LayerX Raises $100M to Revolutionize Japan's Back-Office Automation with AI

09/02/2025 AI

It seems Japan's facing a bit of a crunch. With an aging population, a shortage of workers, and new e-invoicing rules, companies are under pressure to automate their finance, HR, and procurement processes. But here's the kicker: most digital transformations fail. We're talking about a measly 16% success rate, and even worse in traditional industries. Why? Well, apparently, it comes down to weak leadership, inflexible company cultures, and a lack of skilled digital folks.

Enter LayerX, a Japanese AI startup that's trying to solve this problem. They've just snagged a cool $100 million in Series B funding, led by Technology Cross Ventures. This is a pretty big deal, as it marks the first time this U.S. fund has invested in a Japanese startup.

LayerX isn't spilling the beans on their exact valuation, but they're hinting that it's one of the biggest Series B rounds for a seven-year-old Japanese startup.

So, what does LayerX actually do? Their main product is Bakuraku, a platform that automates all sorts of corporate spending tasks, like managing expenses, processing invoices, and handling corporate cards. Apparently, over 15,000 companies are already using it. They also have Alterna, a platform for investing in digital securities, and Ai Workforce, which uses generative AI to make workflows smoother and use company data more effectively.

The company's founder, Yoshinori Fukushima, spotted a major issue in Japanese businesses: a ton of paperwork when it came to invoices. That's what pushed them to create Bakuraku, their AI-powered platform.

Even though Japan's been trying to go digital, many companies are still stuck using paper and Excel for things like expense reports and invoices. LayerX is up against some stiff competition, both locally and globally. But they're trying to stand out with their AI-driven approach, constantly improving their automation features and investing in AI agents.

LayerX is aiming high, hoping to hit $680 million in annual recurring revenue by 2030. They're also planning to expand their team to around 1,000 employees by 2028. It will be interesting to watch how they grow in the future.