Aging demographics, labor shortages, GenAI adoption, and Japan’s 2023 e-invoicing mandate are pushing enterprises to automate finance, tax, procurement, and HR. Yet digital transformation remains difficult: only 16% of initiatives succeed — and just 4–11% in traditional industries — hindered by weak leadership, rigid cultures, and scarce digital talent.

 

LayerX, a Japanese AI SaaS startup tackling these challenges, has raised $100 million in Series B funding led by TCV, marking the U.S. fund’s first investment in a Japanese startup. Other backers include MUFG Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Innovation Partners, JAFCO Group, Keyrock Capital, Coreline Ventures, and JP Investment, bringing LayerX’s total funding to $192.2 million. The company did not disclose its valuation but said both the valuation and round size rank among the largest ever for a Japanese startup at Series B.

 

Founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur Yoshinori Fukushima, LayerX pivoted from blockchain projects after identifying Japan’s bottleneck in paper-based invoice processing. Its flagship product, Bakuraku, now serves over 15,000 companies, automating expense management, invoice processing, and corporate card workflows. Other offerings include Alterna, a retail digital securities platform built with Mitsui & Co., and Ai Workforce, a GenAI solution to streamline enterprise workflows.

 

Bakuraku differentiates itself with an AI-native user experience and features such as automated data entry and document splitting. The company is also investing in AI agents and AI-powered BPO, supported by a team that includes 12+ former CTOs and a Kaggle Grandmaster. Customers include Ippudo, IRIS Ohyama, the Imperial Hotel, and Sekisui Chemical.

 

LayerX has doubled its headcount from 220 in late 2023 to 430 by mid-2025 and is on pace to reach ¥10 billion ($68M) ARR faster than any SaaS company in Japan’s history. The company projects ¥100 billion ($680M) ARR by 2030, with half expected from AI agent services, and plans to expand its workforce to 1,000 employees by 2028.