What PINES does

PINES Co., Ltd. (株式会社PINES) is a Japan-based marketing services company founded in July 2018 by Kana Akiyama (秋山佳菜), headquartered in Suita City, Osaka Prefecture. The firm specializes in VTuber-focused influencer marketing and operates three core business lines: the AttendMe marketing platform, the TaPrize online gacha merchandise platform, and the V-Can (推しカン) collaborative merchandise product line. As of March 2024, AttendMe connects corporate clients with a roster of 2,000+ VTubers totaling 20 million+ combined social media followers, with more than 300 new VTuber collaborations concluded monthly. The company also runs real-world fan engagement events under the "らヴぃーなぁずぽっとと" brand and provides VTuber business support services including avatar creation, channel operations, and consulting for listed companies launching VTuber initiatives.

AttendMe is PINES' flagship offering, providing end-to-end campaign execution that includes VTuber casting, scheduling, live streaming management, and video production support for clients across food, cosmetics, devices, applications, and gaming verticals. TaPrize, launched August 2023, is a transaction-fee platform that handles product planning, manufacturing, sales page customization, and fulfillment for influencer-led gacha merchandise, reaching 50+ influencer collaborations by December 2023. V-Can is a physical product line of VTuber-branded canned goods (Danish pastry with 2-year shelf life) and icing cookie tins, with 500+ product variations and cumulative sales exceeding 20,000 units. No proprietary technology stack or AI/ML capability is disclosed; PINES positions itself as a services firm rather than a technology company.

PINES monetizes through three streams: professional services fees for VTuber marketing campaigns (quote-based pricing, multi-year enterprise contracts), physical product sales of V-Can merchandise via the vcan.base.shop storefront, and transaction fees on TaPrize gacha sales. Distribution combines a self-serve AttendMe platform at attendme.jp, direct sales via contact form, and an owned e-commerce storefront. Notable enterprise gaming clients include GameWith (strategic co-development partner), Wargaming (World of Tanks, World of Warships), Road Mobile/IGG (Lords Mobile), the NIKKE publisher, and Paradox Interactive (Cities Skylines II). The company is privately held, founder-controlled, bootstrapped with no disclosed external funding, and operates with 17 employees including part-time staff.

Name

PINES

Legal name

株式会社PINES

Website

https://pines.work

Company type

Private

Founded year

2018

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

PINES Co., Ltd. is a Japan-based VTuber-focused influencer marketing firm connecting corporate clients with 2,000+ VTubers via its AttendMe platform, while also operating the TaPrize gacha merchandise platform and V-Can collaborative product line for brands and VTuber creators.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Influencer Marketing Services

NAICS

Media Representatives (54184)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Influencer Marketing & Creator Marketplaces (BPAMALAG)

akta.pro secondary industries

Affiliate & Performance Creator Programs (BPAFAHAG), Creator Sponsorship & Brand Deal Monetization Tools (MPACAFAG), Social Commerce & Affiliate Influencer Programs (MPAAAHAE)

Keywords

• VTuber influencer marketing
• Influencer marketing services
• VTuber talent matching
• Online gacha platform
• Collaborative merchandise sales

Headquarters

HQ city

Suita

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. VTuber Influencer Marketing Services: The company provides VTuber selection, campaign planning, streaming management, and video production support for companies looking to leverage VTuber influencers for marketing. Services span from VTuber casting to full campaign execution across various industries including food, cosmetics, devices, applications, and gaming.
2. Product Sales (V-Can Series): Sale of collaborative merchandise including limited-edition food products (V-Can canned goods, Danish pastries with 2-year shelf life, icing cookie tins) featuring VTuber branding. Products are sold through their V-Can online shop and have achieved over 20,000 units in cumulative sales across 500+ varieties.
3. TaPrize Online Gacha Platform: Online gacha service where influencers collaborate to sell original merchandise. The company handles product planning, manufacturing, sales page preparation, and shipping, enabling influencers to launch custom gacha experiences with minimal effort. Revenue generated through transaction fees on gacha sales.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

PINES provides end-to-end VTuber influencer marketing services for corporate clients through its AttendMe platform, connecting brands with more than 2,000 partnered VTubers and 20 million-plus combined social followers for casting, campaign planning, live streaming and video production. Complementing the service, PINES operates the TaPrize online gacha platform enabling influencers to launch custom merchandise with PINES handling production, sales-page creation and fulfillment, and sells its own V-Can (推しカン) collaborative canned-food and cookie product line featuring VTuber branding.

