And Factory

What And Factory does

And Factory Inc. (TSE: 7035) is a Tokyo-headquartered Japanese public company founded in September 2014 that develops and operates smartphone-centric digital platforms across three business divisions: Manga, Entertainment, and RET (Real Estate Tech/Hospitality). The company was founded as a subsidiary of famous Inc. before a management buyout in October 2014 made it independent, with CEO Aoki Rinji appointed in 2019 and founder Ohara Takamasa serving as Chairman.

The Manga division is the core business, comprising 8 co-developed reading apps with major Japanese publishers — MangaUp! (Square Enix, 10M+ downloads), MangaPark (Hakusensha), MangaMee (Shueisha, ranked #1 in Oricon Customer Satisfaction 2023-2024), Sunday Webry (Shogakukan), Young Jump+ (Shueisha), Comic Every (Beegee, 1M+ downloads), MangaTOP (Nihon Bungeisha), and MechaComic (Amutas) — collectively exceeding 10M MAU as of August 2020. The Entertainment division centers on the uraraca fortune-telling platform aggregating celebrity-supervised divination brands (Love Me Do, Hoshi Hitoshi, Crystal Ball, Ivrlrd Haruka) with 24/7 phone/chat consultations. The RET division operates the &AND HOSTEL IoT smart hostel brand across 13+ locations in Tokyo, Osaka, and Fukuoka, alongside B2B products: tabii (in-room tablet SaaS deployed at 140+ hotel/ryokan properties), innto (lodging management system), &IoT (device control platform), and totono (resident support app).

Revenue is generated through freemium manga apps with in-app coin purchases and subscriptions, fortune-telling subscription tiers (¥330/month for uraraca), B2B SaaS fees (tabii monetized via advertising, free to hotels), and direct hostel room revenue. The company maintains capital and business partnerships with major publishers, holds a strategic AI partnership with Alibaba Cloud (June 2025), and acquired WEBTOON translation subsidiary Southworks in May 2024. The company employs 128 people as of August 2025 and trades on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Standard Market.

Name

And Factory

Legal name

and factory株式会社

Website

https://andfactory.co.jp

Company type

Public

Founded year

2014

Operating status

Operating

Headcount range

101–250 employees

Short description

And Factory (TSE: 7035) is a Tokyo-based Japanese public company that co-develops smartphone manga apps with major publishers, operates an IoT-enabled smart hostel chain and hospitality SaaS, and runs a fortune-telling platform, serving consumer readers, hotel operators, and publishers.

Ownership category

akta.pro rank

Product category

Mobile Applications & Digital Content Platforms

akta.pro primary industry

Digital Comics, Manga & Serialized Reading Platforms (BPAMAJAJ)

akta.pro secondary industries

Manga Publishing (Japanese & Global) (MPAJAGAA), Outsourced Art/Audio Production Services (2D/3D, Animation, VFX, Audio/VO) (MPAFAKAM)

Keywords

• Smartphone applications
• Digital manga platforms
• IoT hospitality
• Mobile entertainment services
• Real estate technology

Headquarters

HQ city

Tokyo

HQ country

Japan

HQ region

Asia

Offices5 records

Markets served

GTM type

B2B and B2C

Offering type

Software

Cost components

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

Revenue model

1. Manga Platform Revenue: Revenue from co-developed and operated manga reading apps with major publishers (Square Enix, Shogakukan, Shueisha, Hakusensha, etc.), monetized through freemium reading with in-app purchases, subscription tiers, and advertising. The company also previously operated COMIAD, a manga-app-specific ad network.
2. Entertainment / Fortune-Telling Services: Revenue from fortune-telling apps (uraraca, Love Me Do, 星ひとみ, 水晶玉子, イヴルルド遙華) offering content subscriptions, per-consultation fees, and in-app purchases. uraraca also offers phone and chat divination services.
3. Hospitality (RET) Services: Revenue from &AND HOSTEL smart hostel operations, and B2B tablet/IoT platform services (tabii, innto) provided to third-party hotels. tabii is offered free to hotels with revenue generated through advertising.
4. totono (Real Estate / Housing Support App): Revenue from the totono housing support app for tenants and property managers, developed jointly with Smasapo, generating fees from property management companies.

