Viagate

What Viagate does

Viagate (ヴィアゲート株式会社) is a Tokyo-based technology company founded in February 2023 that develops and operates the emomil (エモミル) insight research platform. The company operates a two-sided product: a consumer-facing mobile application called emomil, where users earn points by watching videos, browsing websites, and completing surveys while the app passively collects eye-gaze and facial-expression data, and a B2B self-service cloud platform called emomil Research (エモミルリサーチ), which uses generative AI to conduct conversational interviews at scale and deliver qualitative consumer insights. The technology stack combines proprietary on-device computer vision for gaze and emotion tracking, natural language processing for conversational AI interviews, and generative AI for automated survey design, aggregation, and improvement suggestions. A patent-pending content-evaluation interview method is described by the company as a world-first capability.

The company's business model combines product-led growth with inside sales for enterprise clients. New accounts receive 50 free AI interviews and 1,000 screening survey responses; ongoing usage is billed at ¥400 per interview, with an optional monthly subscription tier for frequent users and add-on professional services for survey design (¥30,000+), custom analysis (¥20,000+), and report creation (¥200,000+). The platform targets product development teams, marketing and advertising agencies, brand owners and PR teams, and sales/distribution organizations seeking faster and cheaper qualitative research, with a claimed 1/20th cost reduction and same-day delivery versus traditional face-to-face methods. The platform accesses a domestic panel of 30M+ Japanese respondents and offers international panel coverage across 96+ countries.

Viagate's named customer base spans marketing research (Neo Marketing, Dentsu Macromill Insight, Japan Marketing Agency), electronics and manufacturing (Panasonic), cloud camera and security (safie), advertising and martech (FUSION, BEAD), ride-sharing (NearMe), and railway and hospitality (Keio Electric Railway). Distribution occurs through self-serve web signup for enterprise buyers, App Store availability of the emomil consumer app, and direct inquiry channels. Strategic partnerships with Neo Marketing produced the Chat Survey service in February 2025, and selection to Keio's JISOU open innovation program in May 2025 anchors a move into hospitality vertical research. The company was selected for the Forbes JAPAN 2026 Notable Startup 100 list in November 2025. No funding rounds, revenue figures, or headcount are publicly disclosed.

Name

Viagate

Legal name

ヴィアゲート株式会社

Website

https://viagate.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

2023

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Viagate is a Tokyo-based technology company operating the emomil insight research platform, combining a consumer mobile app that collects gaze and expression data with a B2B AI interview SaaS that delivers qualitative consumer research to enterprise clients at approximately 1/20th traditional cost.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Market Research Software

NAICS

Marketing Research and Public Opinion Polling (54191)

SIC

Services-Advertising (7310)

akta.pro primary industry

Behavioral & Neuroscience Research (Biometrics, Eye-Tracking, Neuromarketing) (MPAAALAN)

Keywords

• AI market research
• Consumer insights platform
• Gaze tracking technology
• AI interview software
• Survey analytics

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Emomil Research SaaS Platform: Subscription-based access to AI interview platform with usage-based pricing per interview. Initial account registration provides free trial quota of 50 AI interviews and 1000 screening survey responses.
2. Usage-based Interview Pricing: Per-person pricing for AI interviews at ¥400 per interview. Includes optional paid plans for respondent panel expansion and interview format extensions.
3. Consumer Points Program: Points earned by consumers through survey participation (watching videos, browsing websites, completing questionnaires). Points are redeemable for Amazon gift cards.
4. Professional Services: Additional paid consulting services including survey design and feedback sessions (¥30,000~), custom analysis by specified dimensions (¥20,000~), and report creation outsourcing (¥200,000~).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels5 records

Core offering

Viagate develops and operates an AI-powered insight research platform consisting of two integrated products. emomil Research is a self-service B2B SaaS platform that enables businesses to run AI-conducted qualitative interviews with consumers, combining gaze tracking and facial expression analysis with generative AI. emomil is a consumer-facing mobile app where users earn points by watching videos and websites, simultaneously collecting biometric data that feeds the B2B research platform.

