What Spready does

Spready株式会社 (Spready Inc.) is a Tokyo-headquartered private company founded in May 2018 by CEO Masaaki Sako that operates a Consumer-to-Consumer matching platform connecting Japanese enterprises and individual professionals across corporate boundaries for new business co-creation. The company serves two primary customer segments in parallel: corporate users (法人) at large Japanese enterprises with dedicated new business, innovation, or open innovation divisions seeking external partners, talent, and ideas, and individual new business practitioners seeking opportunities, mentors, and peer support. Separate web portals at spready.jp (individual) and client.spready.jp (corporate) support the dual GTM. The company maintains offices in Tokyo (Ebisu Garden Place Tower 19F headquarters), Nagoya (within the STATION Ai innovation facility), and Osaka (Grand Green Osaka North Building JAMBASE 6F).

The product portfolio is built around three pillars: (1) the Spready matching platform, which leverages C2C user-introduction mechanics to surface cross-organizational encounters; (2) HASSAN, a domain-specialized generative AI tool that produces 20-50 new business ideas per session from a training corpus of 2,000+ new business case data points and tens of thousands of business trend and framework data points, designed to standardize and accelerate the personnel-dependent zero-to-one ideation phase; and (3) the NEXT Innovation Summit (NIS), a semi-annual conference whose 6th edition (November 2025) attracted 3,423 participants with 90.53% average session satisfaction, and which is transitioning from online-only to hybrid/offline formats. Adjacent revenue-generating services include Spready Expert Works (spot expert referral), accompanying consulting (伴走支援), and a monthly webinar program.

Revenue is generated through a hybrid model combining B2B and B2C platform subscriptions, HASSAN subscriptions, professional services consulting, and event sponsorship revenue (10 enterprise sponsors at NIS 2026 including NEC and Relic as Gold sponsors). Go-to-market combines enterprise field sales targeting large corporations' new business divisions, self-serve acquisition for individual users, community-led C2C growth, and event-driven demand generation, with a notable channel partnership distributing HASSAN through Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank's OKB X open innovation program (announced May 2026) into regional enterprises. The company operates exclusively in Japan and remains privately held with 1-10 employees.

Name

Spready

Legal name

Spready株式会社

Website

https://spready.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Spready株式会社 operates a C2C matching platform connecting Japanese enterprises and individual professionals for new business co-creation, complemented by the HASSAN AI idea-generation tool and the NEXT Innovation Summit conference, serving corporate innovation divisions, regional banks, and new business practitioners across Japan.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Innovation & New Business Matching Platform

NAICS

Advertising, Public Relations, and Related Services (5418)

SIC

Communications Services, Nec (4899)

akta.pro primary industry

Web Content Management (WCM) & Experience Platforms (Content Services) (HDAEAGAK)

Keywords

• New business platform
• Innovation matching
• AI idea generation
• Open innovation networking
• Corporate innovation platform

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Spready Platform (B2B): Subscription-based platform access for corporate (法人) enterprise clients, providing new business encounter and matching services. Sold through direct enterprise sales motion targeting large company new business division personnel.
2. Spready Platform (B2C): Platform access for individual users seeking new business opportunities. Individual users can use the platform to discover new business opportunities.
3. HASSAN AI Service: AI idea generation tool, offered as a standalone service or in combination with the Spready platform, used by enterprise clients in new business development workflows.
4. Consulting / Accompanying Support: Consulting services accompanying the Spready and HASSAN platforms, covering innovation strategy planning, research design, and interview structure support — from upstream strategy to execution.
5. Event Sponsorships & Participation (NEXT Innovation Summit): Revenue from event ticket sales (free for participants) and sponsorship tiers (Gold, Silver, Bronze). Sponsor companies include NEC, Relic, enSX, Jafco, Stockmark, Sourcing Brothers, Tokai TV, NEWh, Vertecs Partners, Macromill.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion3 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Spready株式会社 operates Spready, a Japanese new business encounter platform that provides corporate users with solutions for cross-organizational challenges in the new business domain and offers individual users a discovery platform for new business opportunities. The platform is complemented by HASSAN, an AI idea generation service, along with NEXT Innovation Summit conferences, Spready Expert Works specialist referrals, and accompanying consulting services.

Product overview

Spready offers a multi-product portfolio centered on new business and innovation support in Japan. The core platform is Spready, a matching platform connecting individuals and organizations for innovation encounters. This is complemented by HASSAN, an AI-powered idea generation tool that can be used together with Spready or independently. The ecosystem also includes NIS (NEXT Innovation Summit), a conference event for sharing knowledge among new business professionals; Spready Expert Works, a specialized talent matching service; and consulting services for hands-on business accompaniment. Spready Expert Works connects companies with external expert human resources, while consulting services provide strategic planning and research accompaniment. The company also offers webinar programs and collaborates with local governments through its Alliance initiative.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• Spready: Platform for discovering new business opportunities - both for corporate users seeking new business development and individual users.
• HASSAN
• NIS (NEXT Innovation Summit)
• Spready Expert Works
• 伴走支援 (Consulting)