Pricing tiers

Go-to-market motion1 record

Distribution channels5 records

Marketing channels8 records

Core offering

And Factory is a Japanese smartphone-focused technology company that develops and operates mobile applications across three business divisions: Manga (eight co-developed manga reading apps with major publishers including Square Enix, Shogakukan, Shueisha, and Hakusensha), Entertainment (fortune-telling and divination apps under the uraraca platform), and RET (smart hostel operations under the &AND HOSTEL brand and B2B hospitality technology including the tabii in-room tablet service and innto property management system). The company also produces WEBTOON content through subsidiary Southworks and is developing AI-powered manga production tools in partnership with Alibaba Cloud.

Product overview

and factory operates a multi-category portfolio of digital consumer services organized across three divisions: Manga, Entertainment (fortune-telling), and RET (Real Estate Tech / hospitality). The Manga division encompasses seven named manga reading platforms (ソク読み, マンガUP!, マンガPark, マンガMee, サンデーうぇぶり, ヤンジャン+, コミックevery) co-developed with major Japanese publishers (Square Enix, Hakusensha, Shueisha, Shogakukan, BeeGee) alongside production services (WEBTOON Editorial) and IP marketing tools. The Entertainment division centers on the uraraca platform featuring multiple branded fortune-telling services (Love Me Do, 星ひとみ, 水晶玉子, イヴルルド遙華) and a phone/chat divination marketplace. The RET division operates the &AND HOSTEL smart hostel brand, the tabii in-room tablet hospitality SaaS, the innto property management system, the &IoT device control platform, and the totono resident support app. The company also launched a new Bridge Business in 2026 for IP-based merchandise and brand collaborations.

Differentiator

Problem solved

Functional benefit

Brands

• ソク読み (Sokuyomi): Comprehensive e-manga bookstore service started in 2007, handling over 200 publishers with 150,000+ works and 800,000+ volumes.
• マンガUP！
• マンガPark
• マンガMee
• サンデーうぇぶり
• ヤンジャン＋
• uraraca
• Love Me Do◆絶対数
• &AND HOSTEL
• tabii
• totono
• Bridge事業

Products and services

• Sokuyomi (ソク読み)
• MangaUp! (マンガUP!)
• MangaPark (マンガPark)
• MangaMee (マンガMee)
• Sunday Webry (サンデーうぇぶり)
• Young Jump+ (ヤングジャンプ+)
• Comic Every (コミックevery)
• Sokuyomi Editorial (ソク読み編集部 / WEBTOON Production)
• Love Me Do Absolute Number (Love Me Do◆絶対数)
• uraraca (ウララカ)
• &AND HOSTEL
• tabii (タビー)
• innto
• totono (トトノ)
• Bridge Business (ブリッジ事業)
• DORUCOMI+ (ドリコミ+)
• &AND HOSTEL NAMBA SOUTH

Quantifiable outcome

• Combined manga app MAU exceeded 10 million as of August 2020
• +3 more outcomes

Named customers12 records

Segments6 records

Ideal customer profiles6 records

Technology focussed Yes

API detail

Has API

No

API docs

API detail

Core technology

AI maturity

App detail

AI capability8 records

Feature6 records

Partnerships

18 partnerships are on record, tiered core, minor and major.

