• Blog

・ October 15, 2025

The SaaS Source: October 2025 

This month’s roundup covers the latest innovations and developments from Japan’s SaaS industry including new SaaS platforms, seed funding round updates and a new communication service for businesses. 

FormX Secures ¥130 Million Seed Funding Round

The SaaS News reported that FormX, a Tokyo-based SaaS startup providing an AI-powered disclosure platform, has raised ¥130 million in Seed funding. FormX successfully closed a funding round led by Genesia Ventures (via Genesia Venture Fund 4), with participation from Chiba Dojo Fund and several individual investors.

Genesia Ventures, an independent venture capital firm, specializes in investing and providing management support to pre-seed and seed-stage startups, primarily across Japan and Southeast Asia (including Indonesia and Vietnam), with a recent expansion into India.

FormX will deploy the new capital to recruit engineers, strengthen its disclosure platform and security and expand partnerships with design partners.

NTT Docomo Business Announces New SaaS “docomo business ANCAR”

ZD Net reported (in Japanese) that on Sept. 18, JNTT Docomo Business announced “docomo business ANCAR,” a new SaaS-based communication service for businesses that utilizes AI. The service will be rolled out in December, with a lineup of numerous features aimed at improving customer experience (CX) and employee experience (EX). 

The company is launching a new service that combines its communication tools (including the NaviDial toll-free number, “Arcstar IP Voice,” and mobile services) with proprietary data and AI technology. This powerful combination will maximize Customer Experience (CX) and lift Net Promoter Scores (NPS) at every touchpoint (stores, sales offices, and contact centers). Ultimately, this improves Employee Experience (EX), leading directly to higher employee productivity and overall business growth.

The iON+ Energy Asset SaaS Platform Launched After Securing its First Deal in Japan

Smart Energy International reported that the iON+ global energy asset management platform has officially launched, announcing its first deal with Japan’s Hexa Energy Services LLC. Developed over seven years by leading UK independent power producer Conrad Energy (part of the I Squared Capital Group), iON+ is a time-tested SaaS solution. Before its formal debut, the software was successfully used across Conrad Energy’s massive portfolio of nearly 1GW of generation and storage assets (including BESS, flexible generation, solar, and wind) to increase visibility, improve compliance, and enable smarter trading and operational decision-making.

The agreement involves rolling out the iON+ platform across Hexa’s battery system portfolio, which will be deployed at over 10 sites during the next three years, aligning with Japan’s seventh Strategic Energy Plan.

INDX Secures ¥100 Million in Seed Funding

The SaaS News reported that INDX, a Tokyo-based provider of an AI and data platform for organizing unstructured data, has secured ¥100 million in Seed funding. The investment round saw participation from Incubate Fund, East Ventures, Japan Finance Corporation and other undisclosed investors.

INDX will use the capital to fuel research and development of the INDX Engine and to expand its sales and marketing teams. This expansion aims to accelerate Japanese companies’ digital transformation and their adoption of generative AI technology. INDX develops solutions that convert enterprises’ hidden unstructured data—such as documents, images and videos—into structured, AI-ready formats, helping them unlock value.

Share

Author

  • Aviraj
    Aviraj Gokool
    Writer & Editor

Category

  • AI / Technology / SaaS

Share

Latest Articles

    • Blog

    ・ May 22, 2026

    Japan’s $385bn M&A Boom: B2B Marketing’s Biggest Blind Spot

    Last year, Japan recorded $385.9bn in M&A activity – the highest since records began in 1998. That’s hundreds of companies facing new ownership, repositioned brands, and stakeholders whose trust is suddenly in question. The marketing industry should be in the room for every one of those deals. It isn’t. That’s the biggest missed B2B opportunity in APAC right now.

    • Podcast

    ・ May 19, 2026

    Episode 11 – Japan’s Talent “Epidemic” (and How to Fix It), with Dr. David Sweet

    Japan’s talent shortage is not a pipeline problem. It is, in David Sweet’s own words, an epidemic, and most foreign companies are making it worse by using the wrong tools and hiring for the wrong things.  In Episode 11 of the Asia AIM Podcast, host Robert Heldt speaks with Dr. David Sweet, founder and CEO of FocusCore Group. With nearly three decades in Tokyo executive search, David explains why LinkedIn is a mirage, why authority matters more than salary at the C-suite level and what every expat leader should do on day one in Japan.

    • Blog

    ・ May 11, 2026

    Agility of Independents. Strength of a Global Network.

    Four years ago, six of us had sat in a room at the Hotel Indigo in Bali, talking about what this network could become. The ambition wasn’t growth for its own sake. It was the right combination of independent agencies, willing to learn from each other, challenge each other and grow together. Returning this April, that ambition felt more real. Twenty-five of us, 12 agencies across the region. Humbling, but also a sign of something bigger happening in our industry. This is the era of the independent agency.

Ready to break barriers and drive your success with us? Let’s move forward together—Always Forward.