Semi Permanent
Semi Permanent is a cultural infrastructure platform that convenes designers, architects, technologists, filmmakers, chefs, artists, and cultural leaders through year-round curated gatherings and an annual Tokyo Salone flagship, connecting a 300,000-strong global community with Japan's creative ecosystem.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded2002
- HeadquartersTokyo, Japan
- Headcount11–50
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingServices
What Semi Permanent does
Semi Permanent is a private cultural infrastructure platform founded in 2002 that convenes designers, architects, technologists, filmmakers, chefs, artists, entrepreneurs, and cultural leaders through curated in-person gatherings. Originally based in Australasia, the platform shifted its primary base to Tokyo, Japan in 2026 and now operates a year-round constellation of programs anchored by the Tokyo Salone flagship gathering on November 13-14, 2026. The platform comprises nine distinct event brands including the Tokyo Salone flagship, Nightshift Shakedown (mobility and JDM culture), Nourish (gastronomy), Speculative Futures (technology, climate, governance), Shibuya: The Culture of Modern Luxury, Friends Of (exhibitions), Held in Sound (listening practice), Moments (year-round salons), and Thirdspace Thirdweeks (monthly gatherings at Soho House Tokyo), plus the Future Of annual research publication. Co-curated with teenage engineering and carried forward by 「yes,」 venture firm, the platform connects a community of more than 300,000 practitioners across 13 cities of historical activity.
The platform's underlying technology is cultural curation and event programming rather than software; it operates through physical venues (Tokyo American Club, Azabudai Hills, Soho House Tokyo, Massif Tokyo, Midori.so, Shunkō-in Kyoto), partner radio networks (KCRW, dublab.jp), and digital channels (semipermanent.com, lu.ma ticketing, Instagram, LinkedIn, Threads, email newsletter). Distribution combines direct ticket sales, invitation-led experiences, Soho House membership allocation (~30% of Thirdspace capacity reserved), and public exhibitions.
Revenue is generated through three streams: ticketed admissions to flagship and satellite events (one-time license pricing with public disclosure of certain tiers such as Nourish Practitioner Passport at $900 USD), founding partner corporate sponsorship programs (professional services model), and members-first community access through Soho House Tokyo partnerships (recurring subscription-style engagement). The company is privately held, has not disclosed institutional funding, and operates with approximately 16 employees and a global network spanning Japan, Oceania, Europe, North America, and the broader Asia Pacific region.
Semi Permanent firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Semi Permanent
- Legal name
- Semi Permanent
- Website
- https://semipermanent.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 2002
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 11–50 employees
- Short description
- Semi Permanent is a cultural infrastructure platform that convenes designers, architects, technologists, filmmakers, chefs, artists, and cultural leaders through year-round curated gatherings and an annual Tokyo Salone flagship, connecting a 300,000-strong global community with Japan's creative ecosystem.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Semi Permanent industry classification
Industry- Product category
- Cultural Events and Creative Gatherings Platform
- NAICS
- Museums, Historical Sites, and Similar Institutions (7121)
- akta.pro primary industry
- Event Rentals (Tents, Furniture, A/V, Decor) (HSACAAAG)
Keywords
Where Semi Permanent is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- Tokyo
- HQ country
- Japan
- HQ region
- Asia
Offices1 record
Markets served
Semi Permanent business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Services
- Cost components
- Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales, Others
Revenue model
- Event Tickets: Revenue generated from ticketed admissions to Tokyo Salone flagship gatherings, Speculative Futures, Nourish, and other events. Different ticket tiers and passport options available for practitioners and general attendees.
- Founding Partner Programs: Corporate partnership revenue through founding partner inquiries and sponsorship alignments with the cultural infrastructure platform.
- Membership and Community Access: Members-first access through Soho House Tokyo partnerships and invitation-led circles, with reserved community ticket allocations for broader Tokyo Salone network.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Tokyo Salone General Seating |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Nourish Practitioner Passport |
| One time/ perpetual license | Pay-as-you-go | Nightshift Shakedown |
Go-to-market motion1 record
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels5 records
Semi Permanent product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Semi Permanent operates a global cultural infrastructure platform that curates and produces a constellation of events, salons, exhibitions, and publications. The platform centers on Tokyo Salone, an annual two-day flagship gathering in Tokyo, and extends year-round through specialized programs including Nourish (gastronomy), Speculative Futures (technology/climate forum), Friends Of (exhibitions), Future Of (publication), Moments (salons), and Thirdspace Thirdweeks (monthly gatherings). The platform connects Japan's creative ecosystem with a global community of 300,000+ practitioners across design, architecture, technology, film, gastronomy, and culture.