• Alibaba Cloud (阿里巴巴云计算)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 25 June 2025Strategic partnership for developing AI-powered tools for Japan's manga industry. Alibaba Cloud provides its full-stack AI and cloud capabilities (Qwen and Wan model families) for manga production tools including AI-powered manga creation, Webtoon automation, translation, and auto-coloring functions. and factory provides manga industry expertise and content platform capabilities. This is a flagship strategic collaboration announced in June 2025.
• Southworks (サウスワークス)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 17 May 2024Subsidiary specializing in translation and localization services for WEBTOON content. and factory incorporated Southworks as a subsidiary and plans to acquire the remaining 20% of shares by August 2026. Southworks supports global manga/WEBTOON expansion through translation and localization.
• Crystal Ball (水晶玉子)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 15 February 2021Official divination service by Crystal Ball featuring the 'reverse' Planchan astrology (裏の占星術) method. Premiered February 2021 on uraraca platform at 330 yen/month. Featured on Downton DX (NTV) New Year special.
• Love Me Do (ラブちゃん)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 February 2021Official divination service featuring fortune-teller Love Me Do (ラブちゃん) with proprietary 'absolute number' (絶対数) numerology divination method. Service available on iOS and Android.
• Hoshi Hitoshi (星ひとみ)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 14 October 2020Official divination service by TV celebrity fortune-teller Hoshi Hitoshi using Tenmon术 (天星術). Featured on Fuji TV show '突然ですが占ってもいいですか?' and available on uraraca platform.
• Smasapo (株式会社スマサポ)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2020Joint development of totono housing support app with Smasapo, providing property management digitalization for 三好不動産, 宅都プロパティ, and other property managers. Totono serves 60,000+ tenants across Fukuoka and Osaka.
• Nihon Bungeisha (株式会社日本文芸社)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2019Co-development of マンガTOP app with Nihon Bungeisha, featuring content from 漫画ゴラク, コミックヘヴン, Webゴラク, including original serialized content.
• Amutas (株式会社アムタス)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2019Joint development and operation of the めちゃコミ daily serialized manga app (established October 2019, full renewal May 2020). This partnership expanded and factory's manga app count to 7, making total manga user count the domestic maximum.
• Square Enix (株式会社スクウェア・エニックス)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 November 2019Co-development of マンガUP！ manga app featuring Square Enix's manga magazines including 月刊少年ガンガン. App surpassed 10M downloads. and factory provides app development, marketing, and monetization operations.
• H.I.S. Hotel Holdings (エイチ・アイ・エス・ホテルホールディングス)majorChannel Partner/ Reseller/ Distributor · 1 November 2019tabii hotel tablet service deployed at multiple Henn na Hotel locations including Kansai Airport (15th Henn na Hotel location) and Kanazawa Korinbo (16th location). tabii provides guest concierge, IoT room control, and multilingual support.
• Shogakukan (株式会社小学館)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019Capital and business partnership established October 2019. Joint operation of サンデーうぇぶり manga app and related manga IP marketing services.
• Shueisha (株式会社集英社)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019Capital and business partnership established October 2019. Joint operation of ヤンジャン！ manga app (with full renewal in 2020) and マンガMee shoujo manga app.
• Hakusensha (株式会社白泉社)coreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019Capital and business partnership established October 2019. Joint operation of マンガPark app with Hakusensha's manga magazines (花とゆめ, LaLa, ヤングアニマル).
• KADOKAWA (株式会社KADOKAWA)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019Joint development of IoT-powered guest room experiences at KADOKAWA's EJ Anime Hotel (opened October 2020 in Tokorozawa Sakura Town). and factory contributed its expertise in smart accommodation solutions and manga app development.
• Ivrlrd Haruka (イヴルルド遙華)minorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 October 2019Official name fortune (ネームフォーチュン) service by Ivrlrd Haruka using numerology-based name analysis. Premiered October 2020 on uraraca platform, targeting women seeking love and relationship guidance.
• Shogakukan (株式会社小学館) — Sunday Webry RenewalcoreStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2019Business partnership for full renewal of サンデーうぇぶり manga app in August 2019. Joint operation of Shogakukan manga content including 週刊少年サンデー, ゲッサン, サンデーGX.
• Beeグリー (株式会社ビーグリー)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 July 2018Joint development of コミックevery free manga app with Beegry's Manga Kingdom platform, featuring the largest free content library (15,000+ chapters at launch, expanded to 50,000+ chapters). App exceeded 1M downloads.
• BIJ (株式会社BIJ)majorStrategic or Co-development Partner · 1 April 2016Comprehensive alliance for IoT-powered smart hostel development and real estate digital transformation. BIJ brings IoT technology and big data expertise; and factory brings smartphone app development and accommodation operations. Co-produced &AND HOSTEL Fukuoka (opened August 2016) as Japan's first IoT smart hostel.

