Time Machine

What Time Machine does

Time Machine Co., Ltd. (タイムマシーン株式会社) is a Tokyo-based private company founded in February 2010 by Mizuno Yoshio and Shimano Shunnosuke. It develops and sells the ACALA family of cloud-connected IoT temperature and humidity monitoring systems, targeting HACCP-driven compliance needs across Japan's food manufacturing, hospitality, logistics, agriculture, and pharmaceutical sectors. The product portfolio includes ACALA MESH (mesh-network wireless sensors for wide-area facilities), ACALA FT (NFC handheld core temperature measurement for cooking/process records), ACALA MOBILE (GPS-enabled cold-chain transport monitoring), ACALA FACE (AI-camera body temperature and identity authentication), and the legacy ACALA THERMO cloud service. The underlying architecture combines battery-powered wireless sensors, gateways, and cloud applications using SmartMesh IP networking technology licensed through a 2015 partnership with Linear Technology.

The company operates a Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) model with zero upfront hardware costs and monthly subscription fees. Time Machine retains ownership of all deployed sensors, performs proactive battery monitoring and replacement, reuses hardware components where feasible, and stores up to two years of time-series data per site. Distribution is primarily direct sales through the Tokyo headquarters supplemented by a 2017 channel partnership with NTT docomo, which provides IoT platform integration and access to docomo's enterprise customer base. Go-to-market emphasizes content marketing via a large HACCP knowledge blog, industry exhibitions (Food Safety Japan, International Hotel Restaurant Show, Wireless Japan), and consultative selling with free consultation requests driving bottom-of-funnel conversion.

The company has accumulated more than 60 disclosed enterprise customers including Yoshinoya, Prince Hotels, Hyatt Place Kyoto, Sumitomo Chemical, Imuraya, Fujiya, Tonami Transport, Fukuoka Transport, and Compass Group Japan, with deployments spanning Sushi restaurants, hotels, food factories, logistics fleets, and agricultural facilities. It has received four industry awards (MCPC 2018 Special Prize, 29th SME New Technology Award 2017, Tokyo World Launch Competition Special Prize 2021, 26th Nikushoku Excellent Food Machinery Award 2023) and participated in the Frozen Economy Lab consortium since 2022. The company is bootstrapped with ¥5,000,000 registered capital, no disclosed venture or growth funding, and operates exclusively within Japan.

Name

Time Machine

Legal name

タイムマシーン株式会社

Website

https://tmcn.jp

Company type

Private

Founded year

2010

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

1–10 employees

Short description

Time Machine (Tokyo, founded 2010) sells the ACALA cloud-based IoT temperature and humidity monitoring system under a PaaS subscription model, serving food manufacturers, hotels, restaurants, logistics providers, and agricultural operators in Japan needing HACCP-compliant automated temperature recording.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

IoT Temperature Monitoring Systems

NAICS

Automatic Environmental Control Manufacturing for Residential, Commercial, and Appliance Use (334512), Other Measuring and Controlling Device Manufacturing (334519)

SIC

Auto Controls For Regulating Residential & Comml Environments (3822), Instruments For Meas & Testing Of Electricity & Elec Signals (3825), Industrial Instruments For Measurement, Display, And Control (3823)

akta.pro primary industry

Cold Storage Warehouse Temperature Monitoring (Refrigerated & Frozen) (AFAOALAC)

akta.pro secondary industries

Cold Chain & Temperature-Controlled Storage Equipment (IMAHAKAJ), Refrigeration Controls, Thermostats & Sensors Service (HSAOAJAF)

Keywords

• IoT temperature monitoring
• Cloud temperature management
• HACCP compliance solutions
• Cold chain monitoring
• Wireless sensor networks

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokio

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices1 record

Markets served

GTM type

B2B

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. ACALA Temperature Management Service: PaaS (Product as a Service) model offering temperature management as a complete monthly service. Hardware (sensors, gateways) is provided as rental/lease rather than sold. Customers pay only monthly service fees with zero initial costs. The company maintains ownership of hardware and conducts regular sensor replacements with reusable components.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels2 records

Marketing channels4 records

Core offering

Time Machine provides ACALA, a cloud-based IoT temperature management system that combines battery-powered wireless sensors, gateways, and cloud applications to deliver 24/7 remote temperature and humidity monitoring, automated reporting, and alerting. The company offers the solution under a Product-as-a-Service (PaaS) subscription model with zero initial cost, targeting food manufacturing, hotels, restaurants, logistics, agriculture, and healthcare/pharmaceutical sectors for HACCP compliance. Hardware is leased and maintained by Time Machine, with reusable components and proactive battery replacement.

Product overview

Time Machine offers ACALA, a comprehensive IoT-based temperature management system with multiple product variants. The core ACALA platform provides cloud-based temperature monitoring with 24/7 wireless sensor data collection and automated reporting. ACALA MESH extends this with mesh-network wireless sensors for wide-area factory/warehouse coverage. ACALA FT targets food safety with NFC-enabled core temperature thermometers for HACCP compliance. ACALA MOBILE adds GPS tracking for cold-chain logistics. ACALA FACE provides AI-powered body temperature screening. All products operate under a PaaS (Product-as-a-Service) model offering zero initial cost with monthly subscription fees, combining hardware rental, cloud software, and support services.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ACALA MESH: Cloud-based wireless temperature and humidity monitoring system using mesh network technology for HACCP compliance in food manufacturing, warehouses, and logistics.
• ACALA FT
• ACALA MOBILE
• ACALA FACE
• ACALA THERMO

