LayerX Raises $100 Million in Series B to Automate Japan’s Enterprise Back-Office Workflows Using AI
Tokyo, Japan (September 2, 2025) — LayerX, a Japanese AI-focused SaaS startup, announced that it has secured a landmark $100 million Series B funding round to expand its AI-driven platform aimed at automating enterprise back-office operations across Japan. This injection of capital comes as businesses face mounting pressure from labor shortages, stringent electronic invoicing legislation, and the need to modernize paper-heavy office workflows.
Founded in 2018 by serial entrepreneur Yoshinori Fukushima, who previously launched the news app Gunosy, LayerX specializes in transforming inefficient manual workloads through artificial intelligence. The firm’s flagship platform, Bakuraku, automates core corporate spending functions, including expense management, invoice processing, corporate card operations, and compliance workflows. Bakuraku alone currently serves over 15,000 enterprise clients—ranging from well-known restaurant group Ippudo to appliance maker IRIS Ohyama and the prestigious Imperial Hotel.
Addressing Japan’s Paper Invoice Bottleneck
Fukushima identified Japan’s dependence on paper-based invoice processing as a critical pain point preventing effective digital transformation. Leveraging his machine learning expertise from the University of Tokyo, he pivoted LayerX’s strategy from blockchain to SaaS solutions that embed AI natively within these workflows. This shift enabled accelerated adoption, marked by a sharp customer growth from 10,000 in early 2024 to 15,000 by April 2025, alongside nearly doubling full-time staff from 220 to 430 employees within two years.
Expanding AI Capabilities Beyond Back-Office Automation
Beyond Bakuraku, LayerX operates additional offerings such as Alterna, a retail digital securities investment platform developed with Mitsui & Co., and Ai Workforce, a generative AI solution strategically designed to optimize enterprise data management and workflows. Notable clients for Ai Workforce include Mitsui & Co. and MUFG Bank, emphasizing the company’s foothold in both automation and financial technology sectors.
Strong Investor Support and Market Potential
The recent funding round was led by Technology Cross Ventures (TCV), marking TCV’s first investment in a Japanese startup. Other prominent participants included Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Innovation Partners, JAFCO Group, and Keyrock Capital. LayerX’s total funding to date now approaches $200 million, setting a record valuation milestone for Japanese SaaS startups of its age.
Industry analysts view LayerX’s AI SaaS platform as a crucial innovation in Japan’s efforts to overcome demographic challenges such as an aging workforce and digital skill shortages within traditional industries. As labor scarcity pushes organizations to automate labor-intensive finance, procurement, and HR functions, LayerX’s integrated AI solutions are poised to significantly impact corporate efficiency and compliance amid evolving regulatory landscapes.
Yoshinori Fukushima summarizes the company’s vision: “Our goal is to eliminate the longstanding bottleneck caused by analogue processing. By fusing AI-native automation with intuitive user experience, we help enterprises not just digitize but fundamentally transform their workflows to compete in the new era.”
Looking Ahead
With the support of its sizable Series B funding, LayerX plans to accelerate R&D, expand its client base, and further integrate generative AI technologies to enhance automation capabilities. This positions LayerX at the forefront of Japan’s digital transformation, improving efficiency for thousands of businesses burdened by legacy back-office systems.