Product overview

Viagate operates a dual-service platform consisting of emomil (エモミル), a consumer-facing point-earning mobile app, and emomil research (エモミルリサーチ), a B2B self-service AI interview cloud platform. The emomil app serves as a consumer panel where users earn points by watching videos and websites, while simultaneously collecting eye gaze and expression data. The emomil research platform leverages this data combined with generative AI interview technology to enable businesses to conduct consumer insight research at scale. The two products form an integrated ecosystem: emomil provides the consumer panel and biometric data collection mechanism, while emomil research offers the research tools and AI interview capabilities to business clients seeking consumer insights.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• エモミル (emomil): Consumer-facing point-earning app where users earn points by watching videos and websites, serving as a survey monitor cooperation app.
• エモミルリサーチ (emomil Research)

Products and services

• emomil Research (エモミルリサーチ) Self-service B2B AI interview cloud platform that combines gaze measurement and biometric data with AI-powered consumer interviews, enabling businesses to conduct qualitative consumer research end-to-end at approximately 1/20th the cost of traditional methods. Targets enterprise marketing, product development, brand, and PR teams for product concept evaluation, advertising creative evaluation, and brand perception measurement.
• emomil (エモミル) Consumer-facing mobile app where users earn points by watching videos and browsing websites as part of survey missions for client companies. Collects eye gaze and facial expression data as survey responses. Points are redeemable for Amazon gift cards. Available on iOS with Android support planned.
• Chat Survey (チャットアンケート) Survey service combining traditional survey formats with chat-based interactions to dramatically improve the quality of open-ended survey responses. Used for concept evaluation, idea exploration, and customer insight creation.

Quantifiable outcome

• Cost reduction to 1/20th of traditional research methods
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers9 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability10 records

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Two partnerships are on record, tiered core.

• Keio Electric Railway (京王電鉄株式会社)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2025Viagate was selected as a partner company in Keio Electric Railway's JISOU (ジソウ) open innovation program. The partnership focuses on hotel business research using emomil Research to collect and analyze hotel-related needs and insights from domestic and international target consumers. Viagate provides data support for Keio's customer-centric hotel development.
• Neo Marketing (株式会社ネオマーケティング)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2024Business partnership for joint development and release of 'Chat Survey' service combining traditional survey formats with chat-based interactions. Service aims to dramatically improve quality of open-ended survey responses. Additionally, both companies began joint verification of marketing research quality using gaze data analysis from Neo Marketing and gaze tracking technology from Viagate.

Scale indicators6 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Hotjar: User behavior analytics platform with heatmaps, session recordings, and on-site surveys. Comparable to Viagate in using digital behavior observation to extract consumer insight, but oriented to UX and product analytics rather than brand/advertising research.
• Toloka: AI-powered data labeling and human-in-the-loop research platform. Overlaps with Viagate where AI-mediated qualitative research is delivered at scale, though Toloka is more weighted toward data annotation and LLM evaluation than consumer marketing research.

Regional players

• Appier: Taiwan-headquartered, Tokyo-listed AI marketing technology company with strong APAC enterprise presence. Comparable as an AI-driven consumer insights and marketing optimization provider for the same Asian enterprise buyer, though with a broader cross-channel marketing scope than Viagate's research focus.

Direct peers

• RealEye: Webcam-based eye-tracking platform purpose-built for market research and ad testing. The closest functional competitor to Viagate's gaze-tracking approach — both deliver attention and emotion metrics via consumer-grade hardware for brand and advertising research.
• Tobii: Swedish eye-tracking technology leader with consumer research and neuromarketing offerings. Both apply gaze tracking to consumer insight; Tobii focuses on hardware-grade research and proctored lab settings while Viagate scales the same metrics through consumer mobile devices at radically lower cost.
• Playground xyz: Attention-measurement platform using eye-tracking technology to score advertising effectiveness. Directly comparable to Viagate in serving brand-owner budgets for biometric-driven ad attention research, though with a more publisher-focused go-to-market.
• iMotions: Denmark-based biometrics research platform combining eye tracking, GSR, EEG and facial expression analysis. Closest direct comparable to Viagate's multimodal biometric stack, both targeting consumer neuroscience, neuromarketing, and academic research buyers.
• Neo Marketing: Tokyo-based marketing research firm and Viagate's 'Chat Survey' joint-development partner. Both serve Japanese enterprises with consumer insight research; Neo Marketing has the deeper customer roster while Viagate layers on AI + biometric capabilities, making them simultaneous collaborators and competitors.

Broad incumbents

• Qualtrics: SAP-owned global experience management and research platform. Directly competes with emomil Research in AI-powered consumer surveys and experience analytics, but with vastly greater scale, enterprise footprint, and bundled sales motion across North America, EMEA and APAC.
• Dentsu Macromill Insight: Japan's largest marketing research firm (Dentsu group) and a listed Viagate customer. Both firms deliver consumer research to Japanese enterprises; Dentsu Macromill offers the full traditional qualitative/quantitative stack at scale, while Viagate attacks the same budget with AI-driven cost disruption.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/emomil_official

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 Viagate