CYCLING bike-sharing, supplying and maintaining bicycles. Operates HELLO CYCLING branded bike sharing in Saitama City and Suginami/nerima wards of Tokyo.
• シナネンサイクル株式会社minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for HELLO CYCLING bike-sharing, supplying and maintaining bicycles and developing maintenance partner networks. Operates 'Dai-chari' branded service in Saitama and Tokyo.
• 株式会社サイクルスポットminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for HELLO CYCLING bike-sharing, supplying and maintaining bicycles. Operates HELLO CYCLING branded bike sharing in Setagaya and other Tokyo wards.
• 株式会社ベクトルワンminorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorPartner for HELLO CYCLING bike-sharing, handling bicycle redistribution logistics to balance supply across stations.
• 株式会社JTBパブリッシングminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartner for HELLO CYCLING, providing content integration and promotion through its travel media to drive usage of bike-sharing near tourist destinations.
• APAMANグループ / ecobike株式会社minorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorAPAMAN Group's subsidiary ecobike launched HELLO CYCLING-based bike sharing under the 'ecobike' brand in Fukuoka Prefecture from May 2018, with national expansion plans.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves16 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• Techstars: Large global accelerator running corporate-sponsored programs (e.g., with Comcast, Disney, Target). Comparable to SB Innoventure's structured stage-gated acceleration model and corporate-partner GTM motion.
• Salesforce Ventures: Corporate venture arm of Salesforce that runs startup programs and investments tied to a large enterprise platform. Comparable as a corporate-backed CVC leveraging the parent company's distribution and customer base to accelerate portfolio startups.
• Antler: Global early-stage VC and venture builder with strong Asia presence (Tokyo, Singapore). Comparable as a startup generator that sources ideas externally and supports founders from zero-to-one, similar in stage-gated logic to Innoventure Lab/Studio, though operating as an independent fund.
• Recruit Holdings (in-house ventures / Miroku): Japanese conglomerate with a long-running internal venture program (e.g., Miroku/Nowruz) that incubates and spins out new businesses from employee ideas. Comparable in structure (large corporate parent, internal ideation program, spin-out mechanism) though Recruit operates a much larger portfolio.

Direct peers

• Betaworks: New York-based venture studio that builds, accelerates, and sometimes spins out technology startups. Comparable as a thematic, stage-gated company builder that takes equity and provides operational support — the same hybrid model SB Innoventure runs inside SoftBank.
• Idealab: Long-standing US venture studio that creates and builds companies from internally generated ideas. Comparable to SB Innoventure's role as a dedicated builder of new SoftBank Group subsidiaries rather than a passive investor.
• Plug and Play Tech Center: Global corporate accelerator and venture studio that runs industry-specific programs with large enterprise partners (similar to Innoventure Lab/Studio's function inside SoftBank). Directly comparable as a corporate-linked incubation platform that sources, screens, and accelerates startup ideas into commercial businesses.
• Honda Innovations / Honda Xcelerator: Honda's corporate venture and open innovation arm, running internal and external startup programs globally. Comparable as a Japanese large-corporate CVC that incubates mobility-adjacent startups with the parent company's distribution muscle.
• NTT X (NTT Group in-house incubation): In-house entrepreneurship program of NTT Group, one of Japan's largest telecom conglomerates. Closest Japan-based analog to SoftBank InnoVenture, running similar internal startup sourcing, stage gates, and spin-out programs for employees of a major Japanese telecom/tech group.

Regional players

• Spiral Ventures: Japan/SEA-focused early-stage VC fund that partners with Japanese corporates (LPs and co-investors) and runs incubation programs. Comparable as a Japan-rooted platform connecting corporate capital with early-stage venture creation, though structured as an external fund rather than a corporate subsidiary.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Compliance2 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 records

Subsidiaries9 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

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

M&A

Investments1 record

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

Frequently asked questions about SB Innoventure