What R-Learning does

R-Learning Co., Ltd. (株式会社アールラーニング) is a privately held Japanese IT services firm founded in June 2002 (originally as R-Learning Incorporated in San Francisco, with operations consolidated into Japan and the prior US entity closed in February 2005). The company is headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo and is 100% founder-owned by representative director Kōichirō Shōji since the 2013 buyout of all external shareholders.

The firm operates three intertwined businesses. Its core is a Systems Engineering Services (SES) practice that places engineers — predominantly Ruby on Rails specialists but also Java, HTML/CSS, Excel VBA, and infrastructure engineers — at client sites for development, maintenance, and operations work. Layered on top is the 'ITお助け隊' (IT Helper Team) advisory brand, which positions the company as an ongoing 'IT family doctor' for Japanese SMEs, providing IT literacy training, infrastructure audits, system improvement proposals, and help-desk-style support. A third stream, 'オーダーメイド受注', delivers bespoke custom development and infrastructure projects end-to-end. R-Learning holds the Ruby Association Certified System Integrator designation (since July 2009, 4th firm in Japan), operates dual-check quality control with dedicated test engineers, and markets tiered L1/L2 support contracts plus paid options (Quick Standby, documentation cleanup).

Customer footprint spans Japanese enterprises (SoftBank, DeNA, Hitachi, Dell/Dell Technologies, Maeda Construction, Hobart Japan, TIS), mid-market firms, and startups (Gunosy, MERY, Tabi Getter), plus government system engagements. Two proprietary products — UGUISU (push-type information sharing, launched May 2010) and SHINGETU (attendance management SaaS, October 2011) — are listed as discontinued. In June 2025 the company appointed its first CSO focused on AI-enabled commissioned development and published new employer-brand and slogan assets, signaling an attempted repositioning rather than a fundamental model change. Headcount sits at ~45 (2023, contract staff included), making R-Learning a small, mature, relationship-driven SES-plus-advisory house rather than a venture-scale technology business.

Name

R-Learning

Legal name

株式会社アールラーニング

Website

https://r-learning.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2002

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

11–50 employees

Short description

R-Learning is a Tokyo-based, founder-owned Japanese IT services firm founded in 2002 that operates as an SES engineering placement provider, an 'IT family doctor' advisory for SMEs, and a Ruby on Rails-focused custom development house. It serves enterprise, mid-market, and startup clients across diverse Japanese industries.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

IT Consulting and Engineering Services

NAICS

Custom Computer Programming Services (541511), Computer Systems Design and Related Services (54151), Professional and Management Development Training (61143)

SIC

Services-Computer Programming Services (7371), Services-Management Consulting Services (8742), Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Custom Corporate IT Training & Upskilling Programs (BPAEANAB)

akta.pro secondary industries

Managed IT Services & On‑Site Field Support (Helpdesk, Break/Fix, IMAC) (EDAEAHAJ), Software Engineering & Application Development Training (Languages, Frameworks, Testing) (BPAEANAI)

Keywords

• IT consulting services
• Systems engineering
• Custom software development
• Ruby on Rails development
• IT advisory retainer

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. SES (Systems Engineering Services): Engineers are placed at client sites to perform system development, maintenance, and operations. Revenue is generated through hourly or project-based billing of engineering personnel at client locations.
2. ITお助け隊 (IT Advisory Services): IT consulting and advisory services covering IT literacy training, infrastructure surveys and proposals, system improvement proposals, and IT help desk support for client employees. Billed as retainer or project-based engagements.
3. オーダーメイド受注 (Custom Development): Custom IT environment design, system development, and infrastructure construction aligned with client vision and business model. Delivered through a structured workflow: hearing, solution design, quotation, implementation, delivery, and post-delivery support/training.
4. Technical Support Contracts: Annual support contracts for software developed for clients, with multiple support levels (Level 1 non-technical, Level 2 technical) and optional add-ons such as Quick Standby Support and document organization services.
5. UGUISU & SHINGETU (Proprietary Software Products): Sale of proprietary software products including UGUISU (push-type information sharing) and SHINGETU (attendance management SaaS).

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels4 records

Marketing channels6 records

Core offering

R-Learning is a Tokyo-based IT services firm that primarily places engineers at client sites for system development, maintenance, and operations (SES), and operates an IT advisory practice (ITお助け隊 / IT Helper Team) that functions as an ongoing "IT specialist family doctor" — providing IT strategy, infrastructure surveys, employee IT literacy training, system improvement proposals, and help desk services for Japanese SMEs and enterprises. The company also delivers bespoke custom-developed IT environments (オーダーメイド受注) and tiered annual technical support contracts. Proprietary software products UGUISU and SHINGETU have been discontinued.

