Kansei AI
Category: AI in Marketing
University of Electro-Communications (UEC) spin-out backed by Keio Corporation that quantifies human kansei (sensibility) with AI and provides an enterprise generative AI platform, AI-Hub. Kansei AI was founded in 2018. The company is led by Masaharu Akiyama (秋山 正晴). Based in Chofu, Tokyo, Japan. Team size: 1-10. Latest round: Undisclosed. Key investors include Keio Corporation, Masaki Sakamoto (UEC professor, co-founder).
- Founded
- 2018
- Headquarters
- Chofu, Tokyo, Japan
- Team size
- 1-10
Value proposition
Visualizes and quantifies consumer impressions of names, copy, packaging and materials with its kansei evaluation AI 'Hapina', and offers a secure multi-model generative AI platform with onboarding, training and support.
Products and solutions
Kansei AI Analytics (naming, catchphrase and package impression evaluation, brainstorming), Kansei AI MateriaLink (onomatopoeia-based material texture materials-informatics DB), AI-Hub / KEIO AI-HUB (enterprise generative AI platform with multi-model chat, RAG, image generation, AI agents), Kansei AI Designer (beta), consulting
Unique value
Combines patented kansei/onomatopoeia research from UEC's Sakamoto lab with deep learning, plus enterprise generative AI deployment support.
Target customer
Japanese manufacturers and consumer-goods makers, marketing teams, railway and transport operators, and corporate groups adopting generative AI
Industries served
Consumer goods and manufacturing, materials, railway and transport, real estate and hotels, marketing and branding
Technology advantage
Commercial license to UEC Sakamoto lab IP, the 'Hapina' kansei evaluation AI, and an AI-Hub environment where input data is not used for model training.
How they differentiate
Academically grounded onomatopoeia and kansei scales (43 kansei scales) from a university lab. Railway-group provenance gives it an enterprise AI-Hub deployment track record.
Main competitors
SENSY (kansei-based personal AI), Emotional Technologies (emotion analysis AI). Both are adjacent players.
Key partnerships
Keio Corporation (co-founder and shareholder), University of Electro-Communications, DIC Corporation (joint materials research), Morinaga & Co. (joint research with UEC using the API), Daikyo Nishikawa (Hiroshima Open Accelerator 2024 PoC), TRIP (Tokyo Railway Innovation Partnership), Katayanagi Gakuen, Osaka Prefecture
Notable customers
Keio Corporation / Keio Group (34 companies), Kobe Electric Railway, Asahi Soft Drinks (package renewal support), Morinaga & Co., DIC Corporation
Major milestones
May 2018 founded by Keio and Prof. Sakamoto, Nov 2021 ASPIC IoT/AI/Cloud Award (AI New Business Model), Aug 2023 Keio group generative AI platform launched, Nov 2024 ASPIC Cloud Award AI Grand Prix, Dec 2024 MateriaLink launched, Mar 2026 AI agents added to KEIO AI-HUB, Oct 2026 full-scale AI-Hub deployment at Kobe Electric Railway.
Growth metrics
About 10 employees (STARTUP DB, Oct 2026); paid-in capital JPY 45M; KEIO AI-HUB used by 34 Keio group companies and about 2,700 employees; Kobe Electric Railway rollout to 130 users in 10 departments.
Market positioning
Niche Japanese kansei-AI provider expanding into enterprise generative AI platforms, focused on railway and transport.
Geographic focus
Japan
Patents and IP
Commercially uses patented technology and IP from the UEC Sakamoto lab (specific patent numbers not verified)
About Masaharu Akiyama (秋山 正晴)
Ex-Keio Corporation (management planning, Keio Dentetsu Bus secondment: charter bus business and MaaS planning/promotion); second-generation president of Kansei AI since June 2022.
Latest news about Kansei AI
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Official website: https://www.kansei-ai.com/