Japan’s aging population, labor shortages, the adoption of generative AI, and the 2023 rollout of electronic invoicing are driving companies to automate financial, tax, procurement, and HR operations. Yet only 16% of digital transformation initiatives succeed, with success rates in traditional industries ranging from 4% to 11%. What are the main obstacles? A lack of leadership commitment, rigid corporate culture, and a shortage of digital talent. LayerX, an AI SaaS platform, aims to help enterprises scale back-office automation.
LayerX is a Japanese AI SaaS startup focused on reducing back-office workloads for businesses. The company recently raised $100 million in a Series B funding round led by U.S.-based Technology Cross Ventures (TCV), marking the firm’s first investment in a Japanese startup.
While LayerX declined to disclose its valuation, it noted that both the valuation and funding amount represent among the largest Series B rounds ever raised by a Japanese startup founded within the past seven years. Additional investors in the $192.2 million total funding round included Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Innovation Partners, JAFCO Group, Keyrock Capital, Coreline Ventures, and JP Investment.
The startup’s core products include Bakuraku, an automation platform for enterprise spending workflows covering expense management, invoice processing, and corporate card operations, serving over 15,000 companies. Other offerings are Alterna, a retail digital securities investment platform developed in partnership with Mitsui & Co., and Ai Workforce, a generative AI solution designed to streamline workflows using enterprise data.
Founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur Yoshihisa Fukushima, who studied machine learning at the University of Tokyo and previously launched the news app Gunosy (later listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange), LayerX originated from his digital transformation (DX) and blockchain projects.
The idea for LayerX emerged when Fukushima identified a major bottleneck in Japanese corporate workflows: paper-based invoice processing. This realization led the team to shift toward SaaS and launch their AI-powered platform Bakuraku, he told TechCrunch. He added that the AI-native user experience quickly gained traction, helping LayerX secure major strategic partners such as Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and paving the way for its latest funding round.
Despite ongoing digitalization, many Japanese companies still rely on paper and Excel for expense reimbursement and invoice processing, the CEO explained. Domestically, the startup competes with Money Forward Cloud Keihi, freee, and Rakuraku Seisan. Globally, its competitors include SAP Concur, Rippling, Brex, Ramp, Spendesk, and Airbase. In the Ai Workforce space, it faces competition from Harvey, Fukushima noted.
Bakuraku is distinguished by its AI-driven user experience. The company continues to enhance automation features such as “auto-entry and document splitting,” while also investing in AI agents and AI-supported business process outsourcing (BPO). Its team includes “over 12 former CTOs and a Kaggle competition winner.” Bakuraku offers a fully integrated platform covering “expense management, invoice processing, corporate cards, workflows, electronic ledger compliance, attendance tracking, and accounts receivable—all in one suite,” Fukushima added.
The startup closed its Series B round less than two years after its Series A in November 2023, signaling strong growth in its flagship Bakuraku Suite, the company said.
“Our customer base surpassed 10,000 in February 2024 and reached 15,000 by April 2025, with more enterprise clients joining,” the CEO said. “Our employee count has also grown from around 220 in October 2023 to approximately 430 by the end of July 2025.”
LayerX is on track to reach $68 million (approximately 10 billion yen) in annual recurring revenue faster than any SaaS company in Japan’s history, the company claims. “We’ve achieved the T2D3 growth benchmark ahead of schedule and expect to surpass the previous domestic record in under five years—compared to the eight years it took previously from product launch to revenue,” Fukushima said.
Ai Workforce clients include Mitsui & Co. and Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, while Bakuraku serves companies such as Ippudo, IRIS Ohyama, Imperial Hotel, and Sekisui Chemical.
Looking ahead, the company aims to achieve approximately $680 million (100 billion yen) in annual recurring revenue by fiscal 2030, with around half expected to come from its AI agent business. LayerX also plans to grow its workforce to around 1,000 employees by 2028.