Product overview

PINES operates a multi-product portfolio centered on VTuber influencer marketing and fan engagement. The core offerings consist of AttendMe (VTuber marketing platform with 2,000+ VTuber connections and 20M+ combined social reach), TaPrize (online gacha platform for influencer merchandise), V-Kan product line (collaborative canned goods and merchandise), and らゔぃーなすぽっと (real-world fan events). Additional services include VTuber business support covering avatar creation, channel management, and startup consulting. The company positions itself as a full-service VTuber marketing solution provider combining digital campaigns, physical merchandise, and real-world engagement.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• AttendMe: VTuber professional influencer marketing service that connects companies with over 2,000 VTuber partners totaling 20 million SNS followers. Provides casting, campaign planning, live streaming, and video production support.
• TaPrize
• 推しカン (V-Can)

Products and services

• AttendMe VTuber-specialized influencer marketing platform that connects corporate clients with more than 2,000 partnered VTubers whose combined social media followers exceed 20 million, providing casting, campaign planning, live streaming management and content production support.
• TaPrize Online gacha service for influencers that handles product planning, manufacturing, sales page customization and shipping, enabling VTubers to launch and sell their own branded merchandise gacha without specialized knowledge.
• V-Can (推しカン) Collaborative canned-food and merchandise product line featuring VTuber branding, including Danish pastry cans with a 2-year shelf life, original print cookie tins and icing cookie products.
• Oshi Card (推しカード) NFC-enabled cards for VTubers and fans that enable contactless sharing of VTuber profile information through a simple tap gesture.
• Live Bar Business (ライブバー事業) VTuber business support service offering avatar creation, streamer audition management, channel operations and startup support, including setting up VTuber businesses for listed companies and assisting newcomers entering the industry.

Quantifiable outcome

• Over 20,000 units of V-Can merchandise products sold
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers6 records

Segments3 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• GameWithcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 8 February 2024GameWith is a strategic co-development partner for VTuber game tournaments and events. Together with PINES, they co-host major VTuber competitions including World of Warships VTuber Valentine 2024 battle events, combining GameWith's gaming platform expertise with PINES's VTuber network for large-scale promotional campaigns.
• Cities Skylines IIcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 3 November 2023Cities Skylines II partnered with PINES's AttendMe platform for the VTuber Mayor Election event. VTubers streamed gameplay while competing to become the number one mayor, leveraging PINES's network of VTuber influencers to promote the city-building game to new audiences.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Broad incumbents

• UUUM: Largest Japanese YouTuber/influencer marketing agency, listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange. Overlaps with PINES's VTuber marketing agency services at a much larger scale and broader creator scope.
• ANYCOLOR (Nijisanji): Operates the Nijisanji VTuber project and runs brand collaboration and merchandise businesses. Comparable as both a VTuber talent operator and a brand-deal counterparty competing with PINES for marketing budgets.
• Cover Corp (Hololive Production): Major VTuber agency behind Hololive. Operates its own brand collaborations and merchandise, competing with PINES for both VTuber partnerships and corporate marketing spend.

Others

• Riot Games Japan: Game publisher that runs its own VTuber partnership programs. Listed as a buyer-side reference point illustrating how PINES's gaming publisher customers operate their own creator marketing functions.
• PRTimes: Press release distribution platform PINES uses as its primary earned-media channel. Ecosystem participant rather than competitor, included to represent distribution-side dependencies.

Direct peers

• Kiii: Japanese influencer and VTuber marketing platform connecting creators with brands. Closely comparable to PINES's AttendMe model in terms of marketplace function and target customers.
• Brave Group: Japanese VTuber/IP production and management company with marketing service lines. Comparable to PINES in operating VTuber talent and brand collaboration offerings for Japanese corporates.
• Geelee: Japanese VTuber marketing and event agency. Comparable to PINES in providing VTuber-led marketing services and live events for corporate clients in Japan.
• BitStar: Japanese VTuber-focused talent agency and influencer marketing firm. Direct peer to PINES — both connect VTubers with corporate brands for marketing campaigns and operate in the same niche on the same platforms.

Emerging players

• Geek Entertainment: Japanese gaming and entertainment marketing firm working with VTubers and streamers. Comparable to PINES in executing event-driven gaming/VTuber campaigns for publisher clients.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights6 records

Customer concentration

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 PINES