ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学
BBT University is Japan's first 100% online MEXT-authorized university, founded in 2010 by Kenichi Ohmae, serving working adults, transfer students, and learners across 110+ countries through its proprietary AirCampus cloud learning platform and practitioner-led business education.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2010
- Headquarters千代田区, 東京都, Japan
- Headcount1–10
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 does
BBT University (ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学) is a Japanese Ministry of Education (MEXT) authorized, fully online university founded in April 2010 by global management consultant Kenichi Ohmae. It is operated by Aoba-BBT Inc. (formerly 株式会社ビジネス・ブレークスルー, established 1998) and offers undergraduate programs in two departments: Global Management (グローバル経営学科) and Digital Business Design (デジタルビジネスデザイン学科). The university is Japan's first 100% online institution authorized to confer a bachelor's degree, serving primarily working professionals (~70% of students) alongside high-school graduates, university transfer students, and adult learners aged 18–70 across 110+ countries.
The university's core technology is AirCampus, a proprietary cloud-based learning management system that delivers video lectures, supports asynchronous text-based discussion, and uses AI to visualize student learning data. AirCampus includes a patented viewing authentication system (視聴認証システム) for attendance verification and a mobile app supporting offline viewing via differential download. The university's 'no teaching' (教えない大学) pedagogical philosophy emphasizes structured debate led by practitioner-faculty — approximately 60% of instructors are active executives and entrepreneurs — to develop practical business reasoning rather than passive content absorption. AI-powered learning analytics are integrated to track engagement and deepen thinking processes.
BBT generates revenue primarily through tuition: a 315,000 yen admission fee plus 42,000 yen per credit, with students paying based on enrolled credits each term. A single-subject enrollment (単科生制度) system functions as both a trial funnel and revenue stream, with credits transferable to full degrees and partial admission-fee refunds available. The GTM is direct-to-consumer via digital channels — online webinars, BBT Magazine content platform, individual consultations, LINE inquiries, and university fairs — with no physical retail presence. As of April 2020, BBT had ~1,256 active students and 3,216 cumulative graduates across its programs.
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学
- Legal name
- 株式会社Aoba-BBT
- Website
- https://bbt.ac
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2010
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 1–10 employees
- Short description
- BBT University is Japan's first 100% online MEXT-authorized university, founded in 2010 by Kenichi Ohmae, serving working adults, transfer students, and learners across 110+ countries through its proprietary AirCampus cloud learning platform and practitioner-led business education.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 industry classification
Industry- NAICS
- Colleges, Universities, and Professional Schools (611310), Business Schools and Computer and Management Training (6114)
- SIC
- Services-Educational Services (8200)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Fully Online Universities (Online-First, Degree-Granting) (EDAHALAA)
- akta.pro secondary industries
- Undergraduate Business Schools (BBA/BSBA Programs) (EDAHAHAA), Management Research Institutes & Doctoral (PhD/DBA) Programs (EDAHAHAO)
Keywords
Where ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- 千代田区, 東京都
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices2 records
Markets served
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Technology or R&D, Marketing or Sales, Operations, Infrastructure
Revenue model
- Tuition and admission fees: BBT University charges admission fees (入学金), per-credit tuition fees (単位料), and annual tuition (年間授業料). Students pay based on the number of credits they enroll in each term. A single-credit fee is 42,000 yen. An admission fee of 315,000 yen is charged upon enrollment. Single-subject enrollment (単科生制度) is also available for students who wish to take individual courses before committing to a full degree program.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Subscription | Annual | Full-time undergraduate degree program in Business Administration |
| Subscription | Per course | Single-subject enrollment (単科生制度) |
Go-to-market motion3 records
Distribution channels2 records
Marketing channels7 records
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 product offering
Product offeringCore offering
BBT University is a Japanese Ministry of Education-approved 100% online university offering a Bachelor of Business Administration degree through two departments: Global Management (グローバル経営学科) and Digital Business Design (デジタルビジネスデザイン学科). All coursework is delivered through its proprietary AirCampus cloud-based learning platform, featuring video lectures, asynchronous text-based discussion, AI-powered learning analytics, and a patented viewing authentication system. It also offers a graduate MBA program (since 2005), a single-course enrollment system (単科生制度), and a problem-solving training program.
Product overview
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 (BBT University) is a Japanese Ministry of Education-approved, 100% online university founded in 2010 by global management consultant 大前研一 (Kenichi Omae). It operates two undergraduate departments — グローバル経営学科 (Global Management) and デジタルビジネスデザイン学科 (Digital Business Design) — and delivers all coursework through its proprietary cloud learning platform AirCampus. The portfolio centers on AirCampus as the core educational technology product, supplemented by the BBT Magazine content platform, a single-course enrollment system (単科生制度) that allows pre-admission course taking, a career development office, and an e-sports club as an extracurricular offering. All programs emphasize practice-oriented business education taught by practitioner-faculty through video lectures, asynchronous text-based discussions, and project-based learning.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Quantifiable outcome
- 63% of graduates report improved life fulfillment; 55% report salary increase; 14.8% start own businesses
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学
Customer profileNamed customers4 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 technology and API
TechnologyAPI detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
AI capability5 records
Feature4 records
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Five partnerships are on record, tiered minor and notable.
- 愛知県豊橋市 (Toyohashi City, Aichi)minorBBT Professor Yanaka Shugo appointed as Policy Promotion Advisor to Toyohashi City's mayor, contributing expertise on urban management and regional revitalization strategy. Advisory role, not commercial partnership.