Scale indicators7 records

Recent moves14 records

Expansion highlights6 records

Direct peers

• LINE Manga: Operated by LY Corporation (LINE Yahoo), LINE Manga is one of the leading Japanese manga apps with a similar freemium model and publisher partnerships. It is a direct competitor in the smartphone manga-reading market and shares and factory's PLG distribution through iOS/Android app stores.
• Piccoma: Operated by Kakao Piccoma (Japan), Piccoma is Japan's largest manga app by revenue with a similar co-development model with major publishers. Direct competitor to and factory's manga app portfolio (MangaUP!, MangaPark, MangaMee, Sunday Webry, Young Jump+, Comic Every).
• Handy (handygo): Handy provides in-room tablets and digital guest-experience platforms for hotels globally. It is the closest direct competitor to and factory's tabii B2B hospitality tablet SaaS in functionality, target buyer (hotel operators) and freemium/ad-supported business model.
• Comico: NHN Japan's Comico is a smartphone-first digital manga platform with vertical-scroll (Webtoon) and free/paid chapter mechanics comparable to and factory's apps. Both target the Japanese consumer manga-reading audience with similar publisher-style co-development relationships.
• comikey: comikey is a Japanese-headquartered digital manga platform with a translation/localization focus for global distribution, directly comparable to and factory's Southworks-powered WEBTOON production and Sokuyomi multi-publisher e-manga service.
• BookLive: BookLive is a major Japanese e-book and digital manga retailer/platform operated by BookLive (Toppan group). Comparable to and factory's Sokuyomi e-manga bookstore (200+ publishers, 150,000+ works) in product offering, distribution model and target Japanese consumer market.
• Cygames Magazine: Cygames Magazine / Manga Up is operated by Cygames (CyberAgent group) and offers a smartphone manga-reading experience with exclusive serialized titles. Comparable to and factory's MangaUP! and Young Jump+ apps in product format, target user and freemium monetization.

Regional players

• CITAN Hostel: CITAN Hostel operates a small chain of design-led hostels in Tokyo with a co-working/digital-nomad positioning similar to &AND HOSTEL. Comparable in target customer (budget/inbound travelers and remote workers), pricing tier and Tokyo real estate footprint.

Broad incumbents

• Rakuten Kobo: Rakuten Kobo (Rakuten Group) operates a global e-book reader and digital manga distribution platform. Comparable to and factory's Sokuyomi e-manga bookstore in terms of multi-publisher aggregation, Japanese consumer market presence and digital distribution of serialized manga content.

Emerging players

• Nonius: Nonius offers a broader hospitality technology suite (guest apps, in-room controls, IoT, property management) to hotels. While broader than tabii's tablet focus, Nonius overlaps with and factory's combined tabii + innto + &IoT offering for hotel digital transformation.

Market position

Strengths5 records

Weaknesses5 records

Competitive moat6 records

Key risks6 records

Key highlights7 records

Customer concentration

• Xx.com/andfactory_jp
• YouTubeyoutube.com/channel/UCVqzCMY8u-tI8OiVvNOXjIg
• Facebookfacebook.com/andfactory
• LinkedInlinkedin.com/company/and-factory-inc-

Revenue estimate

Valuation estimate

Number of profiles

Profiles9 records

Subsidiaries1 record

Funding overview

Funding rounds1 record

Investors1 record

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

M&A1 record

Investments7 records

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

Frequently asked questions about And Factory