SoftWave

What SoftWave does

SoftWave Inc. (株式会社ソフトウェーブ) is a privately held Japanese micro-company founded (per firmographics) in 1988 and headquartered in Edogawa-ku, Tokyo. It specializes in the planning, development, production, and sale of computer software and peripherals, operationally expressed as an end-to-end in-house business card production system. Its flagship is the CUTe electric business card cutter, a proprietary electromechanical device that, when paired with SoftWave's pre-slit specialty paper, completes a card in a single 91mm pass. The product stack is completed by non-cut paper (for third-party cutters), card-craft micro-perforated paper (tear-to-separate), business card boxes and cases (including a new windowed paper design), postcard-sized direct-mail paper, and Meishiro Ver.7 — a Windows desktop business card design application sold as a one-time CD-ROM license (8,360 JPY).

Name

SoftWave

Legal name

株式会社ソフトウェーブ (SoftWave Inc.)

Website

https://swave.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1988

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

SoftWave Inc. is a Tokyo-based Japanese micro-company that sells the CUTe electric business card cutter, proprietary pre-cut and specialty paper, Meishiro business card design software, and storage accessories to Japanese sole proprietors, small offices, and individual professionals needing in-house short-run business card production.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Edogawa

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

Supply Chain, Operations, Personnel, Marketing or Sales

Revenue model

1. Hardware — Electric Business Card Cutters: Sale of the company's core hardware product, the 電動名刺カッター CUTe (CUTe electric business card cutter), as a one-time purchase.
2. Consumables — Business Card Paper: Recurring sales of specialty business card papers including pre-cut, no-cut, and card-craft formats, in both inkjet and laser variants, sold in packs of 10–500 sheets.
3. Software — 名刺郎 Meishiro Ver.7: Sale of the Meishiro business card creation software as a CD-ROM license (8,360 JPY) or historically as a download version (4,290 JPY, currently paused).
4. Ancillary Products: Sale of supporting products including business card boxes/cases, postcard-size paper, and accessories such as the 窓付き紙製名刺箱 (windowed paper business card box).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

SoftWave sells an in-house business card production system consisting of the CUTe electric business card cutter hardware, proprietary specialty paper consumables (pre-cut, uncut, and card-craft formats), and the Meishiro Ver.7 business card creation software. The offering enables individuals, sole proprietors, and small offices in Japan to print and cut professional business cards in small runs without using external print shops.

Product overview

SoftWave Inc. (株式会社ソフトウェーブ) is a Japanese company offering a complete business card creation ecosystem consisting of hardware and consumable products. The core offering includes the CUTe electric business card cutter paired with specialized pre-cut paper, while the product lineup also encompasses uncut and card-craft paper options for various cutting methods, business card creation software Meishiro Ver.7, storage boxes/cases, and postcard-sized paper for direct mail applications. The company provides everything needed for in-office business card production from design software through final cutting and storage.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CUTe: Electric business card cutter - the company's primary hardware product for cutting business cards to standard size (91mm x 55mm) in a single pass using pre-cut paper with slit processing.
• 名刺郎 (Meishiro)
• プリカット名刺用紙 (Pre-cut Business Card Paper)
• ノーカット名刺用紙 (Non-cut Business Card Paper)
• カードクラフト名刺用紙 (Card Craft Business Card Paper)

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles1 record

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves4 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• PLUS Corporation: Japanese office supplies manufacturer that produces business card cutters and related stationery products, competing directly with SoftWave's CUTe in the same Japanese SMB/individual channel.
• King Jim: Japanese office supplies company offering name card cutters, label makers, and similar paper-processing devices, with comparable Japanese domestic distribution and SMB customer base.
• Sanwa Supply: Japanese office accessories and supplies retailer that markets business card cutters and specialty papers to SMBs, sharing the same end customer and distribution model.

Emerging players

• Cricut: US-based maker of consumer paper/vinyl cutting machines with similar hardware-plus-consumables economics, though its focus is broader craft/creative use rather than business cards specifically.
• Silhouette America: US maker of desktop cutting plotters and specialty media, with comparable hardware + proprietary material economics but serving craft and small-business users more broadly.
• Sansan: Japanese business card digitization platform that represents a substitute rather than direct competitor; addresses the same end-customer need (managing business card contacts) but via digital means.

Broad incumbents

• Brother Industries: Global broadline manufacturer of printers, label makers, and ScanNCut cutting machines; competes with SoftWave at the high end of the in-house card production space and dwarfs it in scale.
• Kokuyo: Major Japanese office supplies manufacturer with broad stationery and paper products; an incumbent that could leverage distribution scale to enter SoftWave's niche.

Others

• Graphtec: Japanese manufacturer of professional cutting plotters; not a direct competitor in the SMB consumer space but operates in the adjacent professional cutting-equipment category.
• Vistaprint: Online printing service for business cards and marketing materials; competes for the same end-customer need but via outsourced printing rather than in-house production equipment.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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 SoftWave