UTokyo IPC Announces Investment in Legalscape Inc.
PrintAccelerating Open Innovation 1 Investment Limited Partnership (hereinafter “AOI 1 Fund”), managed by UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Kosuke Ueda; hereinafter “UTokyo IPC”), has announced an investment of 160 million yen in Legalscape Inc. (Headquarters: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Miki Yagita; hereinafter “Legalscape”), a provider of AI-powered legal research services that integrate hundreds of thousands of legal documents, including statutes, guidelines, case law, and legal commentaries.
This investment in Legalscape was executed through a secondary transaction, acquiring shares from existing shareholder 500 Startups Japan (now Coral Capital). Through this transaction, UTokyo IPC has become one of the key investors in the company.
AI Legal Research Achieving Bar-Exam-Level Accuracy
Legalscape operates with the mission of “drawing a complete landscape of legal information,” leveraging advanced natural language processing and generative AI technologies for both foundational research and practical applications in the legal domain. The company has built one of the most comprehensive databases in the industry, integrating over 400,000 pieces of legal information, including more than 4,000 specialized legal books, and has developed an intuitive interface that reduces research time to one-tenth of conventional methods.
Since its official launch in 2021, Legalscape’s cloud-based research platform has been adopted by more than 22,000 users, primarily lawyers and corporate legal departments. Its proprietary AI has demonstrated exceptional performance, achieving approximately 90% accuracy on all sections of the 2024 Japanese Bar Examination (multiple-choice), significantly outperforming leading models such as Gemini and ChatGPT.
By providing a one-stop solution—from queries to summarized search results with cited sources—Legalscape aims to advance the sophistication of legal research and expand the broader legal information ecosystem.
From Founding Support through 1stRound to Secondary Investment
CEO Miki Yagita conceived the idea of applying AI to analyze and organize legal information during his research at the Department of Computer Science, Graduate School of Information Science and Technology, The University of Tokyo. After being selected for the IPA Mitou Advanced Program in 2017, he founded Legalscape. He has also contributed to systemic initiatives, such as participating in the Japan Federation of Bar Associations’ project on open data for civil judgments, the government’s case law digitization project, and the Digital Agency’s initiative to digitalize legislative practices.
UTokyo IPC first supported Legalscape in 2018 through its predecessor program to “1stRound,” assisting the company’s fundraising from 500 Startups Japan. Since then, UTokyo IPC has maintained a close relationship with the company. In response to a request from 500 Startups Japan, UTokyo IPC has now taken over part of its shareholding through this secondary investment, positioning itself to support Legalscape’s next stage of growth.
Comment from UTokyo IPC
Naohiro Mizumoto, CIO Partner, AOI 1 Fund, UTokyo IPC
“It is deeply moving to rejoin Legalscape, a company we have known since its founding in 2017, now as a shareholder. Even after its graduation from our program, we continued to follow its progress closely, which has now led to this new partnership. In a world where trillions of yen are being invested into generative AI, Japanese startups face challenges competing head-to-head with global giants. However, combining generative AI with Japan-specific data has immense potential. Legalscape is pioneering this by merging generative AI with localized legal information, creating significant entry barriers for competitors both domestically and internationally.
Its business model is highly versatile, with applications not only for lawyers and corporate legal departments but also for professionals such as labor and tax consultants. We see enormous potential for growth. This is also the first case where UTokyo IPC has invested through a secondary transaction. We believe this marks the beginning of a new investment style in which university-affiliated venture capital transitions from founding support to becoming a shareholder through secondary opportunities.”
About AOI 1 Fund
The AOI 1 Fund was established in 2020 with the mission of fostering open innovation in collaboration with The University of Tokyo and industry-leading corporations. The fund invests in ventures spun out of major corporations and academia, as well as startups leveraging their assets, aiming to create successful open innovation models across new industries.
About Legalscape Inc.
Company Name: Legalscape Inc.
Headquarters: Hiraku Gate, 2-3-10 Mukogaoka, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
Established: September 14, 2017
Representative: Miki Yagita, President & CEO
Website: https://www.legalscape.co.jp/
About UTokyo IPC
UTokyo IPC was established in 2016 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of The University of Tokyo with the mission of strengthening Japan’s global industrial competitiveness through the creation and growth of university-linked startups. Leveraging the entrepreneurial ecosystem around The University of Tokyo, UTokyo IPC operates as a comprehensive platform offering incubation, acceleration, and venture capital funding.
Its activities include investments in more than 70 university-related startups and private VC funds through its two government-backed funds, commercialization support for academic seeds, its flagship accelerator program “1stRound,” and hands-on initiatives such as “DeepTech Dive” to support talent development. By bringing together the resources necessary for deep tech startup creation and growth, UTokyo IPC drives the transformation of academic research into real-world impact.
Headquarters: Entrepreneur Lab 261, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
President & CEO: Kosuke Ueda
Website: https://www.utokyo-ipc.co.jp/
Contact
UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd.
Entrepreneur Lab 261, The University of Tokyo, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo
TEL: +81-3-3830-0200 / FAX: +81-3-3830-0183
Email: info2@utokyo-ipc.co.jp
Contact Person: Naohiro Mizumoto