What Human Science does

Human Science Co., Ltd. (株式会社ヒューマンサイエンス) is a Tokyo-based technical communication and AI services company founded in 1985. The company provides an integrated portfolio spanning technical manual creation, professional translation, AI-enabled translation software (the MTrans family), AI training data annotation, e-learning/LMS implementation and content development, and generative-AI consulting. Across these service lines the company reports 3,732 manual creation projects, 20,000+ translation projects, 866 Moodle implementations (claimed #1 domestic share in Japan), and 48 million+ AI annotation data items delivered. Its customer base is concentrated in Japanese enterprise buyers across manufacturing, automotive, electronics, finance/insurance, IT/SaaS, and academic institutions, with named logos including Toyota, Bridgestone, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Sompo Japan, Microsoft Japan, and dozens of universities and public-sector clients.

The company's core technology centers on the MTrans translation platform — a proprietary suite combining a Microsoft Office add-in (MTrans for Office), a cloud-based team console (MTrans Team), and CAT-tool plugins for SDL Trados and Phrase TMS — that integrates multiple leading neural machine translation engines (DeepL, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI) via API, alongside additional engines (Amazon Translate, NAVER Papago) accessible on a consultation basis. The AI annotation practice is built on the Annofab platform with cloud progress monitoring and is supported by an ISMS-compliant in-house security room for high-confidentiality projects. Quality is underpinned by four ISO certifications: ISO/IEC 27001:2022 (ISMS), ISO 17100:2015 (translation), ISO 18587:2017 (machine-translation post-editing), and ISO 9001:2015 (QMS).

The business model combines subscription SaaS revenue (MTrans for Office tiered from ¥9,000 to ¥198,000 per month by account count, plus ¥100,000 initial setup; MTrans Team tiered by user) with project- and retainer-based professional services for human translation, post-editing, manual creation, AI annotation, and LMS implementation. Distribution is primarily direct sales into Japanese enterprises, supplemented by self-serve 14-day trials for MTrans for Office and a seminar-driven demand-generation engine running four active blog properties (corporate, NMT, annotation, e-learning). Human Science is privately held with no disclosed external funding, remains founder-controlled under CEO Tsuyoshi Kumazawa, and operates as a bootstrapped 40-year-old services business pivoting its language and documentation expertise toward AI-era opportunities in annotation, LLM/RAG data structuring, and gen-AI consulting.

Name

Human Science

Legal name

株式会社ヒューマンサイエンス

Website

https://science.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1985

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

Human Science Co., Ltd. is a Tokyo-based technical communication and AI services company providing technical manual creation, professional translation, AI-enabled translation software (MTrans), AI training-data annotation, LMS/e-learning implementation, and generative-AI consulting primarily to Japanese enterprises across manufacturing, finance, IT, and education.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Toshima

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. AI Translation Software (MTrans for Office / MTrans Team): Subscription-based SaaS licenses for AI-powered translation tools integrated into Microsoft Office (MTrans for Office) or used via web/cloud interface (MTrans Team). Revenue is recurring through annual subscription contracts, tiered by number of accounts/users. MTrans for Office starts at ¥9,000/month (3 accounts) up to ¥198,000/month (300 accounts).
2. Professional Translation & Post-Editing Services: Human translation services for technical manuals, localization, legal/contract documents, medical/patent documents, and more. Post-editing of machine translation output (MTPE) offered at two levels: Light Edit and Full Edit. Includes specialized services for Japanese-English (JP↔EN) and multilingual translation. ISO 17100 certified.
3. Manual / Documentation Authoring Services: Manual creation, instruction manual authoring, documentation diagnostics, CMS/system proposal, in-house training seminars, and writer dispatch services. Billed project-based or through retainer arrangements.
4. e-Learning / LMS Implementation Services: LMS (Moodle, Totara Learn) implementation, operation support, content authoring, and localization for e-learning. Revenue from implementation projects, ongoing support contracts, and content production fees.
5. AI Annotation / Data Labeling Services: Outsourced annotation services for AI model training data — covering image annotation (object detection, semantic segmentation, classification), audio annotation (classification, transcription, intent extraction), text annotation (classification, NER, intent), and LLM/RAG data structuring. Billed per project based on data volume, quality requirements, and project management complexity. 48 million+ data items delivered.
6. Generative AI Consulting: Advisory and consulting services for AI utilization, helping clients design and implement generative AI strategies in the context of technical documentation and knowledge management.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

Human Science provides professional translation and localization services, technical manual authoring, e-learning and LMS implementation (Moodle, Totara Learn), AI training-data annotation outsourcing, and a proprietary family of AI-powered machine translation tools (MTrans for Office, MTrans Team, MTrans for Trados, MTrans for Phrase TMS). The company also offers generative AI consulting and post-editing (MTPE) services certified to ISO 18587, serving Japanese enterprises across manufacturing, IT, education, finance, and healthcare.

