KODAI

What KODAI does

KODAI Co., Ltd (株式会社宏大) is a Japanese venture enterprise founded in 2015 and headquartered in Yokohama, with a secondary office in Zama. The company develops optical coherence tomography (OCT) technology — specifically its proprietary M-FD-OCT (Medical Fourier-Domain OCT) platform — for both medical and industrial applications. The underlying architecture combines coherent pulse and carrierless spectrum spread communication technology with Bessel beam optics to achieve higher sensitivity and resolution than conventional OCT systems, and includes a "blood-free" vascular imaging mode that does not require blood removal during patient examination. The company complements its core system with an ultra-compact Bessel beam generator developed in 2020.

The technical IP portfolio is international: Patent No. 6762500 covering the tomographic imaging device was filed in July 2018 and registered in Japan in September 2020, with subsequent grants in the United States (2021) and Europe (2023), plus a national-phase application in China. Founder and representative director Hiroshi Ogawa, who holds a master's degree in electrical engineering and antenna systems from Waseda University and a prior career at NEC developing satellite communication equipment, brings approximately 35 prior patents spanning nonlinear compensation circuitry and microwave engineering. The only disclosed institutional relationship is the company's selection into the NEDO STS program in 2016, which provided government-backed R&D support for the OCT platform.

Commercially, KODAI serves two segments. The primary vertical is medical/healthcare, where the M-FD-OCT system targets vascular imaging without blood removal and high-resolution deep tissue observation. A secondary industrial/manufacturing vertical targets non-destructive testing and inline inspection for CFRP composite materials used in semiconductors and batteries. The go-to-market is a direct-sales model executed through the company website (kodai-co.com), downloadable technical PDFs, conference participation (e.g., ICI for all 2020 poster exhibit), and a single contact phone number. No select customers, distribution partners, resellers, or disclosed pricing or revenue figures appear in the source material.

Name

KODAI

Legal name

株式会社宏大

Website

https://kodai-co.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2015

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

KODAI Co., Ltd is a Yokohama-based Japanese venture founded in 2015 that develops the proprietary M-FD-OCT optical coherence tomography platform for medical vascular imaging and industrial non-destructive testing, serving healthcare providers and advanced-manufacturing inspection customers through direct sales.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Medical Imaging Equipment

NAICS

Surgical and Medical Instrument Manufacturing (339112)

SIC

Optical Instruments & Lenses (3827)

akta.pro primary industry

Retinal Imaging & OCT Systems (OCT/OCTA, Fundus Cameras, Fluorescein/ICG Angiography) (HLAHAJAB)

akta.pro secondary industry

Non-Invasive Cardiac Imaging (Echo/CT/MRI/Nuclear) (HLAKABAE)

Keywords

• Optical coherence tomography
• Medical imaging devices
• Non-destructive testing
• OCT imaging systems
• Biomedical instrumentation

Headquarters

HQ city

Yokohama

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Hardware or Manufacturing

Cost components

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

Distribution channels1 record

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

KODAI researches, develops, manufactures, and sells optical coherence tomography (OCT) systems for medical and industrial applications. Its flagship M-FD-OCT platform uses coherent pulse and carrierless spectrum spread communication technology combined with Bessel beam optics to deliver high-sensitivity, high-resolution deep imaging, including blood-free vascular OCT for medical use and non-destructive inspection for industrial materials such as CFRP composites. The company also offers an ultra-compact Bessel beam generator component that enhances the imaging performance of its OCT system.

Product overview

KODAI offers a unified product portfolio centered on the M-FD-OCT system — a high-sensitivity optical coherence tomography platform for medical and industrial applications. The system is complemented by the company's proprietary ultra-compact Bessel beam generator, which enhances the OCT's imaging capabilities by achieving higher sensitivity and resolution for deep tissue/structure observation.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• M-FD-OCT (Medical Fourier-Domain Optical Coherence Tomography) A high-sensitivity, high-resolution optical coherence tomography system for medical and industrial applications. Uses coherent pulse and carrierless spectrum spread communication technology combined with Bessel beam optics to enable deep tissue and deep material observation, including blood-free vascular imaging for clinical use and non-destructive inspection of composites such as CFRP.
• Ultra-compact Bessel Beam Generator (超小型ベッセル・ビーム発生器) A super-compact Bessel beam generator component designed to combine with the M-FD-OCT system to achieve higher sensitivity, higher resolution, and clearer deep observation imaging, including in miniaturized OCT platforms.

Segments2 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature4 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• NEDO (New Energy and Industrial Technology Development Organization)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 January 2016NEDO STS (Sensing Technologies for Application) Program adoption in Heisei 28 (2016). Government-backed R&D support for development of OCT technology. This strategic partnership provided funding and institutional support for the company's core technology development.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Direct peers

• Santec: Japanese swept-source OCT technology and component vendor with products spanning ophthalmic imaging and industrial sensing. Comparable on proprietary OCT light-source technology and dual medical/industrial commercialization, and a relevant Japan-based peer.
• Thorlabs: US-based photonics components and instruments vendor with extensive OCT system offerings spanning research, industrial, and clinical research use cases. Most directly comparable on technology architecture and dual medical/industrial NDT positioning.
• Heidelberg Engineering: Germany-based specialist in diagnostic imaging for ophthalmology with a leading SPECTRALIS OCT platform. Directly comparable to KODAI as an OCT-dedicated developer targeting clinical imaging use cases, including high-resolution retinal and posterior-segment applications.

Regional players

• Tomey Corporation: Japan-based ophthalmic equipment vendor offering OCT and corneal/topography systems used in clinical practice. A relevant Japanese regional peer competing in the same clinical OCT category where KODAI's vascular OCT applications would eventually be sold.
• NIDEK: Japan-based ophthalmic and medical device manufacturer with OCT and diagnostic imaging product lines. Comparable as a Japan-headquartered clinical OCT competitor with established regulatory clearances and Kanto-region distribution reach.

Emerging players

• Optores (Wasatch/German spin cohort) / Lumedica-OQ Imaging: US-based low-cost OCT developer targeting research, dermatology, and emerging point-of-care applications. Comparable as a smaller deep-tech OCT vendor pursuing non-incumbent clinical and industrial use cases with novel, cost-effective architectures.
• Wasatch Photonics: US-based developer of OCT systems and components for research, dermatology, and industrial inspection. Comparable as a smaller, technically focused OCT company pursuing non-retinal clinical and industrial use cases, similar in stage and profile to KODAI.

Broad incumbents

• Optopol Technology (Canon): Polish OCT specialist acquired by Canon, producing REVO and Triton OCT devices used in ophthalmology. A direct competitor to OCT-dedicated players like KODAI, now operating within a large incumbent's distribution and capital structure.
• Topcon Healthcare: Major ophthalmic imaging and OCT company with TRC-NW and DRI OCT platforms. Comparable as an incumbent clinical imaging player with a much broader product portfolio, providing a benchmark on how scaled OCT businesses grow.
• Carl Zeiss Meditec: Global ophthalmic and surgical microscope leader with a major CIRRUS OCT franchise and wide distribution. Less specialized than KODAI in vascular OCT but establishes OCT as a competitive, well-funded incumbent benchmark across both retinal and broader clinical imaging.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/kodai-co-ltd

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 KODAI