What Manabo does

Manabo (株式会社manabo) is a Japanese educational technology company founded in April 2012 and headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo. It operates as a member of the Sundai Group (学校法人駿河台学園), Japan's well-known preparatory-school network, with affiliated entities including SATT Co., Ltd. and the Sundai Education Research Institute. The company designs, develops, and operates a smartphone-based private tutoring platform that connects students across Japan with qualified tutors on demand, targeting K-12 and university-prep learners who face geographic or economic barriers to in-person private instruction.

The core product, "スマホ家庭教師manabo," is a direct-to-consumer mobile application that delivers affordable, real-time tutoring sessions via smartphone. A second, branded variant called "manabo for 駿台" is embedded within Sundai Preparatory School's student ecosystem as an out-of-class supplemental learning tool, reportedly achieving user satisfaction above 97%. The platform is distributed through two channels: the standalone D2C app (self-serve / PLG) and an OEM/white-label arrangement inside Sundai's institutional environment. Technical components are conventional — a mobile app, social-login integrations with LINE and Facebook, and standard cookie-based web infrastructure — with no disclosed AI/ML, proprietary models, or patents.

Manabo generates revenue through a recurring subscription model, charging students fees for access to its tutor network. The company has not disclosed external venture capital or private equity investment, operates with a stated capital base of ¥9 million (approximately $60K USD), and has not published revenue, headcount, or ARR figures. Its go-to-market relies heavily on the parent group's institutional reach and a minimal direct marketing footprint (corporate website, news portal, and a Facebook page), making its visibility into independent demand-generation limited.

Name

Manabo

Legal name

株式会社manabo

Website

https://manabo.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2012

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Manabo is a Tokyo-based edtech company that develops and operates a smartphone-based private tutoring mobile app for K-12 and university-prep students in Japan, with an embedded version provided to Sundai Preparatory School students.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Online Education / Mobile Tutoring

NAICS

Exam Preparation and Tutoring (611691), Educational Support Services (611710)

SIC

Services-Educational Services (8200)

akta.pro primary industry

Professional & Career Skills Tutoring Platforms (Coding, Data, Business) (EDANAGAI)

Keywords

• Online tutoring services
• Mobile education platform
• Smartphone tutoring app
• Edtech software services
• Academic support tutoring

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Smartphone tutoring subscription service: Manabo generates revenue through its smartphone-based tutoring service, charging students for access to qualified tutors via the manabo mobile app. The service is positioned as affordable and accessible to students nationwide.

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels2 records

Core offering

Manabo develops and operates a smartphone-based private tutoring service that connects students across Japan with qualified tutors on-demand via a mobile app at low cost. It also provides a specialized embedded version ("manabo for 駿台") for students enrolled at Sundai Preparatory School as an out-of-class supplemental support tool, with reported user satisfaction above 97%.

Product overview

Manabo operates as a mobile-first educational technology platform offering two related products. The core product, スマホ家庭教育 manabo (manabo smartphone private tutoring), is a direct-to-consumer service providing on-demand tutoring via smartphone. The second product, manabo for 駿台, is a white-labeled or partner-branded version exclusively serving Sundai preparatory school students. Both products share the same underlying technology and tutoring platform infrastructure, differentiated by branding and access channel.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• スマホ家庭教育 manabo: Smartphone-based private tutoring service offering students across Japan affordable access to qualified instructors via mobile devices.
• manabo for 駿台

Products and services

• Smartphone Home Tutoring manabo (スマホ家庭教師 manabo) A smartphone-based private tutoring service that allows students across Japan to access qualified tutors on-demand via a mobile app at low cost, anytime. The service provides real-time instruction from qualified teachers and is designed to remove geographic and cost barriers associated with traditional in-person private tutoring.
• manabo for 駿台 (manabo for Sundai) A specialized, white-labeled version of the manabo tutoring platform delivered exclusively to students enrolled at Sundai Preparatory School, serving as an out-of-class supplemental study support tool. Reported user satisfaction exceeds 97% among Sundai students.

Quantifiable outcome

• User satisfaction rate exceeds 97% among Sundai Prep School students using manabo

Named customers1 record

Segments1 record

Ideal customer profiles2 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Integration2 records

Feature1 record

Partnerships

Seven partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.

• Sundai Gakuin Educational Corporation (学校法人駿河台学園)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerManabo is a member of the Sundai Group (駿台グループ), affiliated with Sundai Gakuin Educational Corporation, one of Japan's leading preparatory school operators. The partnership provides Manabo with institutional distribution within Sundai's student body and shared educational mission alignment.
• SATT Co., Ltd. (エスエイティーティー株式会社)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn affiliated company within the Sundai Group. Part of the group network of related educational corporations, with shared data use arrangements documented in the privacy policy.
• Sundai Education Research Institute (駿台教育研究所)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerAn affiliated research institute within the Sundai Group, aligned with Manabo's educational technology development mission.
• Sundai Prep School (駿台予備学校)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerManabo provides its tutoring service (manabo for 駿台) to students enrolled at Sundai Preparatory School, serving as an out-of-class supplemental support tool. User satisfaction among Sundai students exceeds 97%.
• Lacicu Co., Ltd. (株式会社Lacicu)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a related educational institution within the shared personal data usage framework among Sundai Group affiliated organizations.
• DiversityStudy Co., Ltd. (株式会社DiversityStudy)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a related educational institution within the shared personal data usage framework among Sundai Group affiliated organizations.
• Sundai Education Center Co., Ltd. (駿台教育センター株式会社)minorStrategic or Co-development PartnerListed as a related educational institution within the shared personal data usage framework among Sundai Group affiliated organizations.

Scale indicators1 record

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights3 records

Direct peers

• Atama+ (atama plus): Atama+ is a Japanese AI-driven personalized tutoring platform that partners with cram schools and prep schools to deliver adaptive instruction. It directly overlaps with Manabo's white-label/embedded tutoring model and target learner segment.

Broad incumbents

• Try It (トライ) / Trygroup: Try Group is one of Japan's largest tutoring service operators, combining in-person instruction, online tutoring, and educational content. Its smartphone-delivered tutoring and prep school offerings overlap with Manabo's on-demand model.
• Tokyo Individualized Academy (東京個別指導学院) by Benesse: Operated by Benesse, Tokyo Individualized Academy is a major chain of small-group and 1:1 tutoring centers across Japan. It competes with Manabo for university-prep students seeking supplemental instruction, though delivery is primarily face-to-face.
• StudySapuri (スタディサプリ) by Recruit: StudySapuri is a major Japanese online tutoring and lecture platform offering video lessons and live tutoring via smartphone and web. It competes with Manabo for the same K–12 and university-prep student base with a much broader content library and larger brand.
• Meiko Gijuku (明光義塾):

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat3 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 records

Customer concentration

• Facebookfacebook.com/manaboinc
• Xx.com/manabo_inc
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/manabo

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 Manabo