Product overview

R-Learning is an IT services company offering two core service lines: ITお助け隊 (IT support/consulting) as an 'IT specialist family doctor,' and オーダーメイド受注 (custom IT solutions) for system development and infrastructure. The company previously offered UGUISU (Ruby on Rails push-type information sharing) and 新月-SHINGETU (attendance management SaaS) as standalone products.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ITお助け隊: IT specialist concierge service providing IT consulting, system support, and IT literacy training for small and medium businesses
• オーダーメイド受注
• UGUISU
• 新月-SHINGETU

Products and services

• ITお助け隊 (IT Helper Team) IT consulting and advisory service functioning as an "IT specialist family doctor" — delivers IT strategy, infrastructure surveys, system improvement proposals, employee IT literacy training, and IT help desk support. Aimed at Japanese SMEs lacking in-house IT expertise.
• オーダーメイド受注 (Custom Development) Custom IT solutions service that creates IT environments tailored to client visions — handles new or existing business IT systems, internal system reviews, business process IT-enablement, and infrastructure deployment. Delivered through a structured workflow from hearing through post-delivery training.
• SES (Systems Engineering Services) Placement of engineers at client sites for system development, maintenance, and operations, billed on an hourly or project basis. Clients include SoftBank, DeNA, Hitachi, Dell, Gunosy, MERY, ISF Net, and At Home.
• Annual Technical Support Contracts (Level 1 / Level 2) Annual technical support contracts for software developed for clients, with Level 1 (non-technical advisory) and Level 2 (technical advisory) tiers, delivered via email, phone, FAX, and on-site during Japanese business hours (weekdays 10:00–18:00). Optional add-ons include Quick Standby Support (4-hour blocks) and Document Organization.

Quantifiable outcome

• Excel workflow processing reduced from hours to seconds through VBA automation (script checking tool for TV production company)
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers22 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

Feature4 records

Partnerships

Four partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• アイティメディア株式会社 (ITmedia)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2010Jointly established the Rails Technician Certification Exam Operations Committee with ITmedia in November 2010, contributing to industry-wide Rails competency standards.
• Ruby Association (Rubyアソシエーション)coreTechnology or Integration · 1 July 2009R-Learning was certified as a Ruby Association Certified System Integrator in July 2009, the 4th company in Japan to receive this designation. The certification reflects specialized Ruby/Rails expertise and ecosystem positioning.
• 株式会社ブルワーク (Bluework)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2009Business partnership formed in February 2009 for infrastructure service strengthening, possibly involving joint service delivery or capability sharing.
• 株式会社万葉 (Matsuyama)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 May 2008Business partnership formed in May 2008 for Ruby on Rails collaboration, likely involving shared development resources or expertise exchange in the Ruby ecosystem.

Scale indicators9 records

Recent moves20 records

Expansion highlights4 records

Broad incumbents

• Works Applications: Japanese enterprise software company that also operates SES-style engineer dispatch and custom development services. Overlaps with R-Learning's custom development and engineer placement offerings, primarily for enterprise clients.
• BIPROGY Inc. (formerly Nihon Unisys): Major Japanese IT services and systems integrator with broad enterprise and government client base. Competes with R-Learning in custom development and infrastructure services for large enterprises across telecom, finance, and public sector.

Direct peers

• SAKURA internet Inc. Japanese hosting and IT services provider that also supports Ruby on Rails application deployment and offers cloud infrastructure for SMEs. Touches R-Learning's hosting, infrastructure, and SME IT enablement offerings.
• TechnoPro Holdings: Japan's largest technical staffing/SES provider placing engineers across industries. Directly competes with R-Learning's core SES engineer placement model at far larger scale, and is the benchmark for billable engineer utilization economics in the Japanese market.
• WingArc1st Inc. Japanese IT vendor focused on business forms, BI, and IT infrastructure for SMEs and mid-market firms. Closely overlaps with R-Learning's ITお助け隊 value proposition of acting as an outsourced IT function for Japanese SMEs.
• INTEC Inc. Japanese IT services firm offering custom development, infrastructure, and SES placement to enterprise and mid-market clients. Direct overlap with R-Learning's mix of engineer placement and custom IT solutions.
• A-Team Inc. Japanese digital agency and engineering services firm known for Ruby on Rails custom development. Competes most directly with R-Learning's custom Ruby/Rails development and infrastructure practice.
• TIS Inc. Mid-to-large Japanese IT services and consulting firm providing custom software development and SES placements. Operates as both a customer and competitor in the Japanese IT services space.

Emerging players

• Money Forward, Inc. Major Japanese cloud SaaS provider for SMEs and personal finance, with significant Ruby on Rails infrastructure. Adjacent to R-Learning's SME digitalization and Ruby/Rails ecosystem positioning rather than direct service competition.
• freee K.K. Japanese cloud accounting SaaS company built primarily on Ruby on Rails, targeting Japanese SMEs. Not a direct competitor for services but operates in the same Ruby-on-Rails-plus-Japanese-SME digitalization intersection that R-Learning has bet on.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/rlearning
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/r-learning

Compliance3 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles8 records

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 R-Learning