Nanameue

Nanameue Inc., established in May 2013, operates as a social media development company with its headquarters in Tokyo and a branch in Thailand. The company was founded by Takahiro Ishihama, who serves as the CEO. Ishihama's interest in startups was ignited during a student exchange program in San Francisco, which exposed him to the burgeoning tech scene. This experience, coupled with a drive to overcome his initial struggles with English, led him to teach himself programming and eventually launch Nanameue during his senior year of college.

The company's core business revolves around the planning, development, and operation of mobile applications, with a primary focus on fostering virtual communities. Its flagship product is "Yay!", a popular anonymous social media application in Japan that allows users to connect with others of the same generation based on shared interests. As of June 2022, Yay! had amassed over 5 million users. The platform facilitates interaction through timeline posts, private and group chats, and interest-based communities called "circles". A key feature is the ability for users to join group calls initiated from the timeline, a popular method for new connections. To ensure user safety, age verification is required to access communication features like one-on-one messaging.

Nanameue has expanded its service offerings to include B2B solutions that leverage artificial intelligence. These include "Posmoni," a content moderation platform that combines AI with human oversight, and "Accurately," a data labeling service. A significant milestone for the company was the acquisition of the game-focused community app "Lobi" from KAYAC Inc. on June 1, 2022. The firm has secured approximately $18.2 million in venture capital funding over several rounds. Its investor base is a mix of institutional and corporate venture capitalists, including SBI Investment, East Ventures, Headline, DG Daiwa Ventures, and Akatsuki.

Keywords: social community, anonymous social media, mobile application development, virtual communities, interest-based networking, content moderation, data labeling, Takahiro Ishihama, Yay! app, Lobi, Posmoni, Japanese startup, social networking service, group chat, online community, AI-powered moderation, user-generated content, venture capital, Akatsuki, SBI Investment