ELYZA
Category: Foundation Models / LLMs
University of Tokyo Matsuo Lab spinout and KDDI subsidiary developing Japanese-specialized large language models and enterprise generative-AI solutions. ELYZA was founded in 2018. The company is led by Yuya Soneoka (曽根岡侑也). Based in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan. Team size: 101-500. Total funding raised: $60M. Latest round: Acquired. Key investors include KDDI, KDDI Digital Divergence Holdings, Mitsubishi UFJ Innovation Partners (MUIP), CyberAgent Capital, NEC.
- Founded
- 2018
- Headquarters
- Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, Japan
- Team size
- 101-500
- Total funding
- $60M
Value proposition
Develops and socially implements Japanese-optimized LLMs, bridging R&D, social implementation, and business development to deliver enterprise AI systems and SaaS products for Japanese corporates and government.
Products and solutions
ELYZA LLM for JP (Japanese-specialized LLM, incl. 70B), ELYZA Works (enterprise no-code AI app builder, with KDDI as "ELYZA Works with KDDI"), ELYZA Voice Agent (voice dialogue AI agent), ELYZA RSI Research (AI-for-AI-development research unit), ELYZA-LLM-Diffusion (Japanese diffusion LLM), Japanese medical LLM (SIP program), open models ELYZA-Thinking-1.0-llm-jp-4-33b and 32b-a3b (Apache 2.0, on Hugging Face).
Unique value
Japan's leading domestic LLM developer with top-tier Japanese-language performance, combining U-Tokyo Matsuo Lab research pedigree with KDDI Group compute/network assets and enterprise deployment track record.
Target customer
Large Japanese enterprises and government/municipalities (finance, retail, telecom, contact centers, HR, media, healthcare).
Industries served
Contact centers/BPO, finance, retail, telecom, HR/recruiting, media, transportation infrastructure, healthcare/medical
Technology advantage
Deep Japanese-language LLM R&D (own models + open-model-based Japanese general LLMs); access to KDDI Group compute infrastructure and network resources; seamless R&D-to-social-implementation pipeline; patented ELYZA Works AI-app generation mechanism; agentic RL and diffusion LLM research.
How they differentiate
Focus on Japanese-language-optimized open and proprietary LLMs plus enterprise social implementation, backed by KDDI's compute and customer base; positions as "fully domestic" AI versus global models and other domestic LLM players.
Main competitors
SB Intuitions (SoftBank, Sarashina LLM), Stockmark, NTT (tsuzumi LLM)
Key partnerships
KDDI Group (parent, capital & business alliance since April 2024), KDDI Digital Divergence Holdings, Altius Link (contact-center-specific LLM apps, "Altius ONE for Support"), National Institute of Informatics (NII) LLM-jp-4 base models, NVIDIA Inception Program, Cabinet Office SIP program (Japanese medical LLM).
Notable customers
KDDI (ELYZA Works with KDDI), Altius Link (contact center), enterprise deployments in finance, HR, media, transportation infrastructure
Major milestones
2018 founded (as 株式会社イライザ), 2019 renamed ELYZA, NVIDIA Inception partner, 2020 developed own LLM, 2023 released ELYZA LLM for JP (70B), Dec 2023 Series A ~$30M, Mar/Apr 2024 KDDI capital & business alliance, became KDDI consolidated subsidiary, Sept 2024 contact-center LLM app with Altius Link, 2026 launched ELYZA RSI Research and ELYZA Voice Agent, Oct 2026 released ELYZA-Thinking-1.0-llm-jp-4 models (Apache 2.0).
Growth metrics
~100 employees (2026); cumulative funding ~$60M; KDDI holds 43.4% + KDDI Digital Divergence 10.0% (April 2024).
Market positioning
Leading Japanese domestic LLM startup; now a KDDI consolidated subsidiary targeting enterprise/government generative-AI adoption with a future IPO ("swing-by IPO") ambition.
Geographic focus
Japan (domestic Japanese-language LLM and enterprise AI market)
Patents and IP
Patent granted (Sept 2026) for the mechanism to create business AI apps in ELYZA Works.
About Yuya Soneoka (曽根岡侑也)
Ex-Director at Matsuo Institute (株式会社松尾研究所); founded a startup before returning to Matsuo Lab; Master's from University of Tokyo Matsuo Lab (NLP). IPA未踏 Creator; BattleHack Japan representative.
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Official website: https://elyza.ai/