Shift

What Shift does

SHIFT (株式会社SHIFT, TSE Prime: 3697) is a Tokyo-headquartered IT services company founded in September 2005 that built its franchise around software testing and quality assurance and progressively expanded into adjacent enterprise technology and consulting categories. The company serves approximately 4,000 corporate clients across financial services, government, manufacturing, internet/gaming, logistics, and enterprise back-office functions, executing roughly 4,000 projects annually. Beyond its core third-party verification and test automation offerings, SHIFT delivers security services (vulnerability assessment, SOC, cloud security, AWS security), digital transformation consulting, UI/UX, customer success operations, HR consulting, and a growing portfolio of AI-driven products, including the proprietary SHIFT DQS framework for AI-driven reverse engineering, application development, and AIOps maintenance.

SHIFT's technical foundation rests on SHIFT DQS — a proprietary AI development framework co-developed with Matsuo Research Institute that generates 46 specification document types from source code analysis, supports generative AI-driven application development (React frontend, NestJS backend), and operates on AWS infrastructure with planned Azure and GCP support. The company has built additional proprietary tools (CAT for test management, Wasurenai and Nakusanai for back-office asset management, Backly for inquiry management) and, through its subsidiary SHIFT PLUS, the AICO AI contact center platform. SHIFT is also Japan's first master partner for Cognition AI's autonomous software engineer Devin, layering frontier AI-agent capability onto its services portfolio.

Commercially, SHIFT runs a sales-led enterprise field-sales motion with custom quote-based pricing across all service categories, supported by ~2,500 mid-career hires annually, a proprietary education arm (Hinshitsu University), and content/demand-generation marketing. Revenue streams are weighted toward professional services and managed services, with a growing share of recurring SaaS and subscription revenue from AI solutions and proprietary tools. The company is led by President and Representative Director Tange Dai, operates as an independent going concern with no controlling parent, and is publicly listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Prime Market.

Name

Shift

Legal name

株式会社SHIFT

Website

https://service.shiftinc.jp

Company type

Public

Founded year

2005

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1,001–5,000 employees

Short description

SHIFT (TSE Prime: 3697) is a Tokyo-headquartered IT services firm delivering software testing, quality assurance, security, DX, UI/UX, and AI-driven development to approximately 4,000 enterprise and government clients across Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Software Testing and Quality Assurance Services

NAICS

Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Electronic and Precision Equipment Repair and Maintenance (81121)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373)

akta.pro primary industry

Workplace Migration & Refresh Programs (Win11/M365 migrations, device refresh/IMAC) (BPAEAIAL)

akta.pro secondary industries

DevOps, SRE & Platform Engineering (CI/CD, IaC, Containers) (EDABAFAC), Change Management for Operations Transformations (EDABAKAM)

Keywords

• Software testing services
• Quality assurance
• Digital transformation
• AI solutions
• Cybersecurity services

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Software Testing and Quality Assurance Services: SHIFT's core revenue driver, offering third-party verification, agile QA, test automation, multi-device testing, performance/load testing, game testing, and quality consulting. Services are sold as professional services engagements, typically custom-quoted per project scope and client scale. Revenue is project-based with recurring client relationships across ~4,000 companies.
2. Security Services: Vulnerability assessment, cloud security, SOC operations, security compliance consulting, and AWS security assessments. Delivered as professional services engagements.
3. DX (Digital Transformation) Services: Agile consulting, DX service development, infrastructure design/construction, migration, modernization, PMO, and CIO advisory services. Includes AI-driven development using the proprietary SHIFT DQS framework.
4. UI/UX Services: UX expert reviews, usability testing, accessibility verification, action data analysis, and UX creative development. Professional services engagements.
5. Customer Success Services: IT helpdesk, IT operations/maintenance, manual creation, data analytics, Salesforce implementation, and AI BPO services. Ongoing operational support and BPO contracts.
6. AI Solutions: AI modernization, AI test agents, AI-driven operational support (AI BPaaS), AI quality assurance services, generative AI operations quality management, AI CoE promotion, and internal document AI search. Growing revenue stream leveraging proprietary AI frameworks.
7. Consulting Services: Enterprise consulting (EVAC), HR consulting including recruitment decision engines, and organizational transformation advisory.
8. SaaS Products (Backly, Wasurenai, Nakusanai): Subscription-based SaaS tools for internal inquiry management (Backly), SaaS/IT asset management (Wasurenai), and contract/fixed asset management (Nakusanai). Part of the company's shift toward recurring SaaS revenue in the back-office transformation market.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels9 records

