ELW
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2019
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B
- OfferingServices
What ELW does
ELW株式会社 (ELW Inc.) is a Tokyo-headquartered private software company founded in December 2019 by Yuichi Hasegawa, who previously led BuySell Technologies to its 2019 TSE Mothers IPO as Executive Officer. The company operates two interlocking lines of business. The first is enterprise development services, delivered as full-scratch custom systems for SFA, CRM, inventory/reservation/customer management, legacy system replacement, and mobile applications, executed exclusively through prime (direct) contracts with enterprise clients. The second is DRIVE SFA, a proprietary AI-powered SaaS sales agent platform launched in 2025 that productizes knowledge accumulated from the services business, offering AI-driven voice transcription, automated daily report generation, next-action recommendations, deal analysis, and pipeline visualization, with an autonomous AI sales agent in development.
Underlying technology centers on an AI-native, agent-driven development process in which AI agents participate from UX design and requirements definition through implementation, testing, and post-release continuous intelligence. The technology stack uses Kotlin/Quarkus on the backend, React/Next.js/TypeScript on the frontend, PostgreSQL/MySQL/MongoDB for data, and AWS/GCP infrastructure, with Claude Code, Cursor Pro, and GitHub Copilot Agentic as the agentic tooling. The company claims 99% of code is AI-generated by 2026. The internal team comprises approximately 7 full-time employees plus partners as of October 2024, led by CTO Naoya Murakami, who joined in 2023 from Yahoo! and BuySell Technologies.
ELW's go-to-market is sales-led and direct, with field sales targeting enterprise and mid-market clients for both services and DRIVE SFA, supported by content marketing through a technical blog, company website project showcases, and recruiting pages. The company is bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, holds ISMS certification (JP24/00000183, 2024), and is currently concentrated in the Kanto region of Japan with no international footprint.
ELW firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ELW
- Legal name
- ELW株式会社
- Website
- https://elw.co.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2019
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ELW industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Custom Enterprise Software Development
- NAICS
- Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design Services (541512), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (5415)
- SIC
- Services-Computer Integrated Systems Design (7373), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Computer Programming, Data Processing, Etc. (7370)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Sales Force Automation (SFA) CRM (HDAEAFAA)
Keywords
Where ELW is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
ELW business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Custom System Development: Full-scratch custom enterprise system development from requirements definition to maintenance. Prime (direct) contracts with clients for SFA, CRM, inventory management, mobile apps.
- DRIVE SFA SaaS: Proprietary AI-powered SFA SaaS product targeting B2B sales organizations. AI voice transcription, automatic report generation, next action suggestions, deal analysis, and pipeline visualization.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Monthly | Field Sales (Enterprise/Mid-market) |
| Other | Monthly | Frontend Engineer |
Go-to-market motion2 records
Distribution channels1 record
Marketing channels4 records
ELW product offering
Product offeringCore offering
ELW株式会社 provides custom enterprise system development services — including full-scratch SFA, CRM, inventory, reservation, and customer management systems plus iOS/Android mobile apps — under prime (direct-client) contracts. Alongside these services, ELW operates DRIVE SFA, a proprietary AI Sales Agent SaaS that automates meeting transcription, daily report generation, next-action proposals, deal analysis, and pipeline visualization for B2B sales teams. Both offerings are delivered through an agent-driven, AI-native development methodology in which AI participates from UX design through maintenance.
Product overview
ELW offers a dual product portfolio: (1) DRIVE SFA — an AI-native SaaS Sales Agent Platform (flagship product) providing meeting transcription, automatic daily report generation, next action proposals, and deal analysis/pipeline visualization; (2) Enterprise Development Services — custom full-scratch development spanning requirements definition, design, development, and maintenance, covering SFA/CRM, inventory, reservation, and customer management systems. DRIVE SFA represents the productization of expertise accumulated through the outsourced development business.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- DRIVE SFA: AI Sales Agent Platform - flagship SaaS product that automates sales processes including meeting transcription, report generation, next action suggestions, pipeline visualization, and AI-driven sales execution.
Products and services
- DRIVE SFA AI-native Sales Agent Platform that automates meeting transcription, daily report generation, next action proposals, and deal analysis with pipeline visualization. The flagship SaaS product, built on ELW's outsourced development expertise and targeted at B2B sales organizations seeking AI-driven sales process automation.
