CAPABLE

What CAPABLE does

CAPABLE (株式会社CAPABLE) is a Kyoto-based engineering firm founded in July 2012 by former TOWA Corporation president Hiroyasu Kawahara, positioned as Japan's first dedicated sealing-mold fabless manufacturer. The company designs ultra-precision semiconductor resin sealing molds, press molds and precision-machined micro-parts — operating at tolerances in the 1/1000mm range for global semiconductor manufacturers, semiconductor backend (OSAT) service providers, and electronics and automotive components customers. Production is executed through a network of more than 350 partner factories across Japan (roughly 50 active direct partners, of which about 10 are qualified for ultra-precision work), so CAPABLE captures design economics and quality control while keeping fixed-asset manufacturing costs off its own balance sheet.

The firm's second line of business is the CAMPUS platform, a two-sided online portal that connects Japanese mold and metal-processing partner factories with domestic and international buyers. CAMPUS exposes separate partner-recruitment and client-recruitment modules and embeds an AI-based quotation engine that evaluates processing difficulty across material, equipment, time and component combinations to issue fair-priced quotes while protecting partner-factory margins. Revenue is generated through direct mold design and manufacturing sales (one-time project / multi-year contract work), professional design services, and platform-mediated transactions between factories and buyers. Go-to-market combines direct enterprise sales into global semiconductor and CASE-era automotive accounts with channel growth via the CAMPUS marketplace, supported by earned-media coverage in Nihon Keizai Shimbun, Nikkan Kogyo Shimbun, Electronic Device Industry News and the KANAGATA mold-industry trade publication.

CAPABLE was an unusually early recipient of capital from Development Bank of Japan Capital (DBJ Capital) in July 2013 and a capital-based loan from Japan Policy Finance Corporation in December 2013; it was recognized as one of METI's '300 Excellent SMEs' in 2016, named a Next Unicorn 100 company by Nihon Keizai Shimbun in 2017, and publicly targeted a stock listing by around fiscal 2020. As of the latest available data the company remains private, headquartered at 228 Kamitoba-Ishibashicho, Minami-ku, Kyoto, with a stated workforce of 11–50 employees.

Name

CAPABLE

Legal name

株式会社CAPABLE

Website

https://capableeng.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

CAPABLE is Japan's first sealing-mold fabless manufacturer, designing ultra-precision semiconductor molds and operating the CAMPUS platform to connect 350+ Japanese partner factories with global semiconductor, automotive and electronics customers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Semiconductor Packaging Molds

NAICS

Industrial Mold Manufacturing (333511)

SIC

Special Industry Machinery (No Metalworking Machinery) (3550)

akta.pro primary industry

Custom Injection Molding & Contract Manufacturing (Job Shops/CMs) (IMANAFAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Precision & Micro Injection Molding (IMANAFAH), Electrical & Electronics Injection Molded Components (Connectors, Housings) (IMANAFAD)

Keywords

• Semiconductor sealing molds
• Precision mold manufacturing
• Metal processing services
• Mold manufacturing platform
• Precision machining services

Headquarters

HQ city

Kyoto

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Mold Design and Manufacturing Sales: CAPABLE designs and sells semiconductor sealing molds, press molds, and precision machining parts directly to global semiconductor and electronic component manufacturers. The company acts as a fabless manufacturer, outsourcing production to its network of partner factories while maintaining design and quality control.
2. CAMPUS Platform Commission: The CAMPUS portal platform connects Japanese mold manufacturers with customers worldwide, facilitating transactions and order matching between partner factories and buyers, generating revenue through platform services.
3. Design Services: CAPABLE provides design services for new molds and improvements to existing molds, supporting customers from concept through production using their experienced design team.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

CAPABLE designs and sells ultra-precision semiconductor resin sealing molds, semiconductor press molds, and precision micro-machined parts with tolerances reaching 1/1000mm, acting as Japan's first fabless mold manufacturer that outsources production to a network of 350+ Japanese partner factories. The company also operates the CAMPUS platform, an online portal connecting Japanese mold and metal processing factories with domestic and international customers, using AI-based pricing evaluation to match orders with optimal partner factories.

Product overview

CAPABLE operates as Japan's first sealing mold fabless manufacturer, offering a dual business model comprising (1) ultra-precision mold design and manufacturing services including semiconductor resin sealing molds, semiconductor press molds, and precision micro-processing, and (2) the CAMPUS platform—a manufacturing portal connecting Japanese mold and metal processing factories with worldwide customers. The CAMPUS platform consists of partner recruitment (CAMPUS Partner), client recruitment (CAMPUS Clients), and case study modules, augmented by an AI-driven pricing evaluation system that assesses manufacturing difficulty and ensures appropriate pricing for partner factories. The company leverages a network of partner factories across Japan to fulfill diverse manufacturing needs.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• CAMPUS: 金型・金属加工工場と国内外の得意先を結ぶ金型受発注プラットフォーム。半导体・電子部品・車載部品メーカーと日本の金型加工工場様をオンラインネットワークで結ぶ。
• CAMPUS (Campus Portal)