Core offering

SHIFT is a Japan-based IT services company that sells software testing, quality assurance, security, UI/UX, digital transformation (DX), customer success, AI, and consulting services to enterprise and government clients. It packages proprietary AI-driven tools (SHIFT DQS for reverse engineering, application development, cloud, and maintenance; AICO contact center platform; CAT test management; Backly, Wasurenai, Nakusanai back-office SaaS; Tensai-kun and Nemuranai AI tools) alongside professional services engagements delivered by its ~2,500 hires/year engineering workforce.

Product overview

SHIFT is an IT services company offering a multi-category portfolio of technology and consulting services organized under six main service lines: AI Solutions, Software Testing/Quality Assurance, Security, UI/UX, DX (Digital Transformation), and Customer Success, plus Consulting. The core AI Solutions portfolio includes SHIFT DQS (an AI-driven development framework comprising products for reverse engineering, application development, cloud infrastructure, and maintenance support), the AI test agent 'Nemuranai', the prompt-free generative AI tool 'Tensai-kun', and AI BPaaS for back-office automation. The QA services are anchored by software testing and quality assurance, supported by tools like the test management tool 'CAT' and training institute 'Hinshitsu University'. Back-office transformation tools include 'Wasurenai' (SaaS/IT asset management), 'Nakusanai' (contract/asset management), and 'Backly' (inquiry management). The contact center AI platform 'AICO' is developed by subsidiary SHIFT PLUS. SHIFT also resells Cognition AI's 'Devin' as master partner in Japan. Services span consulting (EVAC, HR), agile development (SHIFT 1LINE), infrastructure (AWS services), and customer success (Salesforce, help desk, data analytics).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• SHIFT DQS: SHIFT's proprietary AI-powered development framework covering reverse engineering, application development, and cloud infrastructure for system modernization.
• CAT
• ワスレナイ (Wasurenai)
• ナクサナイ (Nakusanai)
• 天才くん (Tensaikun)
• AICO
• Backly
• ネムラナイ (Nemuranai)
• ヒンシツ大学 (Hinshitsu University)

