What Amana does

amana inc. is a Tokyo-based visual communication company founded in 1979 that delivers end-to-end creative production, brand strategy, and content-management services to Japanese enterprise clients. The firm's core offering spans still photography (with approximately 50 in-house photographers and 30+ years of expertise), TVCM and movie production, 2DCG and 3DCG, XR (VR/AR/MR) experiences, and licensed stock content via amanaimages.com, which holds roughly 8 million photo, illustration, and video assets alongside ~12,000 3D models distributed through a partnership with TurboSquid. The technology stack combines specialized production infrastructure (the 1,000-tsubo Kaigan Studio, drone services 'airvision', and nationwide photographer network INFOTO) with proprietary platforms including 'shelf' for centralized content management, 'XBOARD' for internal communications, and, as of June 2026, 'aVISION' — a DOOH media platform for brand-experience delivery.

The business operates a sales-led B2B go-to-market in which approximately 400 specialized producers directly engage enterprise clients to scope tailored visual solutions; pricing is custom-quoted per project and the registered capital base is ¥100M. In late 2025 the company was taken private by Infinity brand capital, consolidated 100% ownership of digital-marketing subsidiary RAZONA (Nov 2025) and XR/AI engineering subsidiary Kadinche (Oct 2025), founded AI-human subsidiary AIMS (51% owned, Nov 2025), and launched AI Creative Optimization (Nov 2025) and a monthly creative subscription service called Greata (Oct 2025) — collectively repositioning amana from a pure production-services vendor toward a recurring-revenue, AI-enabled visual communication platform. Named enterprise customers include SUZUKI, Sysmex Corporation, Tsukuba Express, Inabata & Co., BIPROGY, and Panasonic HVAC & CC, spanning automotive, healthcare, rail, chemical trading, IT services, and air conditioning.

Consolidated headcount stands at approximately 520 employees (with ~610 group-wide including RAZONA, Kadinche, Needsplus, and AIMS) operating from Tokyo (Tennoz HQ plus Kaigan Studio) and Osaka. Reported certifications include ISO/IEC 27001:2023 for information security and JICDAQ brand-safety and invalid-traffic certifications, while recent industry recognition includes the 2026 Japan BtoB Advertising Award Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award for a Sysmex campaign.

Name

Amana

Legal name

amana inc.

Website

https://amana.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

1979

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

501–1,000 employees

Short description

amana inc. is a Tokyo-headquartered visual communication company providing photography, video, CG, XR, and AI-driven creative production to Japanese enterprises, leveraging roughly 400 specialized producers and an 8 million-asset licensing library under its amanaimages.com platform.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Visual Communication Services

NAICS

Commercial Photography (541922), Motion Picture and Video Production (512110), Graphic Design Services (54143)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330), Services-Motion Picture & Video Tape Production (7812), Photographic Equipment & Supplies (3861)

akta.pro primary industry

AI/ML Engineering & Model Development Services (BPAEAHAF)

Keywords

• Visual communication services
• Stock image licensing
• Brand strategy consulting
• Digital content management
• Creative content production

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices3 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Visual Content Production Services: Project-based professional services for visual content creation including TVCM/movies, still photography, 2DCG, 3DCG, branding, graphic design, websites, events, and editorial content. Revenue is transactional/project-based rather than recurring.
2. Branding & Strategy Consulting: Brand design and activation services, internal communication planning, and content marketing strategy. Services span from concept establishment to visual expression development.
3. Content Licensing: Stock photo/video licensing through amanaimages.com, 3D modeling materials, and rights services for visual content usage.
4. Media Platforms (DOOH): New DOOH platform 'aVISION' provides ongoing brand experience creation as a media service.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels3 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

amana inc. is a visual communication company providing end-to-end visual content services for Japanese enterprises, including still photography, video/TVCM production, 2DCG, 3DCG, drone aerial imaging, and XR experiences. The firm also operates amanaimages.com for stock photo/video licensing (~8 million assets), proprietary content and media platforms (aVISION DOOH, shelf content management, XBOARD internal communication), and AI-driven solutions (AIMS strategic AI humans, AI Creative Optimization). Its roughly 400 producers and 50 photographers deliver integrated production from branding strategy through final asset delivery.