Product overview
Semi Permanent is a global cultural infrastructure platform that operates through a constellation of interconnected programs centered around Tokyo Salone. The platform is built around an annual flagship gathering (Tokyo Salone, November 13-14, 2026) and extended through year-round salon programs (Moments, Thirdspace Thirdweeks), specialized forums (Speculative Futures, Shibuya: The Culture of Modern Luxury), gastronomic experiences (Nourish), mobility culture events (Nightshift Shakedown), exhibitions (Friends Of), research publications (Future Of), and listening experiences (Held in Sound). Curated by Semi Permanent and teenage engineering, with co-production by yes, the platform connects Japan's creative ecosystem with a global community of practitioners across design, architecture, technology, film, gastronomy, and culture.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- Tokyo Salone: The flagship annual two-day gathering in Tokyo bringing together global and Japanese practitioners for keynotes, conversations, and shared experiences.
- Nourish
- Speculative Futures
- Nightshift Shakedown
- Friends Of
- Future Of
- Thirdspace Thirdweeks
- Moments
- Shibuya, The Culture of Modern Luxury
Products and services
- Tokyo Salone Annual two-day flagship gathering convening global and Japanese practitioners for keynotes, conversations, workshops, and shared experiences. Includes Nightshift Shakedown on the first evening.
- Nourish Two-day gastronomic gathering exploring hospitality, food culture, culinary innovation, and future systems of care. Includes Nourish Practitioner Passport at $900 USD plus Japan Consumption Tax.
- Speculative Futures Cross-disciplinary forum examining signals, technologies, and cultural shifts shaping tomorrow, focusing on AI, climate, urban infrastructure, governance, and ethics.
- Shibuya, The Culture of Modern Luxury Invitation-only forum for under-30 cultural leaders examining how modern luxury is being prototyped in Shibuya through fashion, material innovation, and youth culture.
- Nightshift Shakedown After-dark gathering included within Tokyo Salone exploring Japan's JDM and mobility culture through engineering, design, sound, identity, and community.
- After the Flame Reflection and integration session following Speculative Futures, held at Soho House Tokyo. Invitation-led salon for candid exchange.
- Held in Sound Two-hour listening experience exploring sound as cultural practice through silence, attention, and shared experience. Curated by Semi Permanent and teenage engineering, presented by KCRW.
- Friends Of Rotating exhibition platform bringing international alum community into dialogue with regional artists, designers, architects, and makers through curated installations and spatial storytelling.
- Future Of Annual limited-edition cultural forecast and research publication examining forces shaping culture, technology, climate, design, and collective life. Researched and designed by Semi Permanent in partnership with /OvN, published by Formist Editions.
- Moments Year-round intimate salon series convening Japan's creative community at Massif Tokyo for thoughtful conversation, reflection, and shared learning. Quarterly and monthly gatherings.
- Thirdspace Thirdweeks Monthly invitation-led gatherings held during the third week of each month at Soho House Tokyo. Members-first evening salons and weekend brunches creating recurring dialogue throughout the year.
- Semi Permanent Editorial Stories section featuring interviews, opinions, and cultural commentary spanning design, architecture, art, technology, film, music, gastronomy, and culture.
Quantifiable outcome
- 50+ gatherings produced across 13 cities since 2002
- +1 more outcomes
Companies that use Semi Permanent
Customer profileSegments4 records
Ideal customer profiles2 records
Semi Permanent technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed No
API detail
- Has API
- No
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Semi Permanent partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
13 partnerships are on record, tiered core, key and supporting.
- Teenage EngineeringcoreCo-curators of Tokyo Salone and the broader constellation platform. Teenage engineering provides design curation and creative direction, bringing their product design philosophy to the cultural infrastructure programming since 2002.
- Soho House TokyocoreHome to Thirdspace Thirdweeks and select invitation-led gatherings. Provides year-round site for exchange, hosting monthly cultural gatherings for members and invited guests since April 2026.
- Massif TokyocoreRestaurant, cafe, and bar venue hosting Moments salon series and select Nourish chef pop-ups. A hospitality-centered environment for intimate culinary exchange within the Tokyo Salone constellation.
- KCRWkeyRadio partner for Held in Sound, an exploration of listening as cultural practice held at Shunkoin in Kyoto. Presented by Semi Permanent and teenage engineering in collaboration with KCRW.
- Tokyo American ClubkeyPrimary venue for Tokyo Salone flagship gatherings, Nightshift Shakedown, exhibitions, and community encounters. A landmark gathering place for international exchange.
- dublab.jpkeyRadio partner contributing to Tokyo Salone programming and cultural exchange initiatives.
