What Wacha does

Wacha (株式会社wacha) is a privately held Japanese IT company founded in January 2021 and headquartered in Shibuya, Tokyo, with a sales/marketing branch in Kasuga, Fukuoka. The company operates a hybrid business combining professional software development services with a self-service SaaS product. On the services side, Wacha delivers full-stack web and mobile application development, business systems and B2B application development, tech-partner advisory and startup development-department setup, and quasi-delegation engineering resource support — positioning itself as a "challenger-type engineer collective" capable of operating high-load infrastructure at hundreds of thousands of concurrent accesses, as demonstrated by enterprise projects for Aikatsu Academy and Oshibunko. The service portfolio is targeted primarily at Japanese startups, SMEs, and large digital content/media enterprises.

On the product side, Wacha operates 1ask (ワンアスク), a self-service qualitative survey platform priced at 3 million JPY per year that connects users to a partner panel network of approximately 30 million respondents, enabling same-day survey deployment. 1ask is eligible for Japan's IT Introduction Subsidy program, which Wacha is actively leveraging in a limited campaign (effective price ~1.2M JPY, capped at 10 companies through June 5, 2026) to drive initial SaaS adoption among Japanese SMEs. Revenue mechanics therefore span project/T&M-based development engagements, consulting-style advisory fees, and an annual SaaS subscription — a mix that combines variable services income with a growing recurring component. The company is founder-led (Representative Director Mitsuo Minenaga), capitalized at 6.5M JPY, and shows no disclosed external institutional funding, M&A activity, or headcount figures.

Name

Wacha

Legal name

株式会社wacha

Website

https://wacha.co.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2021

Operating status

Operating

Short description

Wacha is a Tokyo-based Japanese IT company founded in 2021 that offers full-stack web and mobile development services alongside 1ask, a self-service survey SaaS backed by a 30 million respondent panel network targeting startups, SMEs, and large Japanese enterprises.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices2 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Development Services (准委任契約): Full-stack development engagements — web/mobile apps, business systems, and infrastructure — delivered as engineering partner or resource augmentation (準委任) contracts. Revenue recognized on a project or time/materials basis.
2. Tech Partner Advisory: Technical advisory and startup/SME development department launch support services provided as consulting engagements.
3. 1ask SaaS Subscription: Annual subscription to the self-service survey platform 1ask, priced at 3 million JPY per year. Includes panel access to approximately 30 million respondents and survey creation/distribution/collection tools. Revenue recognized annually per subscriber.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion2 records

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels3 records

Core offering

Wacha is a Tokyo-based IT company that provides full-cycle software development services covering web and mobile application design, development, infrastructure setup, testing, and operations, plus business system construction, technical advisory, and engineering resource augmentation for startups and enterprises. The company also operates 1ask, its proprietary self-service qualitative survey platform that connects users to a partner panel network of approximately 30 million respondents for rapid market research.

Product overview

Wacha is a startup-focused development company offering a portfolio of services including its core self-service survey product 1ask, alongside web/mobile app development, business system/B2B development, tech partnership advisory, and engineering staffing. The primary commercial product is 1ask, a self-service qualitative survey platform priced at 300万 yen annually, which differentiates through its 30-million-person monitor network and eligibility for Japan's IT introduction subsidy program.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• 1ask (ワンアスク): Self-service questionnaire survey service enabling users to create, distribute, and collect surveys independently, with access to approximately 30 million monitors.

Products and services

• 1ask (ワンアスク) Self-Service Survey Platform Self-service qualitative survey platform that enables users to create, distribute, and collect market research surveys independently. Connects to a partner panel network of approximately 30 million respondents supporting same-day survey deployment, and is eligible for Japan's IT introduction subsidy program for small and medium enterprises. Sold as an annual subscription at 3,000,000 JPY per year (tax excluded).
• Web / Mobile Application Development Full-cycle web and mobile application development service covering design, development, infrastructure setup, testing, and operations support for startups, SMEs, and large enterprises.
• Business System & B2B Development Development service that constructs optimal business logic aligned with operational workflows and requirements for business systems and B2B applications.
• Tech Partner Support (テックパートナー支援) Technical partnership support including setup of development departments for startups and SMEs, and provision of technical advisory services.
• Engineering Staffing Support (エンジニアリング支援) Engineering support services providing technical personnel to join client development teams on a quasi-delegation (準委任) basis.

Quantifiable outcome

• Systems supporting millions of digital content users with peak concurrent accesses in the hundreds of thousands without service degradation

Named customers4 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

Feature2 records

Partnerships

One partnership is on record.

• Monitas Co., Ltd. (株式会社モニタス)coreStrategic or Co-development PartnerMonitas is a key strategic partner referenced in both Wacha's project portfolio (corporate website design work) and the company's privacy policy as a joint-use partner for the panel network. The privacy policy explicitly lists Monitas and its group companies within the scope of joint data utilization for survey panel services, indicating a deep operational partnership in the 1ask survey platform ecosystem.

Scale indicators2 records

Recent moves5 records

Expansion highlights5 records

Direct peers

• GMO Research: GMO Research operates the 'CloudPanel' and 'ASAP' research platforms with a multi-million-member online panel across Asia. It competes with 1ask in the Japanese self-service survey market, and its panel-network-plus-SaaS model is structurally analogous to Wacha's 1ask offering.
• Intage Holdings: Intage is a major Japanese market research firm providing consumer panel data, syndicated research, and custom survey solutions. It competes directly with 1ask in serving corporate marketing departments and ad agencies with primary research capabilities and panel-based insight delivery.
• Rakuten Insight: Rakuten Insight provides large-scale online panel research and self-service survey tools to Japanese enterprises. As a direct competitor to 1ask in panel-based market research, it shares Wacha's customer base (corporate marketing departments and ad agencies) and pricing model.
• Macromill: Macromill operates one of Japan's largest online research panel networks and the self-service survey platform 'Questant.' It is the most directly comparable company to Wacha's 1ask business, with similar panel-driven market research offerings and a horizontal SaaS model targeting marketing and product teams.

Regional players

• Future Corporation: Future Corporation is a Japanese IT consulting and engineering firm offering custom system development and technology advisory. It shares Wacha's positioning as a tech partner / engineering resource provider for Japanese enterprises, particularly in financial and IT infrastructure domains.
• Money Forward: Money Forward is a leading Japanese SaaS provider serving SMEs with cloud-based business and financial software. It is a relevant peer in the Japanese SaaS-for-SMEs category that 1ask targets through the IT introduction subsidy program, though its product domain is different.

Broad incumbents

• SurveyMonkey: SurveyMonkey is the global leader in self-service online survey software and represents the broad incumbent that 1ask competes with on product UX, speed, and pricing. While not a panel-first platform, it overlaps meaningfully on the self-service survey creation and distribution workflow that 1ask offers.
• BIPROGY (formerly UNISYS Japan): BIPROGY is a major Japanese IT services and system integrator serving enterprises and public sector with custom software development. It is broadly comparable to Wacha's custom development arm in target customers and project-based delivery, though at vastly greater scale and breadth.
• CyberAgent: CyberAgent operates large-scale digital content, media, and advertising platforms in Japan that demand high-concurrency infrastructure. As both a potential customer profile and a competitor for engineering talent in high-load system design, it is relevant to Wacha's content-and-media service line.
• NRI (Nomura Research Institute): NRI is one of Japan's largest IT consulting and system development firms with deep enterprise relationships. It overlaps with Wacha's high-load system and business system development offerings for large Japanese enterprises, particularly in financial services and content distribution.

Market position

Strengths4 records

Weaknesses4 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights5 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 Wacha