Products and services

• CAMPUS Portal Platform Online B2B marketplace platform that connects Japanese mold and metal processing factories with domestic and international customers seeking ultra-precision mold design and manufacturing services. The platform uses an AI-driven pricing algorithm that evaluates manufacturing difficulty based on material, machine, processing time, and component combinations to generate fair quotes and match orders to optimal partner factories.
• Semiconductor Resin Sealing Molds Ultra-precision molds used for semiconductor package sealing (封止金型), with tolerance capabilities reaching the 1/1000mm level. These molds serve major global semiconductor manufacturers and OSAT companies for chip packaging and assembly of power devices, microcontrollers, sensors, and memory devices.
• Semiconductor Press Molds Press molds for semiconductor component manufacturing, used in power devices, microcontrollers, and other electronic component production. These molds are designed by CAPABLE and produced through the partner factory network.
• Precision Micro-Processing Services High-precision micro-machining services including precision wire-cut EDM, precision high-speed milling, and ultra-precision surface grinding for molds and precision components serving semiconductor, automotive, and electronics customers.

Quantifiable outcome

• 1.4x revenue growth in FY2017
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers3 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles4 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability1 record

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Partner Mold and Metal Processing Factories (350+ factories)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAPABLE has established a network of over 350 Japanese mold and metal processing factories as manufacturing partners. These partner factories handle production based on designs provided by CAPABLE, enabling the fabless business model. The network includes approximately 50 direct partners, with about 10 capable of ultra-precision work at 1/1000mm tolerance levels. Partners benefit from access to new customers and markets, including overseas opportunities through the CAMPUS platform.
• Japan Mold Industrial Association (日本金型工業会)supportingStrategic or Co-development PartnerCAPABLE collaborates with the Japan Mold Industrial Association, participating in study groups and presenting its business model to help promote the Japanese mold industry. The company has been featured in KANAGATA, the association's official publication.

Scale indicators4 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• ASMPT (ASM Pacific Technology): ASMPT is a global leader in semiconductor assembly and packaging equipment, including die bonding and encapsulation adjacent to mold-based resin sealing. It overlaps CAPABLE's customer set (global OSATs and IDMs needing packaging tooling) while operating at much greater scale across equipment lines.
• BE Semiconductor Industries N.V. (Besi): Besi is a Dutch leader in advanced packaging and chip attach equipment for semiconductor manufacturers and OSATs. It competes in the broader advanced-packaging equipment space alongside TOWA and ASMPT, addressing the same downstream customers CAPABLE serves through its precision molds.
• DISCO Corporation: DISCO is a global Japanese leader in wafer dicing and grinding equipment used in semiconductor backend processing and advanced packaging. It serves the same OSAT and IDM customers as CAPABLE but at a much larger scale and with a different equipment category, making it an adjacent incumbent rather than a direct mold competitor.

Direct peers

• MISUMI Group Inc. MISUMI operates Japan's largest catalog and online ordering platform for industrial components including mold parts and customized components, with proprietary catalog configurators and logistics. The business model of connecting dispersed manufacturers to customers through a standardized digital flow closely parallels CAMPUS.
• Xometry, Inc. Xometry is a US-based on-demand manufacturing marketplace using AI-driven quoting to connect customers with a global network of CNC, sheet metal, injection molding, and 3D printing suppliers. CAMPUS's AI-based difficulty assessment and partner-matching model is the closest functional analog for its marketplace business.
• TOWA Corporation: TOWA is Japan's leading manufacturer of semiconductor resin sealing molding equipment and molds, serving the same OSAT and IDM customer base as CAPABLE with semiconductor-grade precision tooling. CAPABLE's CEO was previously President of TOWA, and the two compete directly for ultra-precision sealing mold programs.
• Sodick Co., Ltd. Sodick is a Japanese precision machine tool and EDM (electrical discharge machining) manufacturer whose wire-cut EDM, milling, and surface grinding machines are widely used to fabricate high-precision molds, including for semiconductor packaging. It sits immediately adjacent to CAPABLE's precision mold design and micro-machining business.

Emerging players

• Mitsui High-tec, Inc. Mitsui High-tec is a Japanese precision metal mold and motor core manufacturer with strength in miniaturized, high-tolerance metal molds for motors and lead frames. It is comparable as a Japanese precision mold specialist, though focused on motors rather than semiconductor encapsulation.
• Protolabs, Inc. Protolabs provides on-demand rapid injection molding, CNC machining, and 3D printing services through a digital manufacturing platform serving engineers and product developers. The model of automated quoting plus distributed partner capacity parallels CAMPUS's market-making logic.
• Hubs (a Protolabs company): Hubs is a Europe-based on-demand manufacturing marketplace offering CNC, injection molding, and sheet metal fabrication with instant quoting across a vetted global supplier network. It is a relevant peer for CAMPUS's marketplace and AI-assisted quoting approach in industrial part ordering.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks7 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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 CAPABLE