- Rome StudiokeyDesign partner contributing to Tokyo Salone visual identity and creative production.
- Weber WorkshopskeyPartner contributing to Nourish gastronomic programming and food culture exchange experiences.
- RepertoirekeyPartner platform for Tokyo Salone community engagement and cultural programming.
- Midori.sosupportingCommunity-driven network of modern salons supporting workshops, discussions, experimentation, and emerging voices within the Tokyo Salone constellation.
- Azabudai HillskeyVenued partner for Tokyo Salone programming, providing primary gathering space alongside Tokyo American Club.
- https://www.semipermanent.com/OvNcoreResearch and design partner for Future Of annual publication. Collaboration builds on decades of shared work across projects for Sony, PlayStation, Samsung, Meta, and Microsoft.
- Formist EditionscorePublishing partner for Future Of cultural forecast publication. Ensures production quality, distribution integrity, and material longevity. Has been part of the Semi Permanent journey for more than two decades.
Scale indicators3 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Semi Permanent competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- WantedDesign: Design platform producing exhibitions, talks, and programming during NYCxDesign with a curatorial focus on cross-cultural design exchange. Comparable to Semi Permanent's Friends Of exhibition platform in bridging international designers with regional practice.
- Design Indaba: Annual creative conference and festival founded in Cape Town in 1995, convening global designers, architects, and creative leaders across multiple programs and exhibitions. Directly comparable to Semi Permanent as a curated creative-community platform with international programming.
- Creative Mornings: Global community-driven breakfast lecture series for the creative industry, operating in 100+ cities. Comparable to Semi Permanent's local Moments and Thirdspace Thirdweeks salon programming as recurring community gatherings for creative practitioners.
- OFFF Festival: Barcelona-origin creative festival for designers, motion artists, and digital creators featuring talks, workshops, and exhibitions. Comparable to Semi Permanent's cross-disciplinary creative programming targeting designers, technologists, and cultural practitioners.
- Lift Conference: Geneva-based innovation conference exploring how emerging technologies reshape society, business, and culture. Comparable to Semi Permanent's Speculative Futures forum in examining AI, climate, and governance through curated expert dialogue.
- Pictoplasma: Berlin-based conference and festival dedicated to contemporary character design and illustration, featuring portrait galleries, lectures, and exhibitions. Comparable niche creative-cultural event with curatorial programming and a focused design community.
Broad incumbents
- HOW Design Live: Long-running US conference for the graphic design and creative business community, attracting thousands of attendees annually. Comparable as an established design-industry conference but broader and more commercially positioned than Semi Permanent's curated approach.
- AIGA Design Conference: Professional association for design with 25,000+ members running the leading US design conference and year-round programming. Comparable as a broader incumbent serving the design community, though larger and institutional rather than curated boutique.
Market position
Strengths5 records
Weaknesses5 records
Competitive moat4 records
Key risks5 records
Key highlights7 records
Customer concentration
Semi Permanent social profiles
Digital presenceSemi Permanent financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Semi Permanent leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Semi Permanent funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Semi Permanent 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 Semi Permanent
What does Semi Permanent do?
Semi Permanent operates a global cultural infrastructure platform that curates and produces a constellation of events, salons, exhibitions, and publications. The platform centers on Tokyo Salone, an annual two-day flagship gathering in Tokyo, and extends year-round through specialized programs including Nourish (gastronomy), Speculative Futures (technology/climate forum), Friends Of (exhibitions), Future Of (publication), Moments (salons), and Thirdspace Thirdweeks (monthly gatherings). The platform connects Japan's creative ecosystem with a global community of 300,000+ practitioners across design, architecture, technology, film, gastronomy, and culture.
Is Semi Permanent a public or private company?
Semi Permanent is a private company. It is classified as venture growth investor backed and is currently operating.
When was Semi Permanent founded?
Semi Permanent was founded in 2002. It employs 11 to 50 people.
Where is Semi Permanent based?
Semi Permanent is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan, in the Asia region.
How does Semi Permanent make money?
Three revenue lines are on record. Event Tickets are the primary driver. The others are founding Partner Programs and membership and Community Access.
Who are Semi Permanent's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are WantedDesign, Design Indaba, Creative Mornings, OFFF Festival, Lift Conference and Pictoplasma. Broad incumbents are HOW Design Live and AIGA Design Conference.
Does Semi Permanent have an API?
No public API is recorded for Semi Permanent.
What industry is Semi Permanent in?
Semi Permanent's product category is Cultural Events and Creative Gatherings Platform. Its primary akta.pro industry code is HSACAAAG, Event Rentals (Tents, Furniture, A/V, Decor). Its NAICS code is 7121.