What INITIAL does

INITIAL (スピーダ スタートアップ情報リサーチ, marketed in English as Speeda Startup Information Research) is a B2B startup intelligence research platform operated by Uzabase, Inc. (株式会社ユーザベース, TSE:3966), a publicly listed company on the Tokyo Stock Exchange since its October 2016 IPO. The platform aggregates structured data on approximately 25,000 domestic Japanese startups and 2.5 million overseas startups (sourced via a Crunchbase integration), along with 100,000+ investors and 3,000+ investment funds. Data is curated from commercial registries, corporate websites, public disclosures, VC surveys, and news sources by a dedicated research staff, and is normalized through INITIAL's proprietary INITIAL Series classification framework — a growth-phase taxonomy derived from statistical analysis of post-money valuations and funding-stage thresholds across 8,755+ Japanese startups (July 2023 snapshot). The platform is integrated with NewsPicks for real-time news embedding and content syndication, and publishes original analytical articles plus periodic Japan Startup Finance funding-trend reports.

The platform serves a horizontal segmentation of business buyers: VC and CVC investors (primary, for deal sourcing, due diligence, and portfolio monitoring), corporate development and strategic planning teams (primary, for partnership evaluation, M&A target research, and innovation monitoring), new business development functions, and research/academic institutions. Go-to-market combines a freemium self-serve tier (basic startup search and limited content) with paid subscription tiers (full platform access including original articles, detailed company analyses, and fund reports) and enterprise contracts for large organizations. Marketing is executed through content marketing and SEO, the Step-up Seminar educational series, NewsPicks content distribution, and direct enterprise sales for larger accounts. The company is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, with broader Uzabase group operations extending to the US and Singapore.

The business model is subscription-recurring (freemium and paid annual memberships plus enterprise contracts). Pricing details are not publicly disclosed. The product surface is delivered as a web-based SaaS platform; no public API, SDK, or mobile application is documented. Partnerships include the core Crunchbase data integration, the NewsPicks content/distribution partnership, semi-annual VC firm survey collaborations for data quality, and operational integrations with Intercom (customer support) and Google Analytics.

Name

INITIAL

Legal name

株式会社ユーザベース

Website

https://initial.inc

Company type

Public

Founded year

2016

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

INITIAL is a B2B startup intelligence platform operated by publicly listed Uzabase, Inc. (TSE:3966), serving Japanese VCs, CVCs, corporate development teams, and new business planners with a curated database of 25,000+ domestic startups, 100,000+ investors, and proprietary growth-phase classifications, integrated with NewsPicks news content.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Roppongi

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Subscription Revenue - Paid Membership: The service operates on a freemium model with a free tier offering limited access to startup data and a paid subscription tier providing full access to all features, premium content, and advanced analytics.
2. Enterprise Contracts: Custom enterprise pricing for large organizations requiring comprehensive startup intelligence access, including dedicated support and extended usage rights.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

INITIAL operates a comprehensive startup information research platform that aggregates data on approximately 25,000 domestic Japanese startups, 2.5 million overseas startups (sourced via Crunchbase), 100,000+ investors, and 3,000+ investment funds. The service offers structured company profiles, funding round histories, investor portfolios, and standardized growth-phase classifications, supplemented by original analytical articles and NewsPicks-integrated news coverage.