Product overview

Human Science operates as a technical communication and AI services company offering a portfolio of translation/localization tools, annotation/AI training data services, e-learning solutions, and documentation services. The core translation tool family is branded MTrans, consisting of MTrans for Office (Office plugin translation tool), MTrans Team (cloud-based team platform), MTrans for Trados (SDL Trados Studio plugin), and MTrans for Phrase TMS (Phrase TMS plugin). These are complemented by human post-editing (MTPE) services certified to ISO 18587. The AI/annotation practice provides AI training data creation across text, audio, image, and video modalities, plus LLM/RAG data structuring — with over 48 million annotated training data items delivered. The e-learning and LMS practice implements and supports Moodle (Premium Partner, 866 projects) and Totara Learn, alongside content development using tools such as Articulate and Vyond. Generative AI consulting rounds out the AI services. Documentation services (manual creation, translation, machine translation) are the foundational practice, with 3,732 manual projects and 20,000+ translation projects delivered. All major product lines are backed by ISO certifications (ISO 27001, ISO 17100, ISO 9001) and API-based cloud architecture.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• MTrans: AI-powered machine translation service platform offering MTrans Team, MTrans for Office, MTrans for Trados, and MTrans for Phrase TMS.
• MTrans for Office
• MTrans Team
• hs-learning.jp

Products and services

• MTrans for Office AI-powered translation add-in for Microsoft Office (Word, Excel, PowerPoint, Outlook) that enables one-click translation with a choice of four translation engines (DeepL, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI), glossary-based terminology management, layout preservation, OpenAI writing assistance, and API-based security with SSO and IP restriction options. Supports 34 languages.
• MTrans Team Cloud-based AI translation platform providing centralized team translation with API connections to multiple engines (DeepL, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI, Amazon, NAVER Papago). Includes terminology management, user-based tiered pricing (Company Plan and Enterprise Plan), and API-based architecture for enterprise integration.
• MTrans for Trados Plugin integrating AI translation engines (DeepL, Google, Microsoft, OpenAI) into the SDL Trados Studio CAT tool workflow, enabling translators to invoke machine translation results from multiple engines within the Trados environment.
• MTrans for Phrase TMS Plugin integrating AI translation engines into the Phrase translation management system, enabling machine translation engine selection within Phrase TMS workflows for project managers and translators.
• Post-Editing (MTPE) Services Human post-editing service for machine translation output performed by domain-specialized translators (legal, medical, technical). Offered in Light Edit and Full Edit tiers. ISO 18587:2017 certified for quality management. Combined with MTrans products for hybrid AI translation workflows.
• AI Annotation / Data Labeling Services AI training data creation and annotation outsourcing covering text, audio, speech, image, and video data. Services include text annotation (classification, intent, NER), audio annotation (transcription, speech recognition), image/video annotation (classification, object detection, keypoints), LLM/RAG data structuring, AI model development, and insourcing support.
• Moodle Implementation and Support Services Moodle LMS implementation, version upgrades, customization, operational support, portfolio integration, and seminar services. Human Science holds top-tier Moodle Premium Partner status and claims 866 completed Moodle projects.
• Totara Learn Implementation and Support Services Enterprise LMS implementation and support for Totara Learn, including introduction support, version upgrades, customization, operational support, portfolio integration, and seminars for corporate training environments.
• e-Learning Content Production Services e-learning content creation including course design, multilingual video production using Vyond animation, compliance training modules, internal production support using Articulate, course sales, and content localization.
• Technical Manual Creation / Documentation Services Technical manual and user guide creation services. Includes manual diagnosis, CMS/system proposals, internal production support seminars, technical writer dispatch, and standardized manual creation frameworks.
• Translation and Localization Services Professional translation services covering manual translation, UI/software localization, e-learning and video translation, marketing translation, and medical/patent translation. ISO 17100 certified, with specialized translators in IT, medical, industrial, legal, and other sectors.
• Generative AI Consulting Services Consulting service guiding clients through AI adoption, providing a total solution that accompanies clients as a partner to design and implement generative AI strategies in the context of technical documentation, knowledge management, and RAG data preparation.

Quantifiable outcome

• 30–45% reduction in translation work hours using MTrans for Office (Human Science internal verification)
• +10 more outcomes

Named customers105 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

Yes

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration12 records

AI capability12 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered core and supporting.

