ARCHECO

What ARCHECO does

ARCHECO Inc. is a Tokyo-based startup studio founded on July 7, 2014, that integrates UX design consulting, AI development, and new business co-creation into a single practice serving large Japanese enterprises. The firm operates across four teams — Team ARCHECO (Tokyo strategy/design), Team INT (internal entrepreneur collective), Team marelle (marketing), and Team Myugge (Malta design studio) — and coordinates a ~70-person AI development center in Dhaka plus a Taiwan expansion hub, enabling a 24-hour execution cycle. Its core technology stack includes a proprietary "Autonomous AI Development Agent" (自律型AI開発エージェント) and a microservice library covering authentication, payments, notifications, admin dashboards, AI agent foundations, and RAG pipelines, which the firm uses to compress typical MVP timelines from six months to several weeks. Its solution portfolio spans AI strategy and roadmap consulting, generative AI implementation, AI agent design and development (using LangChain, LangGraph, CrewAI frameworks), Hybrid RAG, internal GPT/knowledge AI, AI-native UX design, and a "Global AI Lab" delivery model.

ARCHECO monetizes through three contract structures: one-time custom development engagements (typically within 1 year), 2–3 year surrogacy profit-share arrangements under which it operates the client's business and is paid only when it becomes profitable, and joint ventures where both parties contribute capital and personnel. It markets via direct enterprise field sales to large Japanese corporations, supported by thought leadership through its ARC CHANNEL YouTube series and "App Strategy University" blog, plus a free AI/UX diagnosis workshop as a mid-funnel entry point. Named enterprise clients include Fujitsu, KDDI, Shiseido, Toshiba, Rakuten, Panasonic, Sharp, Honda, Kirin, and Mitsukoshi Isetan; the Fujitsu–Mitsukoshi Isetan–ARCHECO co-creation of the CARITE B2B2C apparel-sharing service is its flagship reference. The firm has not disclosed revenue or external funding; founding capital was JPY 3,000,000.

In 2025–2026, ARCHECO rebranded from a "company that designs experiences" to a "company that social implements experiences in the AI era" under the "Start Up AI:UX" concept, materially expanding its service catalog toward AI strategy, AI agent development, and AI-era experience design, and launched proprietary self-operated products (Agenic, FAM BOX, MAPAGE) through its INT entrepreneur collective.

Name

ARCHECO

Legal name

株式会社ARCHECO

Website

https://archeco.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

ARCHECO is a Tokyo-based startup studio that combines UX design, AI development, and new business co-creation to help large Japanese enterprises build AI agents, Agentic RAG systems, and private SaaS, delivering through Tokyo, Bangladesh, Malta, and Taiwan teams with custom, profit-share, and joint-venture contracts.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

AI and UX Design Consulting

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)

SIC

Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Enterprise Application UX, Portals & Low-Code Extensions (BPAEAGAM)

Keywords

• AI consulting services
• UX design consulting
• Generative AI implementation
• AI agent development
• New business co-creation

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices4 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. カスタマイズ開発受託 (Custom Development): Custom AI systems built within 1 year using their solution library and autonomous AI development agents. Covers AI strategy formulation through Agentic RAG development, private SaaS, and UX/UI design.
2. 代理出産型プロフィットシェア (Surrogacy Profit Share): ARCHECO leads planning, development and operation of client's business for 2-3 years. Includes free guarantee, service transfer commitment, and recruitment support. Revenue only begins when business becomes profitable. Risk-sharing structure aligns all parties toward business success.
3. ジョイントベンチャー (Joint Venture): Both parties provide capital and establish a joint venture company. Personnel secondment from both sides operates as an independent organization with startup-like speed and flexibility.
4. スウェットエクイティ (Sweat Equity): Labor contributed as equity/investment in new ventures.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

ARCHECO is a Tokyo-based startup studio that combines UX design consulting, AI development, and new business co-creation. It designs and implements enterprise AI solutions, develops proprietary AI products, and builds self-operated digital ventures through its Hybrid Model of client work and in-house product incubation.