Products and services

• Spready Platform A new business encounter platform for the Japanese market that provides corporate users with solutions to new business domain challenges requiring new encounters, and offers individual users a discovery platform for new business opportunities. Operates separate portals for individual users (spready.jp) and corporate clients (client.spready.jp).
• HASSAN An AI-powered idea generation service specialized for new business development. Trained on 2,000+ new business case data points and tens of thousands of business trends and frameworks, it generates 20-50 business ideas and specific value propositions from user-inputted keywords and asset information. Designed to be used in combination with the Spready platform or independently as a standalone AI service.
• NIS (NEXT Innovation Summit) A conference for professionals involved in new business and innovation in Japan, providing practical knowledge and learning that can be applied immediately in the field. Held both online and offline in Tokyo, with sessions for sharing practical case studies, workshops, and networking.
• Spready Expert Works
• Spready Accompanying Support (Consulting) Consulting services that accompany companies' new business initiatives, providing support ranging from upstream innovation strategy planning to research accompaniment and interview structure design.

Quantifiable outcome

• 3,423 participants attended the 6th NEXT Innovation Summit with 90.53% average session satisfaction
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers2 records

Segments4 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

13 partnerships are on record, tiered minor and core.

• Incubation CANVAS TOKYOminorOthers · 28 June 2026Incubation CANVAS TOKYO in Kyobashi, Tokyo is the venue for NEXT Innovation Summit 2026 in TOKYO offline event.
• 株式会社大垣共立銀行 (Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank / OKB)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 18 May 2026Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank adopted HASSAN as the official tool for its 'OKB X' open innovation program supporting regional enterprises in new business creation. HASSAN is used in the 'Shoot X' course to help enterprises break fixed mindsets and accelerate zero-to-one business practice using over 2,000 new business data cases and AI-powered idea diversification.
• 日本電気株式会社 (NEC)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 April 2026Gold sponsor of NEXT Innovation Summit 2026 in Summer.
• 株式会社RelicminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 April 2026Gold sponsor of NEXT Innovation Summit 2026 in Summer.
• エンSX株式会社 (enSX)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 April 2026Silver sponsor of NEXT Innovation Summit 2026 in Summer.
• ジャフコ グループ株式会社 (Jafco Group)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 April 2026Silver sponsor of NEXT Innovation Summit 2026 in Summer.
• ストックマーク株式会社 (Stockmark)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 April 2026Silver sponsor of NEXT Innovation Summit 2026 in Summer.
• ソーシング・ブラザーズ株式会社 (Sourcing Brothers)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 April 2026Silver sponsor of NEXT Innovation Summit 2026 in Summer.
• 東海テレビ放送株式会社 (Tokai Television Broadcasting)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 April 2026Bronze sponsor of NEXT Innovation Summit 2026 in Summer.
• 株式会社NEWhminorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 April 2026Bronze sponsor of NEXT Innovation Summit 2026 in Summer. Also providing a practical workshop at the event.
• 株式会社ベルテクス・パートナーズ (Vertecs Partners)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 April 2026Bronze sponsor of NEXT Innovation Summit 2026 in Summer.
• 株式会社マクロミル (Macromill)minorGTM or Marketing Partner · 20 April 2026Bronze sponsor of NEXT Innovation Summit 2026 in Summer.
• STATION AiminorOthersSpready NAGOYA office is located within the STATION Ai innovation facility in Nagoya, a public-private partnership innovation hub.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• AEON (consulting network): Innovation consulting and matching firms in Japan that connect large enterprises with external talent for new business creation are a comparable service category to Spready's combined platform and consulting offering.
• Relic: Relic is a Japanese venture builder and innovation consultancy that also operates a startup matching platform for enterprises — directly comparable to Spready's enterprise open innovation services.
• Linkers: Linkers is a Japanese matching service connecting mid-market companies with executives and experts for new business development — closely comparable to Spready's enterprise matching motion.
• Timee: Timee is a Japanese C2C matching platform that connects individuals with short-term work opportunities; its C2C network-effects model is architecturally similar to Spready's matching platform.
• VisasQ: VisasQ is a Japanese expert matching platform that connects enterprises with external advisors; it overlaps with Spready Expert Works and Spready's professional network angle.
• Wantedly: Wantedly is a Japanese professional and business matching platform connecting companies with talent and opportunities; it overlaps directly with Spready's mission of creating new encounters between individuals and organizations.
• Plug and Play Japan: Plug and Play Japan is an open innovation platform and accelerator that matches corporates with startups — directly comparable to Spready's enterprise new business division use case.

Regional players

• Crowdworks: Crowdworks is a leading Japanese matching platform for freelance and crowdsourced work; while more generalist, it competes with Spready for the same individual user base seeking new opportunities.

Broad incumbents

• Macromill: Macromill is a Japanese market research and digital marketing firm offering open innovation and co-creation services to corporates; it overlaps with Spready's enterprise customer base and sponsors NIS.
• LinkedIn: LinkedIn is a global professional network with strong presence in Japan; while much broader, it competes for the same corporate talent-discovery and innovation networking use cases that Spready serves.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors3 records

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 Spready