Product overview

Amana is a visual communication company offering an integrated portfolio of products and services centered on visual content creation, management, and distribution. The core offering comprises professional visual production services (still photography, movie/TVCM, 2DCG, 3DCG, drone aerial photography, XR/VR/AR/MR) delivered through specialized teams including approximately 50 photographers and 400 producers. The product portfolio includes platform services such as shelf for content management, XBOARD for internal communication, aVISION for DOOH advertising, and AI-powered solutions including AIMS for strategic AI humans and AI Creative Optimization. Supporting services span creative training (amana Creative Camp), talent circulation (GreatRIVER), media properties (IMA magazine, NATURE & SCIENCE web magazine), and specialized offerings including drone services (airvision), photography networks (INFOTO), package CG (packeX), and artwork management (ARTshelf).

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• aVISION DOOH (Digital Out of Home) advertising platform that creates brand experiences by implementing creative content along consumers' daily touchpoints via digital signage. Targeted at brands and marketers seeking out-of-home media placements.
• shelf Cloud-based content management service enabling centralized management of photos, videos, and documents with sharing and search functionality across distributed teams. For enterprises needing organized visual asset management.
• XBOARD Internal media platform for employee engagement, vision sharing, and corporate communication that visualizes people, projects, and ideas within organizations.
• AIMS (Strategic AI Human Development) Strategic AI Human development service that creates and operates AI avatars embodying corporate and brand values for consistent brand communication across advertising, SNS, video, and customer service touchpoints.
• AI Creative Optimization Generative AI solution that optimizes creative content for brand alignment, ensuring visual and messaging consistency across campaigns.
• amana cgx CG production solutions offering 14 specialized services covering still images, video, and real-time content with attention to detail and diverse techniques.
• amana packeX Product package CG visualization service providing quick and accurate product imagery through online ordering and professional creator production.
• airvision High-quality drone aerial photography and videography service using professional cinema cameras from 4K to 8K resolution, including innovative drone lighting techniques.
• INFOTO Nationwide professional photographer network for on-location shooting services covering portraits, stores, products, and corporate photography with national coverage across Japan.
• GreatRIVER Creative talent circulation service providing cross-functional professionals who collaborate with client organizations in semi-internal roles for innovation and branding projects.
• amana Creative Camp Creative talent development program combining lectures and workshops with active creators to enhance thinking and ideation skills for corporate competitiveness.
• amana XR Extended reality (VR/AR/MR) service combining technology with creative production for immersive customer experiences, from planning through development and content creation.
• amana Visual Production Full-service visual content production including still photography, movie/TVCM production, 2DCG, 3DCG, drone aerial, XR experiences, and printing services for advertising and corporate communications.
• Virtualife Virtual reality experience service creating immersive brand activations and virtual spaces for customer engagement.
• amana Copyright Study Group Copyright and AI rights consultation service providing practical knowledge through case studies to prevent content-related disputes in production and distribution.

Quantifiable outcome

• Winner of 2026 Japan BtoB Advertising Award, Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry Award
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature5 records