- 静岡県 (Shizuoka Prefecture)minorBBT Professor Yanaka Shugo (Global Management Department Chair) serves as General Producer of the '静岡県SDGsビジネスアワード', a Shizuoka Prefecture initiative to discover and support environmental businesses. The program involves mentoring awarded companies and hosting an award ceremony. This is a pro-bono advisory role rather than a commercial partnership.
- avatarin株式会社 (ANAホールディングス発スタートアップ)notableBBT University and avatarin established the '教育デザイン・ラボ' (Educational Design Lab) to introduce avatar robots (newme) into business education. As a first activity, avatar robots were used in group work classes where remote students participated via avatar robots alongside in-person students. This was part of the world's first 'avatar graduation ceremony' in March 2020 where graduates received diplomas via avatar robots. The partnership aims to explore new forms of education combining real and online participation.
- INSPIRE (地方創生イノベータープラットフォーム)notableBBT University co-hosts events with INSPIRE, a major regional revitalization innovator platform with an 8,000+ member community. Co-organized '超絶オンラインセミナー' (ultra online seminars) where BBT faculty provided free thinking tools to businesspersons during COVID-19. INSPIRE is represented by BBT Professor Yanaka Shugo as Representative Director.
- 厚生労働省 (Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare)minorBBT University e-sports club collaborated with the Ministry of Health, Labour and Welfare on e-sports event operations, providing opportunities for student involvement in organized competitive gaming events.
Scale indicators8 records
Recent moves9 records
Expansion highlights6 records
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 competitors and assessment
Company assessmentBroad incumbents
- edX: Global online learning platform offering university-level courses and MicroMasters/degree programs from leading institutions. Comparable as a broad incumbent that enables online business credentials accessible to Japanese learners.
- Keio Business School (KBS): Established Japanese business school within Keio University offering MBA and corporate executive education. Represents the incumbent offline/traditional alternative for the same learner persona seeking advanced business credentials.
- The Open University (UK): Pioneering UK distance-learning university offering accredited undergraduate and graduate degrees fully online. Historically analogous model and represents a globally-recognized online-degree incumbent that Japanese learners may pursue instead of BBT.
- Western Governors University (WGU): US-based accredited online university offering competency-based business and IT degrees to working adults. Closely comparable model — fully online, degree-granting, adult-learner-focused — but operating at vastly larger scale.
- Coursera: Global online learning platform partnering with top universities and companies to offer courses and accredited degrees. Provides a broader incumbent threat as it increasingly partners with accredited institutions for online business degrees.
Emerging players
- SOLE (School of Online Learning / sole-edu): Japanese online learning platform focused on university-level business and technology courses. Overlaps with BBT in the online business-education niche, appealing to similar working-adult and transfer-student personas.
Direct peers
- The Open University of Japan (放送大学): Japan's longstanding distance-learning university offering accredited degrees via broadcast and online channels. Comparable as a degree-granting institution targeting adult learners outside the traditional campus model.
- Globis University (グロービス経営大学院): Japanese graduate business school offering online MBA programs targeted at working professionals. Closely overlaps BBT's practitioner-led, online-first business education model and similar learner persona.
- Cyber University: Japan-based 100% online university operated by CyberAgent. Directly competes with BBT in the fully-online degree-granting category targeting working professionals, with comparable business and IT-related undergraduate programs.
- NUCB Business School (Nagoya University of Commerce & Business): Japanese business school offering accredited MBA programs with practitioner faculty. Targets a similar working-professional learner seeking practical business credentials, competing for the same Japanese adult-learner segment.
Market position
Strengths4 records
Weaknesses4 records
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 social profiles
Digital presenceビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 compliance and trust
Trust signalCompliance2 records
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 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 ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学
What does ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 do?
BBT University is a Japanese Ministry of Education-approved 100% online university offering a Bachelor of Business Administration degree through two departments: Global Management (グローバル経営学科) and Digital Business Design (デジタルビジネスデザイン学科). All coursework is delivered through its proprietary AirCampus cloud-based learning platform, featuring video lectures, asynchronous text-based discussion, AI-powered learning analytics, and a patented viewing authentication system. It also offers a graduate MBA program (since 2005), a single-course enrollment system (単科生制度), and a problem-solving training program.
Is ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 a public or private company?
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 is a private company. It is currently operating.
When was ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 founded?
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 was founded in 2010. It employs 1 to 10 people.
Where is ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 based?
ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 is headquartered in 千代田区, 東京都, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 make money?
One revenue line is on record: tuition and admission fees.
Who are ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学's main competitors?
Broad incumbents on record are edX, Keio Business School (KBS), The Open University (UK), Western Governors University (WGU) and Coursera. SOLE (School of Online Learning / sole-edu) is listed as an emerging player. Direct peers are The Open University of Japan (放送大学), Globis University (グロービス経営大学院), Cyber University and NUCB Business School (Nagoya University of Commerce & Business).
Does ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 have an API?
No public API is recorded for ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学.
What industry is ビジネス・ブレークスルー大学 in?
Its primary akta.pro industry code is EDAHALAA, Fully Online Universities (Online-First, Degree-Granting), with a secondary code of EDAHAHAA, Undergraduate Business Schools (BBA/BSBA Programs). Its NAICS code is 611310 and its SIC code is 8200.