Genseki

Name

Genseki

Website

https://genseki.me

Company type

Private

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Creative Contest Platform

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430), Independent Artists, Writers, and Performers (7115)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Multi-Channel Networks (MCNs) & Creator Management Platforms (MPACABAH)

Keywords

• Illustration contest platform
• Creative talent marketplace
• Art portfolio hosting
• Commission hiring platform
• Contest management software

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Core offering

GENSEKI is a single, unified online platform for hosting and managing illustration contests. It enables contest organizers to run illustration competitions and allows artists to submit their work, with the platform facilitating the submission and evaluation process. The site also serves as a venue for creators to display artwork to connect with potential employers.

Product overview

GENSEKI is a single, unified illustration contest platform that enables the hosting and management of illustration competitions. The platform connects contest organizers with artists, facilitating the submission and evaluation of illustration works.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• GENSEKI An illustration contest platform that allows organizers to host and manage illustration competitions, enabling artists to submit their work for contests. It also functions as a venue for creators to display their artwork to connect with potential employers.

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Recent moves2 records

Direct peers

• DeviantArt: Long-standing online art community with portfolio hosting, contests/challenges, and artist-employer exposure. Directly competes with Genseki for illustrator attention and contest hosting, with a much larger established user base.
• ArtStation: Leading global portfolio platform for digital artists, illustrators, and concept artists, which also runs portfolio reviews and challenge/competition features. Most direct global analogue to Genseki's illustrator showcase and contest business.
• Pixiv: Japan-headquartered illustration and creator community platform that hosts artist portfolios and runs illustration contests/competitions. Directly comparable to Genseki in target users (Japanese illustrators) and contest-hosting functionality, but at vastly larger scale.

Broad incumbents

• Dribbble: Design and illustration portfolio platform with job listings and design hiring workflows. Overlaps with Genseki on the illustrator-to-employer matchmaking value proposition, particularly for design hires and freelance work.
• Behance: Adobe-owned creative portfolio platform with a massive global user base, hosting freelance creative contests, Adobe-sponsored competitions, and job listings. Behance functions as a broader incumbent that overlaps with Genseki's artist-employer matchmaking and contest workflows.

Regional players

• CrowdWorks: Japan's largest freelance/crowdsourcing marketplace that connects clients with illustrators and designers for paid projects. Relevant peer for the organizer-artist matchmaking job that Genseki's contest platform facilitates, particularly in the Japanese market.
• CLIP STUDIO (Celsys): Japan-based dominant illustration/drawing tool vendor that also surfaces illustration contests and community content. Comparable to Genseki because it operates at the center of the Japanese illustrator workflow and runs contest-format community engagement.
• Skeb: Japan-focused commission platform that connects illustrators with paying clients for commissioned artwork. Operates in the same Japanese illustrator economy as Genseki and serves a complementary artist-monetization workflow that Genseki could expand into.

Emerging players

• Cara: Newer artist-focused portfolio platform that gained traction as a privacy-respecting alternative to incumbents and hosts community challenges. Comparable as an emerging illustration-focused platform with contest/community functionality competing for the same illustrator audience.

Others

• BOOTH (by Pixiv): Pixiv-operated marketplace for digital creators to sell goods, templates, and illustration assets. Relevant as an adjacent monetization infrastructure in the Japanese illustration ecosystem that Genseki's organizers and artists already use.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat1 record

Key risks5 records

Key highlights4 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/genseki_creator

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

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 Genseki