Partnerships

Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• TurboSquid ( турбосквид社)coreTechnology or Integration · 3 June 2011Partnership for 3D modeling materials distribution through amanaimages.com. TurboSquid supplies approximately 120,000 3D models and 4,000 3D textures to be sold on the amana platform, expanding services for architecture, game, film, and advertising clients.
• needsplus Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerTalent casting company coordinating models, cultural figures, and athletes from various agencies for CM, advertising, events, and catalog productions. Founded October 2004, 70% owned by Amana.
• Kadinche CorporationcoreTechnology or IntegrationXR and AI engineering firm specializing in VR/MR and AI technology R&D and commissioned development. Tokyo-based company fully owned by Amana since August 2008.
• RAZONA Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerDigital marketing solutions provider combining design and technology perspectives for sustainable value creation. Founded November 1996, 100% owned by Amana.
• AIMS Inc.coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerStrategic AI human development company creating AI avatars that embody corporate and brand philosophy. Founded November 2025 as a subsidiary (51% Amana-owned) focused on AI human generation and brand communication design.
• Nikkei AcademyminorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCo-produced art special lectures series with Nikkei, featuring world-renowned photographers like Magnum Photos' Martin Parr to educate on photography appreciation.
• TurboSquidcoreTechnology or IntegrationPartnership to provide 3D modeling materials through amanaimages.com, including approximately 120,000 3D models and 4,000 3D textures, from world's largest 3D modeling marketplace with ~2 million users.
• Yamato Design (ウォーターデザイン)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerJoint project with Watara Design led by Naoki Sakai for design engineering anti-aging products and IoT digital devices for seniors.
• RIZING inc. (formerly Nabla)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerCG production company reorganized in July 2012 combining still and video CG production under unified organization to offer one-stop CG production.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves11 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• CyberAgent: CyberAgent is a major Japanese digital advertising and internet services conglomerate with significant creative production capabilities through its subsidiary CyberAgent Productions. It competes with Amana in digital advertising creative services and AI-driven marketing, though its core business is broader digital media.
• Dentsu Group: Dentsu is Japan's largest advertising agency group with global operations, offering creative production, media, and digital marketing services. It competes with Amana in Japanese enterprise creative production and advertising campaigns, though at significantly larger scale and with broader service breadth beyond visual production.
• Hakuhodo DY Holdings: Hakuhodo DY Holdings is Japan's second-largest advertising agency group, offering integrated marketing, creative production, and digital services. It competes with Amana for Japanese enterprise marketing budgets and creative production work, though with broader service portfolio spanning media, PR, and consulting.
• Adobe (Adobe Stock, Creative Cloud, Firefly): Adobe is a global leader in creative software (Photoshop, Premiere, After Effects) and operates Adobe Stock as well as Firefly generative AI platform. While broader than Amana, Adobe directly competes in stock imagery licensing and AI-driven creative tools, and serves overlapping enterprise customers seeking integrated creative production workflows.

Direct peers

• Getty Images: Getty Images is a global premium stock photography and editorial imagery platform. It competes with amanaimages.com in licensed visual content and has been actively navigating AI/copyright issues that mirror Amana's amana Copyright Study Group initiative. Both serve enterprise content needs with rights-managed imagery.
• Shutterstock: Shutterstock is a global stock photography, video, and music licensing platform with 400M+ assets and integrated generative AI tools. It directly competes with amanaimages.com in stock content licensing and has made significant AI investments (Shutterstock AI, partnership with OpenAI) that parallel Amana's AIMS AI human direction.
• Freepik (Freepik Company): Freepik is a global stock image, vector, and design asset platform with integrated AI generation tools. It competes with amanaimages.com in licensed visual content serving designers and SMBs, and represents a newer model combining stock library with AI generation that Amana may need to emulate to remain competitive.

Emerging players

• Stability AI: Stability AI develops open-source generative AI models for images (Stable Diffusion), video, and audio. It represents the underlying AI technology wave that could commoditize aspects of Amana's production services while also creating partnership opportunities through AIMS and Kadinche subsidiaries.
• Midjourney: Midjourney is a leading AI image generation platform used by creative professionals. While not a direct competitor in production services, Midjourney represents the generative AI capability that increasingly substitutes for traditional production services - posing competitive threat to Amana's core visual production business as clients adopt these tools.

Regional players

• Recruit Holdings: Recruit Holdings is a major Japanese information services and HR company with creative production capabilities. While not a direct visual production competitor, Recruit represents a comparable Japanese enterprise services company that combines technology platforms with content/production services, providing benchmark for Japanese enterprise services scale.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/amanajp
• Facebookfacebook.com/amanainc

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles3 records

Subsidiaries4 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments3 records

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about Amana