CFO.Ai, an AI Fundraising Platform for Entrepreneurs, Launches in Beta

TheCXO Inc. (Meguro-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Yuki Oono), a company that supports the global expansion of SMEs and startups, will launch the beta version of "CFO.Ai," an AI/data platform for entrepreneurs' fundraising, on June 9, 2026. By simply entering industry, stage, and desired funding amount in a chat format, the service provides users with "suitable investors, financial institutions, and subsidies," "fundraising market rates of peer companies," and "funding structures of other companies" in about three minutes. It provides information and know-how that allows entrepreneurs to determine "who to approach, by what means, and in what order," moving from narrowing down potential contacts to preparing for interviews on their own, a process previously dependent on personal connections and the experience of individuals.

TheCXO has a track record of supporting over 500 SMEs and startups in raising over ¥4.5 billion, accumulating extensive knowledge and expertise. Since January 2023, the company has also been building a database of about 3,100 domestic startup funding rounds (as of May 2026). "CFO.Ai" was built by combining this qualitative and quantitative data. In the medium to long term, the company aims to open the platform as a public database to supporters like accelerators, experts, financial institutions, and the media, aspiring to become the standard data infrastructure for SME and startup fundraising.

Much of Japan's startup information infrastructure is designed for "investors to source entrepreneurs." In contrast, "CFO.Ai" functions from the entrepreneur's perspective, allowing them to "find suitable candidates," "check optimal market rates," and "compare and consider a mix of options including subsidies and loans." The choice of funding methods (equity/loan/subsidy) has often been dependent on personal networks, leading to a structural bias toward VC funding. CFO.Ai was developed to solve this information gap with a data infrastructure.

Behind this development is the fact that while total domestic startup fundraising reached ¥761.3 billion in 2025, about 70% of entrepreneurs feel they lack sufficient information. To prevent missed opportunities for corporate growth and entrepreneurship, a foundation for comprehensively comparing and considering funding options is needed.

CFO.Ai offers three main benefits. First, users can grasp the "big picture" of their funding options with a simple input. Second, they can understand "comparable market rates" by seeing the performance of similar companies. Third, their consideration process is accumulated as a "company-specific chart," which becomes an asset for future funding rounds.

At the beta launch, the big-picture overview and comparison features will be available for free. The "company-specific chart" feature is scheduled for implementation around September 2026, along with the start of a paid plan (from ¥5,280/month). The paid plan will also include AI-assisted creation of proposal drafts and a dedicated dashboard for progress management.