Timelab
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2018
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2B and B2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Timelab does
Timelab Inc. (株式会社タイムラボ), founded in February 2018 by Yusuke Hozumi (保積雄介) in Osaka, Japan, operates as a privately held, bootstrapped company of 1-10 employees that brands itself as a "time design" firm. Its consumer-side portfolio centers on Lynx, a calendar aggregation service that unifies personal, work, and side-job calendars into a single scheduling view, and Calico, a native iOS/macOS calendar application launched in 2023. Distribution for both is self-serve/registration-based via lynxcat.app and calicocat.app, with subscription-style recurring access.
The company's commercial engine sits in Penguin Studio, an internal design-driven software development arm offering DX implementation, native application development, and AI utilization services. Penguin Studio's methodology emphasizes "Design-Driven Development" — producing visible, interactive prototypes from the earliest project stages to align stakeholders before full development. In April 2026, the studio productized this capability as Penguin Studio Prototypes, a fixed-price service delivering 1-week interactive prototypes starting at 200,000 JPY (with a 360,000 JPY two-week pack) and post-prototype PoC engagements starting at 2,000,000 JPY. A documented customer case, LeaPla, was built for Kyoto University of Arts to automate provisioning of Google Classroom, Slack, Zoom, and Notion for approximately 1,000 courses.
Technology is built on a senior freelance-style bench drawn from Goodpatch, SmartHR, KAYAC, DeNA, LINE, freee, and eureka, leveraging third-party AI services (LLMs, speech-to-text, computer vision) rather than proprietary models. Pricing claims 1/15th the cost and 1/10th the timeline of conventional UI/UX consulting. The firm has no external funding, no disclosed revenue, single-country (Japan) operations, and routes customers through direct inquiry-based sales supported by a public prototype showcase at prototypes.timelab.jp, content marketing, and a Bluesky social presence.
Timelab firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Timelab
- Legal name
- 株式会社タイムラボ
- Website
- https://timelab.jp
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2018
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Timelab industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Productivity Software
- NAICS
- Software Publishers (513210), Custom Computer Programming Services (541511)
- SIC
- Services-Prepackaged Software (7372), Services-Computer Programming Services (7371)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Email, Calendar & Scheduling (BPAMAMAC)
- akta.pro secondary industry
- iBPMS (Intelligent BPM Suites) & Process Automation Suites (HDAEAHAG)
Keywords
Where Timelab is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Timelab business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2B and B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D
Revenue model
- Lynx Calendar Service: Subscription-based calendar management service that unifies multiple calendars (work, personal, side jobs) into one seamless schedule management experience.
- Calico Native App: Native calendar application for Apple fans with intuitive operation for daily schedule management.
- Penguin Studio Development Services: Design-driven software development studio offering DX implementation, native app development, and AI utilization services from planning through operation.
- Penguin Studio Prototypes: One-week prototype production service priced at 200,000 yen for basic plan. Includes interactive UI, simplified PRD, and next-phase development estimate delivered as shared URL.
- Proof of Concept Development: Post-prototype proof of concept development with actual data and API connections, real user pilot operations, priced at 2 million yen and above.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Basic Plan: 1-week interactive prototype delivery |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Two-Week Pack: More complex flows with user interview reflection |
| Outcome Based/ Performance | Multi-year contract | Proof of Concept: Post-prototype phase with real data connections |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels3 records
Marketing channels5 records
Timelab product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Timelab develops and sells consumer calendar management software (Lynx, a multi-account calendar aggregation SaaS, and Calico, a native macOS/iOS calendar app) and operates Penguin Studio, a B2B design-driven software development studio delivering DX consulting, native app development, AI integration services, and rapid 1-week prototype production for startups, enterprises, and educational institutions.
Product overview
Timelab is a time-design company offering a portfolio of calendar and scheduling products plus a software development studio. Its core consumer products include Lynx (calendar aggregation for managing multiple work/private schedules) and Calico (native Apple calendar app). Through its Penguin Studio subsidiary, it provides design-driven software development services including DX support, native app development, and AI utilization. The Penguin Studio Prototypes sub-service offers rapid 1-week/200,000-yen prototype production. Additionally, the LeaPla university DX solution demonstrates its capability in automating educational tool provisioning.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Penguin Studio: Design-driven software development studio providing DX support, native application development, and AI utilization services from planning to operation.