Products and services

• ACALA Cloud-based IoT temperature management platform providing continuous monitoring, automated data collection every minute, instant deviation alerts via email/phone, and automatic report generation in CSV, XLSX, and PDF formats. Targets food manufacturing, hospitality, logistics, healthcare, and agriculture enterprises.
• ACALA MESH Mesh-network-based wireless temperature and humidity monitoring system featuring battery-powered sensors with up to 5-year battery life, waterproof/dustproof design, and wide-area mesh network coverage for factories, warehouses, and commercial kitchens.
• ACALA FT Handheld NFC-enabled core (center) temperature measurement thermometer with automatic cloud recording. Designed for HACCP compliance in food manufacturing, enabling automatic recording of food center temperatures during cooking, cooling, and processing.
• ACALA MOBILE Mobile temperature and humidity monitoring solution with GPS/GNSS tracking for refrigerated and frozen transport vehicles. Enables real-time cold chain monitoring with location and environmental data transmission via mobile networks for logistics operators.
• ACALA FACE AI-powered body surface temperature measurement and personal authentication system using computer vision cameras for non-contact temperature screening and identity verification for facility access management in workplaces and public venues.
• ACALA PaaS Subscription Service Subscription-based service model bundling hardware rental, cloud software, server operation, support, and proactive sensor/battery replacement with reusable components for sustainability. Customers pay monthly fees with zero initial investment.

Quantifiable outcome

• Significant labor reduction through automated temperature recording and report generation
• +2 more outcomes

Named customers7 records

Segments5 records

Ideal customer profiles5 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability2 records

Feature3 records

Partnerships

Five partnerships are on record, tiered strategic, supporting and core.

• Kaminashi (株式会社カミナシ)strategicStrategic or Co-development Partner · 26 March 2020Business partnership formed in March 2020 with Kaminashi, a quality management platform company. The partnership aimed to enhance quality management capabilities through AI camera-based body temperature measurement and personal authentication system ACALA FACE.
• Sunden Retail Systems (サンデン・リテールシステム株式会社)supportingTechnology or Integration · 8 November 2018Business partnership established in November 2018 for temperature monitoring solutions in retail and logistics applications.
• NTT docomo (株式会社NTTドコモ)coreChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 7 July 2017Partnership agreement established in July 2017 for joint sales expansion of ACALA products. Time Machine utilizes docomo's IoT M2M platform (docomo M2Mプラットフォーム) as part of the integrated traceability IoT solution. Docomo serves as a channel partner for ACALA distribution.
• Linear Technology Corporation (リニアテクノロジー)coreTechnology or Integration · 25 May 2015Time Machine adopted Linear Technology's SmartMesh IP family for ODM services targeting Industrial IoT markets. The partnership enables high-reliability wireless sensor network products using LTC5800 and LTP5900 modules. Time Machine uses this technology in its own ACALA THERMO service.
• Fukuoka Transport (福岡運輸株式会社)supportingOthers · 21 May 2015Fukuoka Transport, Japan's first cold chain logistics company (established 1957), adopted ACALA MOBILE for 20 vehicles for temperature monitoring and GPS tracking. Beta customer during 2-month trial before full deployment.

Scale indicators3 records

Recent moves6 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Emerging players

• Onset Computer (HOBO): Onset's HOBO data loggers and remote monitoring systems cover temperature, humidity, and environmental conditions. Comparable to ACALA's sensor-and-cloud monitoring for HACCP-adjacent use cases, but with less focus on subscription/managed service.
• Digi International: Digi provides wireless IoT connectivity, sensor gateways, and remote monitoring solutions for industrial and food applications. Overlaps with ACALA's mesh-based wireless monitoring architecture and cold-chain use cases.

Broad incumbents

• Advantech: Advantech provides industrial IoT hardware, gateways, and sensor platforms used in cold-chain and food monitoring. Comparable infrastructure layer to what Time Machine builds with SmartMesh IP gateways and cloud applications.
• Azbil Corporation: Azbil (formerly Yamatake) provides building automation, HVAC control, and sensor solutions in Japan. Its building environmental monitoring overlaps with ACALA's commercial facility temperature management applications.
• Yokogawa Electric: Yokogawa is a Japanese industrial automation incumbent with extensive sensor, measurement, and control portfolios. While not focused on HACCP, its industrial monitoring capabilities overlap with broader ACALA use cases in process facilities.

Direct peers

• ELPRO-BUCHS AG: ELPRO manufactures data loggers and monitoring solutions for temperature-sensitive goods in pharma and food. Comparable to Time Machine for cloud-connected temperature monitoring with regulatory recordkeeping and alarm functionality.
• Monnit Corporation: Monnit offers a broad IoT sensor platform including wireless temperature/humidity monitoring for food service, healthcare, and logistics. Comparable to ACALA in IoT-based remote monitoring with cloud dashboards and alerts, with a broader but shallower product set.
• Sensitech (Carrier): Sensitech, a Carrier company, offers temperature monitoring and tracking solutions for cold-chain and food/pharma industries. Its TempTale and real-time monitoring products overlap directly with ACALA's automated temperature recording proposition.
• Controlant: Controlant provides real-time temperature and location visibility solutions for cold-chain logistics and life sciences. It is a direct peer to ACALA, addressing similar IoT monitoring and automated recordkeeping pain points for refrigerated supply chains.
• Berlinger & Co. Berlinger produces temperature monitoring and vaccine cold-chain monitoring solutions, including Fridge-tag and SmartLog devices. Highly comparable to ACALA MESH/FT in regulated temperature recording and HACCP-style compliance.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat5 records

Key risks5 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCh6CLakefdN5Bc6aFEJZXRQ
• Facebookfacebook.com/tmcn.jp

Compliance4 records

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles2 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 Time Machine