ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS

What ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS does

ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS株式会社 (EDH) is a privately held Japanese holding company founded in November 1997 and legally incorporated in November 1998, headquartered in Shinagawa, Tokyo. Its stated mission is to invest in and incubate businesses that aggregate dispersed, previously underutilized online resources — an approach it formalizes as the "Economies of Agglomeration Theory" applied to online platforms. EDH developed proprietary crowdsourcing and crowdfunding technologies starting in 1998 and has used them as the architectural foundation for its portfolio.

EDH's operations are anchored by two wholly-owned operating subsidiaries: CUUSOO SYSTEM, a platform business (spun off in 2011) that collects user wishes to surface new market opportunities for companies; and elephant design, a creative production business (spun off from CUUSOO in 2013) that networks UX-design professionals online. Beyond these core subsidiaries, EDH holds strategic minority investments across at least seven verticals: logistics (Sendle, co-founded 2014), translation (Gengo, exited 2019), distributed energy (SOGO ENERGY), consumer fintech/BNPL (Smartpay), gaming and digital IP (Animoca Brands, invested 2014), agriculture (GOOD GOOD), and satellite-imagery-driven economic intelligence (TelePIX). Shareholders include the founding group and Tokyo Electric Power Company Holdings.

EDH's business model is portfolio-driven rather than transactional. The company explicitly positions itself as a long-term, income-gain-oriented shareholder, with no direct product pricing, no disclosed revenue, and no public marketing channels. Its stated capital base is 10 million yen; its board consists of four members (one representative director, two external directors, one auditor). Strategic activity through 2024 (most recently a donation to the Ohara Museum of Art) confirms continued operations, though consolidated financial scale is not publicly disclosed.

Name

ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS

Legal name

ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS株式会社

Website

https://elephantdesignholdings.com

Company type

Private

Founded year

1997

Operating status

Operating

Short description

ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS is a privately held Japanese holding company that incubates and invests in businesses aggregating dispersed online resources, anchored by wholly-owned platform subsidiaries CUUSOO and elephant design and a portfolio spanning logistics, energy, fintech, gaming, agriculture, and satellite-imagery analytics.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Business Incubation and Holding Company Services

NAICS

Graphic Design Services (541430)

SIC

Services-Mailing, Reproduction, Commercial Art & Photography (7330)

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Creative & Experience Design Agencies (Web/App/UX) (MPAAAAAD)

Keywords

• Holding company incubation
• Crowdsourcing platform investment
• Creative production services
• Venture incubation Japan
• Dispersed resource aggregation

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Services

Cost components

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

Distribution channels2 records

Core offering

ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS is a Japanese holding company that invests in and incubates businesses which create value by aggregating dispersed, underutilized online resources through the application of economies of agglomeration theory on online platforms. The company's portfolio includes two wholly-owned operating subsidiaries—CUUSOO (an open online crowdsourcing platform that gathers user wishes to provide companies with new markets, spun off in 2011) and elephant design (a UX design creative production network connecting professionals online, spun off in 2013)—along with minority investments in ventures across logistics, translation, energy, fintech, gaming, agriculture, and satellite imagery.

Product overview

ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS is a holding company that incubates and invests in businesses utilizing the economies of agglomeration theory to aggregate dispersed online resources. The portfolio consists of two core subsidiaries: CUUSOO (an online platform business spun off in 2011 that aggregates user wishes to create new markets for companies) and elephant design (a creative production business spun off in 2013 that networks UX design professionals). The company also maintains strategic investments in various aggregation-based ventures across logistics, translation, energy, fintech, gaming, agriculture, and satellite imagery sectors.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Products and services

• CUUSOO Online platform business that plans, develops and operates open online platforms by gathering user wishes (crowdsourcing/crowdfunding) to provide companies with new market opportunities. Wholly-owned subsidiary spun off in 2011.
• elephant design Production business that networks user experience design professionals online, connecting them with projects and clients for creative production services. Wholly-owned subsidiary spun off in 2013.

Ideal customer profiles3 records

Technology focussed No

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability3 records

Feature3 records

Recent moves8 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• Indiegogo: A global crowdfunding platform aggregating user demand to back early-stage products and innovations. Directly mirrors the CUUSOO platform thesis of converting dispersed user 'wishes' into new market opportunities for companies.
• Upwork: A global freelance talent marketplace that aggregates dispersed professional labor online via a two-sided platform. Closely comparable to EDH's elephant design network and to the broader aggregation-economy thesis applied through CUUSOO and prior Gengo investment.
• Toptal: An invite-only freelance talent network aggregating dispersed top-tier professionals (designers, engineers, finance experts). Highly comparable to elephant design's curated professional network model for UX professionals.
• BEENOS: A Japanese holding company that operates incubation and investment activities across e-commerce and tech, with a similar holding-company-plus-portfolio structure to EDH and overlapping focus on Japan-based aggregation plays.
• Fiverr: A global freelance services marketplace aggregating dispersed creative and professional talent online. Direct comparable to EDH's elephant design UX network and to Gengo's translation marketplace (now exited).
• Kickstarter: One of the largest reward-based crowdfunding platforms globally, aggregating user 'wishes' to fund new products and projects. Analogous to CUUSOO SYSTEM, which gathers user wishes to identify new market opportunities for companies.
• 99designs: A design-focused crowdsourcing platform connecting clients with freelance designers globally. Directly comparable to EDH's elephant design subsidiary, which similarly networks UX design professionals online for creative production work.

Regional players

• Scrum Ventures: A Tokyo- and San Francisco-based early-stage venture firm operating in a similar market to EDH's Japanese incubation activities, with comparable cross-border investment focus and early-stage portfolio aggregation model.
• World Innovation Lab (WiL): A Japan-US cross-border venture firm investing in early-stage tech platforms with a long-term holder orientation, similar in posture to EDH's long-term shareholder strategy focused on aggregation-economy plays.

Broad incumbents

• JAFCO Group: One of Japan's largest venture capital and private equity firms, operating a broader investment portfolio across stages. While broader and more diversified than EDH, JAFCO is comparable as a Japanese institutional capital allocator to early- and growth-stage platform businesses.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat4 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles4 records

Subsidiaries2 records

Funding overview

Funding rounds

Investors

Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

M&A

Investments1 record

M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →

Frequently asked questions about ELEPHANT DESIGN HOLDINGS