- Lynx
- Calico
- Penguin Studio Prototypes
Quantifiable outcome
- Validation cost reduced from 3-5 million JPY to 200,000 JPY (1/15th)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Timelab
Customer profileNamed customers1 record
Segments5 records
Timelab technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration5 records
AI capability13 records
Feature3 records
Timelab partnerships and signals
Strategic signalScale indicators4 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Timelab competitors and assessment
Company assessmentEmerging players
- Uizard: AI-powered UI/prototype generation platform. Competes in the 'rapid prototype from idea' space that Penguin Studio Prototypes also targets, though Uizard is self-serve while Timelab's offering is service-led.
- Balsamiq: Low-fidelity wireframing/prototyping tool used in early-stage product validation. Adjacent to Penguin Studio Prototypes' value proposition of getting stakeholder alignment before full development.
Direct peers
- Goodpatch: Japan's leading design-driven product development studio. Penguin Studio's CDO and several engineers are ex-Goodpatch, and both target enterprise clients seeking design-led DX and product builds — making them the closest comparable in talent pool and methodology.
- Notion Calendar (formerly Cron): Calendar aggregation and unified scheduling product acquired by Notion. Directly competes with Timelab's Lynx in unifying multiple calendars (work, personal, side gigs) into one schedule.
- Motion: AI calendar that auto-schedules tasks, meetings, and projects. Direct competitor to Timelab's AI-augmented scheduling value proposition and a benchmark for AI-led calendar productivity.
- Reclaim.ai: AI-powered calendar and scheduling automation for individuals and teams. Overlaps with Timelab's Lynx/Calico on intelligent schedule management, but skews more to task/habit scheduling within a single calendar.
- Clockwise: Team calendar management platform that uses automation to protect focus time and resolve conflicts. Competes with Timelab's Lynx on the team/enterprise calendar coordination layer.
Broad incumbents
- Calendly: Market-leading scheduling automation tool for external meeting booking. A broader incumbent in the scheduling space that Lynx and Calico partially overlap with on cross-party meeting coordination.
Others
- Figma: Design and prototyping platform where Timelab's GestureBeat prototype won Honorable Mentions at Figma's global hackathon. Enabler to design-driven development workflows rather than a direct competitor.
Regional players
- SMN (Smartly, formerly SmartNews ad arm) / Japanese DX boutiques: Japan-based digital product and DX consultancies that compete with Penguin Studio for enterprise digital transformation mandates. Comparable on geography and target enterprise buyer, though typically without the calendar-product angle.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Timelab social profiles
Digital presenceTimelab financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Timelab leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Timelab subsidiaries and ownership
Company hierarchySubsidiaries1 record
Timelab funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Timelab M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Timelab
What does Timelab do?
Timelab develops and sells consumer calendar management software (Lynx, a multi-account calendar aggregation SaaS, and Calico, a native macOS/iOS calendar app) and operates Penguin Studio, a B2B design-driven software development studio delivering DX consulting, native app development, AI integration services, and rapid 1-week prototype production for startups, enterprises, and educational institutions.
Is Timelab a public or private company?
Timelab is a private company. It is classified as founder individual operated bootstrapped and is currently operating.
When was Timelab founded?
Timelab was founded in 2018. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is Timelab based?
Timelab is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Timelab make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Lynx Calendar Service is the primary driver. The others are calico Native App, penguin Studio Development Services, penguin Studio Prototypes and proof of Concept Development.
Who are Timelab's main competitors?
Emerging players on record are Uizard and Balsamiq. Direct peers are Goodpatch, Notion Calendar (formerly Cron), Motion, Reclaim.ai and Clockwise. Calendly is listed as a broad incumbent. Figma is listed as an others. SMN (Smartly, formerly SmartNews ad arm) / Japanese DX boutiques is listed as a regional player.
Does Timelab have an API?
No public API is recorded for Timelab.
What industry is Timelab in?
Timelab's product category is Productivity Software. Its primary akta.pro industry code is BPAMAMAC, Email, Calendar & Scheduling, with a secondary code of HDAEAHAG, iBPMS (Intelligent BPM Suites) & Process Automation Suites. Its NAICS code is 513210 and its SIC code is 7372.