• Moodle Pty LtdcoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHuman Science is a Premium/Flagship Partner of Moodle — the top domestic partner tier in Japan. They provide Moodle implementation, version upgrades, customization, operational support, and portfolio integration, with 866 implementation projects (claimed #1 domestic share).
• Totara Learning SolutionscoreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHuman Science is an authorized Totara Learn implementation and operational support partner in Japan, offering introduction support, version upgrades, customization, operational support, and portfolio integration.
• DeepL SE (DeepL Pro)coreTechnology or IntegrationDeepL Pro is the primary neural machine translation engine integrated into MTrans for Office, MTrans Team, and related products. DeepL's API is used under a commercial partnership. DeepL Pro usage does not involve data being stored or used for training.
• Google Cloud (Cloud Translation API)coreTechnology or IntegrationGoogle Cloud Translation (Basic and Advanced) is integrated as one of four selectable translation engines in MTrans for Office. Accessed via API, with no data retention or model training use.
• Microsoft (Azure AI / Translator API)coreTechnology or IntegrationMicrosoft Translator API is integrated as one of four selectable engines in MTrans for Office. Also provides underlying Microsoft 365/Office integration support.
• OpenAI (GPT API)coreTechnology or IntegrationOpenAI's GPT API is integrated into MTrans for Office (Windows version) for translation, rewriting, summarization, proofreading, and drafting assistance. Also powers writing assistance features including email composition.
• SDL (Trados Studio)supportingTechnology or IntegrationHuman Science's MTrans for Trados plugin integrates machine translation engines into SDL Trados Studio, enabling terminology-aware AI translation within CAT tool workflows.
• Phrase TMS (formerly Memsource/Phrase)supportingTechnology or IntegrationHuman Science's MTrans for Phrase TMS plugin integrates machine translation engines into Phrase TMS (Translation Management System), enabling AI-powered translation within TMS workflows.
• Wovn Technologies (Wovn.io)supportingTechnology or IntegrationHuman Science offers website multilingual translation solutions using Wovn.io (43 languages, 18,000+ websites globally). Wovn.io integration provides code-injection-based translation without CMS development, accumulating translation assets and supporting DeepL, Google, Microsoft, and Mirai (Japanese) translation engines.
• Annofab (Preferred Service Partner)coreTechnology or IntegrationHuman Science uses Annofab as its primary annotation work platform for AI training data projects. Annofab is a cloud-based annotation tool that supports image, video, audio, and text annotation workflows with real-time project progress monitoring and local-data restriction for security.
• DataEgg (Annotation / MLOps Partnership)supportingTechnology or IntegrationHuman Science partners with DataEgg to offer PoC speed-up and customer-optimized MLOps services, combining annotation data preparation with ML infrastructure support.
• Articulate Global (E-Learning Authoring)supportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHuman Science provides Articulate-based in-house production support for e-learning content creation as part of their e-learning service offerings.
• Vyond (Video Authoring)supportingChannel Partner/ Reseller/ DistributorHuman Science provides Vyond-based animated video production services as part of their e-learning and training content creation. They support introduction, production, and in-house production assistance using Vyond.

Scale indicators8 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• RWS Group: RWS Group is a UK-listed language services and intellectual property company that owns SDL Trados (the dominant CAT tool platform). They compete broadly across translation tools, services, and IP services where Human Science operates via its MTrans for Trados plugin and translation practice.

Direct peers

• TransPerfect: TransPerfect is a leading global language and technology solutions provider offering translation, interpretation, localization, and AI-enabled services. Comparable to Human Science in serving enterprise customers with a combined tech + services model across multiple verticals.
• Welocalize: Welocalize is a US-headquartered language services provider offering AI-enabled translation, localization, and data services. Like Human Science, they combine proprietary AI tooling and machine translation integration with managed professional translation across enterprise verticals, including regulated technical documentation.
• Smartling: Smartling is a US-based enterprise translation management and AI translation automation platform combining machine translation with human-in-the-loop services. Comparable to Human Science's MTrans family of AI translation tools targeting enterprise content localization.
• Honyaku Center: Honyaku Center is a Japanese translation and interpretation services firm specializing in technical, legal, patent, and IR translation. They are the most direct Japan-based competitor to Human Science's translation services and post-editing business.
• Appen: Appen is a global leader in training data annotation and AI data services across text, image, audio, and video. They are directly comparable to Human Science's AI annotation business which has delivered 48M+ items for medical, automotive, and IT clients.
• Phrase: Phrase is a cloud-based translation management system (TMS) and CAT platform. Directly comparable to Human Science's MTrans plugins which integrate with Phrase TMS, and competes in the same enterprise translation tooling market.
• Simul International: Simul International is a Japanese language services company offering translation, interpretation, and localization services. As a Japan-based LSP they compete directly with Human Science in the enterprise translation market and overlapping verticals.
• Lionbridge (TELUS International): Lionbridge (now part of TELUS International AI Data Solutions) is one of the largest global LSPs, offering AI training data, translation, and localization. Their AI Data Solutions division overlaps directly with Human Science's AI annotation and LLM/RAG data structuring business for enterprise and tech clients.

Emerging players

• Scale AI: Scale AI is a US-based AI data platform specializing in high-quality annotation and evaluation for foundation models. While more focused on frontier AI/LLM data than enterprise document annotation like Human Science, their annotation offerings directly overlap for speech recognition, image, and NLP data.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat7 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/people/%E6%A0%AA%E5%BC%8F%E4%BC%9A%E7%A4%BE%E3%83%92%E3%83%A5%E3%83%BC%E3%83%9E%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B5%E3%82%A4%E3%82%A8%E3%83%B3%E3%82%B9/61558431124765
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/human-science-co-ltd-

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles5 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 Human Science