- Enterprise Development Services Full-scratch custom enterprise system development from requirements definition through maintenance. Covers SFA/CRM development, inventory/reservation/customer management systems, legacy system replacement, and mobile app development (iOS/Android) for enterprise clients. Delivered via prime (direct) contracts under an AI-native, agent-driven development process.
Companies that use ELW
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments2 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
ELW technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration1 record
AI capability10 records
Feature4 records
ELW partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
One partnership is on record.
- レバレジーズ株式会社 (フリーランスHub)minorELW's tech blog was featured on Leveragez's freelance-hub.jp platform in an article about recommended tech blogs for skill improvement. This is media coverage/reconnaissance rather than a formal partnership.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
ELW competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- Mazrica: Mazrica (formerly SFA Japan) is a Japan-focused SFA platform targeting SMB and mid-market sales teams. It overlaps directly with DRIVE SFA's SFA, deal management, and pipeline visualization use cases in the Japanese market.
- Gong.io: Gong is the leading AI-powered revenue intelligence/conversation intelligence platform for sales teams. It directly competes with DRIVE SFA's AI call transcription, deal analysis, and pipeline features, especially as ELW moves toward autonomous sales execution.
- Outreach: Outreach is a global sales engagement platform with AI-assisted workflow features. It competes with DRIVE SFA's deal analysis, next-action proposals, and pipeline visualization, and represents the type of well-funded incumbent ELW must differentiate against.
- Sansan: Sansan is Japan's leading SFA/business-card platform, directly competing with DRIVE SFA in Japanese enterprise sales tooling. Both target B2B sales organizations with workflow automation and pipeline visibility, making it the closest listed competitor in geography and product.
Regional players
- Nomura Research Institute (NRI): NRI is a major Japanese IT consulting and systems integration firm. It is comparable to ELW's enterprise custom development arm (SFA/CRM/inventory builds) and competes for the same Japanese enterprise RFPs.
- NTT Data: NTT Data is one of Japan's largest IT services providers. It competes with ELW's prime-contract enterprise development business for large-scale SFA/CRM and custom system projects in the Japanese market.
- Future Corporation: Future Corporation is a Japanese IT consulting and systems integration firm with strong enterprise development and SaaS-adjacent offerings. It competes with ELW's enterprise development services for mid-market and enterprise custom system engagements in Japan.
Emerging players
- Abeja: Abeja is a Japanese AI company applying machine learning to enterprise operations. It is comparable to ELW as a domestic AI-native player translating frontier AI capability into enterprise workflows, though Abeja focuses on retail and operational AI rather than sales tooling.
Broad incumbents
- Salesforce: Salesforce is the global CRM/SFA incumbent. ELW's custom SFA replacement projects (e.g., fundbook migrating off a 'major SFA service') and DRIVE SFA both position against Salesforce's footprint in Japanese enterprise accounts.
- HubSpot: HubSpot is a major global CRM/SFA platform with strong mid-market traction. It competes with DRIVE SFA across the B2B sales organization segment ELW targets with its AI Sales Agent vision.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ELW social profiles
Digital presenceELW compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance1 record
ELW financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ELW leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Profiles2 records
ELW funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ELW M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about ELW
What does ELW do?
ELW株式会社 provides custom enterprise system development services — including full-scratch SFA, CRM, inventory, reservation, and customer management systems plus iOS/Android mobile apps — under prime (direct-client) contracts. Alongside these services, ELW operates DRIVE SFA, a proprietary AI Sales Agent SaaS that automates meeting transcription, daily report generation, next-action proposals, deal analysis, and pipeline visualization for B2B sales teams. Both offerings are delivered through an agent-driven, AI-native development methodology in which AI participates from UX design through maintenance.
Is ELW a public or private company?
ELW is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was ELW founded?
ELW was founded in 2019. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is ELW based?
ELW is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does ELW make money?
Two revenue lines are on record. Custom System Development is the primary driver. The others are DRIVE SFA SaaS.
Who are ELW's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are Mazrica, Gong.io, Outreach and Sansan. Regional players are Nomura Research Institute (NRI), NTT Data and Future Corporation. Abeja is listed as an emerging player. Broad incumbents are Salesforce and HubSpot.
Does ELW have an API?
No public API is recorded for ELW.
What industry is ELW in?
ELW's product category is Custom Enterprise Software Development. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HDAEAFAA, Sales Force Automation (SFA) CRM. Its NAICS code is 541511 and its SIC code is 7373.