Product overview

ARCHECO is a startup studio that fuses UX design consulting, AI development, and new business development through a co-creation model. Their offering is structured as a platform-plus-services portfolio comprising proprietary AI products (Agenic, FAM BOX, MAPAGE developed under their INT entrepreneur collective) and six named solutions (Enterprise AI Platform, Hybrid RAG, Vibe Coding, Profit Share, AI-Native UX, Global AI Lab) alongside nine specialized consulting and development service areas spanning AI strategy, generative AI implementation, AI agent development, Agentic RAG construction, business-specific private SaaS development, UX/UI design, prompt engineering, prototype development, and growth marketing. The core differentiator is their self-developed autonomous AI development agent and solution library, which enables MVP construction in weeks rather than the typical 6-month timeline. They deliver services through a distributed global operation with Tokyo (strategy/design), Dhaka Bangladesh (~70-person AI development team), and Malta (design studio) locations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ARC CHANNEL: YouTube channel where ARCHECO members discuss business co-creation, AI consulting, and new business development insights

Products and services

• Enterprise AI Platform
• Hybrid RAG
• Vibe Coding
• AI-Native UX
• Global AI Lab
• AI Strategy and Implementation Roadmap
• Generative AI Implementation and Adoption Support
• AI Agent Design and Development
• Agenic
• FAM BOX
• MAPAGE
• New Business Support / MVP / PoC Development

Quantifiable outcome

• MVP development timeline reduced from typical 6 months to several weeks using proprietary AI tools
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers11 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

AI capability6 records

Feature7 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• 富士通株式会社 (Fujitsu)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic business co-creation partnership with Fujitsu and Mitsui Isetan for apparel sharing service development. ARCHECO provided business strategy, service planning, UX/UI design, and app development. Fujitsu led technology infrastructure while ARCHECO handled design and user experience.
• 株式会社三越伊勢丹 (Mitsukoshi Isetan)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint business co-creation with Fujitsu and ARCHECO for B2B2C apparel sharing service (CARITE). As Japan's largest department store operator, provided retail channels and brand credibility for the new service targeting consumers.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves10 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• IDEO: Global design and innovation consulting firm pioneering human-centered design and venture co-creation. Directly comparable to ARCHECO's UX design roots and startup-studio orientation, though IDEO operates at significantly larger scale and broader geographic reach.
• frog (Capgemini Engineering): Design-led transformation and product innovation consultancy, now part of Capgemini Engineering. Closely matches ARCHECO's blend of design consulting and product/AI development for large enterprise clients, with stronger backing and scale.
• R/GA: Digital design and product consultancy combining brand, design, and technology services. Comparable to ARCHECO in marrying design thinking with execution, though R/GA skews more toward global brand and marketing technology work.
• AKQA: Design and innovation agency operating at the intersection of brand experience, digital product, and emerging technology. Similar to ARCHECO in fusing design and emerging tech (AI) for enterprise clients.

Broad incumbents

• Fjord (Accenture Song): Design and customer-experience consultancy inside Accenture Song. Comparable to ARCHECO's design + AI/digital delivery for large enterprises, but with vastly greater scale, multi-region teams, and ability to bundle technology implementation.
• Deloitte Digital: Digital transformation arm of Deloitte, combining strategy, design, AI, and technology delivery. Competes with ARCHECO for the same enterprise AI/digital transformation budgets, with significantly broader service portfolio and global bench.
• BCG X: BCG's tech build and design division focused on AI, software, and venture-building for enterprises. Direct overlap with ARCHECO's enterprise AI strategy, agent development, and venture co-creation (profit share/JV) offering, but with global reach and BCG brand.

Regional players

• Nomura Research Institute (NRI): Japan's leading consulting and IT solutions firm, providing digital transformation, AI, and system integration to large Japanese enterprises. Competes with ARCHECO for the same Japanese enterprise DX and AI implementation mandates, though at much larger scale.
• NTT Data: Major Japanese IT services and consulting group with deep enterprise relationships across financial services, public sector, and manufacturing. Competes with ARCHECO on enterprise AI strategy and implementation, with substantially greater delivery capacity.

Emerging players

• Sakana AI: Japan-based AI research and product company focused on efficient foundation models and AI applications. Not a direct competitor in consulting, but adjacent as a fellow Japan-headquartered AI-native player whose enterprise partnerships shape the local AI ecosystem ARCHECO serves.

Market position

Strengths1 record

Weaknesses1 record

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/@ARCchannel-x8
• Facebookfacebook.com/ARCHECO.inc
• Instagraminstagram.com/archeco_inc
• Xx.com/archeco_uxui

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries5 records

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 ARCHECO