Products and services

• Software Testing and Quality Assurance Third-party software verification, test automation, agile QA, performance/load testing, game testing, and quality consulting/PMO services for enterprise software projects.
• Security Services End-to-end cybersecurity services including vulnerability assessment, cloud security diagnosis, SOC operations, security posture consulting, compliance consulting, and AWS security assessment.
• UI/UX Services UX expert reviews, usability testing, acceptability research, accessibility verification, behavioral data analysis, UX creative development, and UI testing for enterprise digital products.
• DX (Digital Transformation) Services Digital transformation consulting and delivery services including agile quick diagnosis, agile consulting, SHIFT 1LINE development support, infrastructure design/construction, migration, modernization, PMO, and CIO advisory.
• Customer Success Services IT helpdesk, IT operations and maintenance, manual creation support, IT-system-specific operations support, CS data analytics, Salesforce implementation, and AI BPO for business improvement and efficiency.
• Consulting Services (EVAC, HR Consulting, Agile Consulting) Companion-style corporate consulting (EVAC), HR consulting covering recruitment and institutionalization, agile consulting, CIO advisory, and quality/security consulting services.
• AI Solutions Comprehensive AI services including AI modernization, AI test agents, AI BPaaS, AI quality assurance, generative AI operations quality management, AI CoE promotion, and AI-powered internal document search.
• SHIFT DQS for Reverse Engineering AI-powered reverse engineering product that analyzes legacy source code (VB.NET, COBOL, with PHP/Java planned) and auto-generates 46 types of internal and external specification documents, enabling visualization of black-boxed systems.
• SHIFT DQS for Maintenance Support AI/AIOps-based product that continuously regenerates system specification documentation on each deployment and automates maintenance operations including first-response and anomaly detection.
• AICO AI Contact Center Platform AI contact center platform (developed by SHIFT PLUS) that automates citizen/customer inquiry handling, accumulates inquiry data, monitors trends in real time, and operates on cloud or on-premises for high-security environments.
• Sagamihara City AI Contact Center Operations 5-year (April 2026 – September 2031) managed service operating Sagamihara City's AI-powered citizen contact center built on AICO, handling approximately 100,000 annual inbound calls across phone, email, and fax channels.
• Backly Internal Inquiry Management Platform Subscription SaaS that consolidates internal inquiries into tickets, manages responses team-wide with template sharing, segments workspaces by business domain, and visualizes response-time KPIs in real time.
• Wasurenai (SaaS/IT Asset Management) SaaS subscription tool that provides centralized visibility and management of SaaS subscriptions and IT assets to reduce waste and maintain compliance.
• Nakusanai (Contract and Fixed Asset Management) Subscription SaaS tool for centralized contract and fixed asset management, complementing Wasurenai for full back-office asset coverage.
• CAT Integrated Software Test Management Tool Cloud-based integrated software test management tool supporting planning, execution tracking, and quality metrics across enterprise software projects.
• Devin (Cognition AI) Master Partner Offering Japan-exclusive master partner offering of Cognition AI's autonomous AI software engineer Devin plus the Cognition Platform (including Windsurf IDE), with Japanese-language sales, implementation, and support, available as Dedicated Enterprise and Standard Enterprise plans.
• Hinshitsu University Education Programs Education and training programs from SHIFT's Hinshitsu University division covering software testing, quality improvement, generative AI application, game planner development, and professional certification courses for both internal engineers and external clients.

Quantifiable outcome

• 40% improvement in development productivity for AI-driven projects using SHIFT DQS
• +7 more outcomes

Named customers16 records

Segments7 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

AI capability13 records

Feature9 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered flagship, core and minor.