Product overview

INITIAL (スピーダ スタートアップ情報リサーチ) is a comprehensive startup information research platform. The core product is the Speeda Startup Information Research service, which aggregates data on approximately 25,000 domestic Japanese startups and 2.5 million overseas startups (via Crunchbase), along with 100,000 investors and 3,000 funds. The platform integrates NewsPicks news content alongside structured company, funding, and investor data. Additional offerings include the Japan Startup Finance Report, which provides periodic analysis of funding trends using the platform's proprietary INITIAL funding stage classification system. The service operates on a freemium model with a free tier for guests and paid subscription tiers for full access.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• Speeda Startup Information Research (スピーダ スタートアップ情報リサーチ) A web-based SaaS platform providing searchable intelligence on Japanese and global startups, including company profiles, funding round history, executives, shareholders, valuation, employee counts, related persons, and similar-company linkages. Designed for venture capital investors, CVC units, corporate development teams, and business planners conducting startup sourcing, due diligence, and market research.
• Japan Startup Finance Report A periodic analytical report covering Japanese startup funding trends, including valuation movements, average funding amounts by stage, dilution rates, and time-to-next-round metrics, built on the platform's INITIAL Series classification framework.
• INITIAL Series Classification Framework A proprietary standardized framework for classifying Japanese startups into growth phases (Seed, Series A, and later rounds) based on statistical thresholds derived from historical funding data, post-money valuations, and valuation change rates. Used internally and in research output to enable consistent cross-stage analysis.

Quantifiable outcome

• Database covers 25,000+ domestic startups and 2.5M+ international companies
• +2 more outcomes

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature6 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered core and support.

• CrunchbasecoreTechnology or IntegrationIntegration partnership providing international startup data coverage of 2.5 million+ overseas companies through Crunchbase's database, enabling comprehensive global startup research within the INITIAL platform.
• NewsPickscoreStrategic or Co-development PartnerContent and distribution partnership with NewsPicks social economic media platform, enabling real-time news integration and article distribution for startup research and news coverage within the INITIAL platform.
• IntercomsupportTechnology or IntegrationCustomer support platform integration for help center and user assistance, providing in-product support and chatbot functionality for platform users.
• VC Firms (Survey Partners)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerPartnership with venture capital firms through semi-annual surveys (年2回のVC各社へのアンケート調査) to ensure data quality and accuracy of startup funding information, investment trends, and portfolio company data.
• Google AnalyticssupportTechnology or IntegrationAnalytics service for website traffic analysis and user behavior tracking, used for service improvement and marketing optimization.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• PitchBook (Morningstar): PitchBook is a leading VC, private equity, and M&A intelligence platform used by global investors. It is the dominant enterprise competitor for deal sourcing, due diligence, and market research — exactly the use cases INITIAL targets in Japan.
• Dealroom.co: Dealroom.co is a global startup and investor database with strong European coverage and expanding APAC presence. It offers similar company, funding, and investor datasets to INITIAL and increasingly targets Japanese VCs and CVCs.
• Crunchbase: Crunchbase is a global startup and investor intelligence platform. INITIAL relies on Crunchbase as a data integration partner for its 2.5M+ international company coverage, and they compete for the same enterprise VC and corporate development buyers.
• Tracxn: Tracxn provides startup and investor research coverage across sectors globally. It is a comparable subscription intelligence platform competing for the same enterprise deal-sourcing and due diligence use cases.
• CB Insights: CB Insights provides market intelligence and startup discovery tools for corporations and investors. It competes directly with INITIAL on enterprise intelligence, particularly in technology scouting and competitive analysis for corporate development teams.

Others

• Speeda (broader Uzabase suite): Speeda Economic Information and Speeda Edge are sibling Uzabase products covering broader business intelligence. They share the same sales motion, customer base, and parent company with INITIAL and represent the internal cross-sell and ecosystem context.
• NewsPicks: NewsPicks is a sister Uzabase product — a social economic media platform. It is the news content integration partner for INITIAL and a distribution channel for original INITIAL articles.

Broad incumbents

• Morningstar (Direct + PitchBook): Morningstar owns PitchBook and operates broader investment data and research services. It is a broad incumbent in the investment intelligence market relevant to INITIAL's enterprise customer base.
• Bloomberg Terminal: Bloomberg Terminal offers private market and VC coverage as part of its broad financial data offering. It is an enterprise incumbent that large investors and corporates use alongside specialized startup intelligence platforms like INITIAL.
• S&P Capital IQ: S&P Capital IQ is a broad financial data and analytics platform covering public and private companies. While not a startup-only specialist, it overlaps with INITIAL on private company fundamentals and is used by enterprise customers for diligence.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 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 INITIAL