for Startups, Inc.

Business Details

From FY2026 (ending March 2026), the former Talent Agency & Open Innovation Business was split and reorganized into the Human Capital Business and the Open Innovation Business. The Human Capital Business provides recruitment placement and consulting services for startups and growth companies, while the Open Innovation Business provides support for public-private-academic collaboration through STARTUP DB, Acceleration (formerly: Public Affairs), and the conference "GRIC," serving as the core of the growth industry support platform.

Recent Overview

Under the segment reorganization, both businesses achieved substantial increases in revenue and profit, with recruitment placement expanding in both volume and unit price

From FY2026 (ending March 2026), the segment was split into the Human Capital Business and the Open Innovation Business. In the Human Capital Business, the shift to a productivity-focused sales strategy succeeded, with the number of recruitment placement transactions expanding simultaneously with the unit price: 989 transactions (up 268 year on year) and an average unit price of ¥4,161 thousand (up ¥303 thousand year on year). In the Open Innovation Business, net sales reached ¥793 million and segment profit ¥238 million, a substantial increase of 152.3% year on year, driven by the STARTUP DB fee revision, GRIC2025 sponsorship revenue, and expanded outsourced projects from municipal bodies. In addition, Arikata Co., Ltd. was newly established and made a consolidated subsidiary in July 2025, and GO Job Co., Ltd. was added as an equity-method affiliate in September 2025, with the M&A intermediary business being nurtured as a new pillar of revenue.

Key Products

Growth Drivers

• Expansion of the number of recruitment placement transactions through optimization of the sales strategy with a focus on the number of placements per employee (productivity) (FY2026 (ending March 2026): 989 people, up 37.2% year on year)
• Rise in the average unit price of recruitment placements due to higher decided annual salaries and an increase in placements for high-commission-rate cases (FY2026 (ending March 2026): ¥4,161 thousand, up 7.9% year on year)
• Revenue growth in the Open Innovation Business through an increase in the number of contracts for the STARTUP DB paid membership service and a fee revision
• Expansion of outsourced projects for the Acceleration service targeting government and municipal bodies (steady scale expansion of outsourced startup-related projects from local governments)
• Revenue contribution to the Open Innovation Business from sponsorship revenue of the conference "GRIC2025"
• Establishment of Arikata Co., Ltd. and application of the equity method to GO Job Co., Ltd., establishing the M&A intermediary business as a new revenue pillar
• Structural expansion of demand for talent at startups driven by the government's promotion of the "Five-Year Plan for Startup Development"
• Increase in demand for M&A exits and secondary transactions among unlisted startups against the backdrop of the raised listing maintenance criteria for the TSE Growth Market

Risks

• Risk of a sharp decline in recruitment demand due to deterioration in the startup fundraising environment (possibility that productivity declines more than expected due to a lag in the timing of market recovery)
• Risk of declining per-employee productivity due to delays in training newly hired staff (productivity management is a challenge amid the phase of increased headcount accompanying stronger recruiting activity)
• Risk that the rapid development of AI and the resulting transformation of the software industry changes the recruitment needs and profile of talent sought by startups
• Increasing difficulty in maintaining brand recognition and differentiation amid intensifying competition
• Risk of expanding equity-method investment losses due to deteriorating performance at the equity-method affiliate GO Job Co., Ltd. (an equity-method investment loss of ¥70 million was recorded in FY2026 (ending March 2026))
• Impact on consolidated performance from an expansion of valuation losses on operational investment securities in the Venture Capital Business
• Risk of leakage of personal information and corporate confidential information (given the nature of the recruitment placement business, which handles highly confidential information)
• Risk of reduced startup investment and hiring appetite due to macro environment deterioration, including uncertainty over US trade policy and the situation in the Middle East