• Sagamihara City, Kanagawa Prefecture (神奈川県相模原市)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2026SHIFT operates Sagamihara City's next-generation AI-powered call center under a 5-year contract (April 2026 – September 2031). SHIFT is responsible for constructing and operating the AI contact center, handling ~100,000 annual inbound calls across phone, email, and fax channels. AICO platform is used as the core technology. This is SHIFT's largest government back-office outsourcing contract.
• Shinagawa Ward, Tokyo (東京都品川区)flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 27 February 2026SHIFT is collaborating with Shinagawa Ward on a generative AI contact center proof-of-concept using Amazon Connect, Amazon Q, and Amazon Bedrock. The project is conducted under Shinagawa's open innovation program 'Shinagawa City Lab' and targets household registry operations automation. This represents SHIFT's most visible government AI deployment case.
• Cognition AI, Inc.flagshipStrategic or Co-development Partner · 19 February 2026SHIFT entered Japan's first Master Partner Agreement with Cognition AI for the AI software engineer 'Devin' and Cognition Platform (including Windsurf IDE). This builds on a strategic partnership established in October 2025. SHIFT provides sales, implementation, and Japanese-language support for Devin in Japan, targeting enterprise AI-driven development adoption.
• Cognition AI, Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2025Initial strategic partnership established in October 2025 for AI-driven development support and AI software engineer services in Japan. The partnership led to the Master Partner Agreement signed in February 2026.
• Matsuo Research Institute (株式会社松尾研究所)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-development partner for SHIFT's AI parsing technology used in SHIFT DQS for Reverse Engineering and Maintenance Support. Joint development and accuracy verification of AI models that analyze legacy source code to generate 46 types of documentation. A critical technology partnership underpinning SHIFT's AI modernization services.
• SHIFT PLUS Corporation (株式会社SHIFT PLUS)coreTechnology or IntegrationSHIFT's group company specializing in CS (Customer Success) operations, providing AI contact center platform AICO. SHIFT leverages AICO for its own call center operations (e.g., Sagamihara City contract) and offers it as part of the AI customer success service portfolio. Represents an embedded group technology capability.
• Amazon Web Services (AWS)coreTechnology or IntegrationAWS is the primary cloud platform underpinning SHIFT's AI-driven development (SHIFT DQS for Cloud), government contact center projects (Amazon Connect, Amazon Q, Bedrock), and enterprise infrastructure engagements. SHIFT holds AWS Advanced Tier Service Partner status, AWS 400 APN Certification Distinction, AWS WAF Partner status, and insourcing support AWS Partner designation. 15 SHIFT engineers hold AWS certifications and recognitions.
• Tohoku Frontier Corporation (東北電力フロンティア株式会社)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerSHIFT developed Tohoku Frontier's 'Electric Contract Easy Application Form' using AI-driven development (SHIFT DQS), achieving 40% productivity improvement and doubling conversion rate. A reference customer for SHIFT's forward engineering capabilities.
• Hiyoshi City Lab / Open Innovation ProgramsminorGTM or Marketing PartnerSHIFT participates in government-led open innovation programs (e.g., Shinagawa City Lab) to gain access to public sector digital transformation opportunities, positioning itself as a technology partner for municipal AI projects.

Scale indicators12 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• Fujitsu Limited: Major Japanese IT services and systems integrator with deep financial services, government, and manufacturing client bases. Fujitsu's hybrid IT and digital transformation offerings overlap directly with SHIFT's QA, DX, and modernization services.
• Nomura Research Institute (NRI): Leading Japanese IT solutions and consulting firm with strong financial services and asset management client concentration. NRI's consulting-led approach and system integration capabilities closely parallel SHIFT's DX and consulting service lines.
• Globant: Global IT services firm combining software engineering, QA, AI, and design services for enterprise clients. Globant's AI Studios and digital transformation focus mirror SHIFT's AI Solutions, UI/UX, and DX service portfolio.
• NTT Data Group: Japan's largest domestic IT services and systems integrator with similar enterprise focus on financial services, government, and digital transformation. NTT Data competes head-to-head with SHIFT on large-scale SI, QA, and modernization projects but operates at vastly larger scale.
• EPAM Systems: Global digital engineering services firm with strong software testing, QA, and modernization practices. EPAM's product engineering and platform-driven delivery model parallels SHIFT DQS-style AI-augmented development positioning.
• Future Corporation: Japanese IT consulting and systems integrator focused on financial services and enterprise IT modernization, with strong QA and independent verification (third-party testing) capabilities — directly comparable to SHIFT's core software testing franchise.
• Itochu Techno-Solutions (CTC): Japanese SI and cloud services company with strong AWS partnership and enterprise IT infrastructure focus. CTC's AWS-centric cloud services and systems integration practice overlaps with SHIFT's AWS-anchored cloud and modernization offerings.
• NEC Corporation: Japanese IT services and infrastructure provider serving government, financial services, and telecom verticals. NEC competes with SHIFT on digital government, security, and large-scale systems integration projects.

Broad incumbents

• Cognizant: Global IT services giant offering QA, application development, cloud, and AI services across industries. Cognizant's scale and global delivery model represent both competitive pressure and a benchmark for SHIFT's enterprise services capabilities.
• Accenture: Global management consulting and IT services leader with extensive Japan operations and major investments in generative AI services. Accenture represents the upper bound of competition on enterprise digital transformation, AI, and QA engagements.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/shift_cp
• Facebookfacebook.com/SHIFTincjp
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/shiftincjp

Compliance4 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 Shift