Hiway Raises 300 Million JPY in Series A Funding to Enhance AI-Powered Channel Sales
Key facts
- Hiway Raises 300 Million JPY in Series A Funding to Enhance AI-Powered Channel Sales
- Hiway, a Japanese startup, has raised approximately 300 million JPY in a Series A funding round led by existing investor DNX Ventures, bringing its total funding to 465 million JPY. The company will use these funds to develop an AI agent that assists in channel sales activities and to strengthen its engineering and business teams. By leveraging customer data and knowledge stored in CRMs, Hiway aims to automate inquiry handling and quote generation, enabling manufacturers and dealers to focus on building relationships and expanding sales.
- Source: PR Times
- Date: June 11, 2026
Direct answer
Hiway, a Japanese startup, has raised approximately 300 million JPY in a Series A funding round led by existing investor DNX Ventures, bringing its total funding to 465 million JPY. The company will use these funds to develop an AI agent that assists in channel sales activities and to strengthen its engineering and business teams. By leveraging customer data and knowledge stored in CRMs, Hiway aims to automate inquiry handling and quote generation, enabling manufacturers and dealers to focus on building relationships and expanding sales.
- Citation
- Hiway Raises 300 Million JPY in Series A Funding to Enhance AI-Powered Channel Sales (June 11, 2026), PR Times
- Source
- PR Times
- Date
- June 11, 2026
Hiway, a Japanese startup, has raised approximately 300 million JPY in a Series A funding round led by existing investor DNX Ventures, bringing its total funding to 465 million JPY. The company will use these funds to develop an AI agent that assists in channel sales activities and to strengthen its engineering and business teams. By leveraging customer data and knowledge stored in CRMs, Hiway aims to automate inquiry handling and quote generation, enabling manufacturers and dealers to focus on building relationships and expanding sales.
📋 Article Processing Timeline
- 📰 Published: June 11, 2026 at 00:00
- 🔍 Collected: June 10, 2026 at 15:21
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: June 10, 2026 at 21:05 (5h 43m after Collected)
Hiway (Headquarters: Shinjuku-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Fumitaka Kubo) has announced the completion of a Series A funding round totaling approximately 300 million JPY. This round was led by existing investor DNX Ventures, bringing the company's total cumulative funding to 465 million JPY.
Hiway will leverage this capital to accelerate the development of an AI agent designed to autonomously execute tasks such as inquiry management and quote generation by utilizing product master data, price lists, customer history, and corporate knowledge.
By streamlining the manual, email, and phone-heavy processes currently used to support dealer sales representatives, Hiway aims to create an environment where both manufacturers and retailers can dedicate more time to relationship building and revenue growth.
To meet growing customer demand, the company will also strengthen its external system integration capabilities and system implementation support while scaling its engineering and business operations teams.
■ Challenges in Indirect Sales and Background of Funding
In Japan's B2B landscape, many enterprises adopt indirect sales models through dealers and distributors. However, most sales activities remain dependent on manual operations via email and phone, with information scattered across Excel, PDF, CRM, and core business systems.
Dealers often inundate representatives with requests for specifications, pricing inquiries, quote requests, and delivery confirmations. Representatives must manually track down information, craft answers, and log the interactions in a CRM. Despite the frequency of these tasks, they often rely on individual expertise and ad-hoc management.
Traditional CRM and Partner Relationship Management (PRM) products have focused on partner portals and case registration but have failed to support the actual practical work of handling inquiries and quotes. Hiway challenges this by reinventing CRM not as a record-keeping system, but as a revenue engine that autonomously supports sales activities.
■ Product Enhancement Highlights
Hiway is developing features to streamline product spec verification, quoting, and delivery scheduling. By integrating data back into corporate CRMs, Hiway promotes the digitization of sales activities for both manufacturers and dealers.
Specific AI agent functionalities, currently in PoC with selected users, include:
- Processing inquiries/quote requests from email, phone, and forms to structure product information, quantities, and delivery conditions.
- Generating draft answers and quotes by referencing product masters, pricing, history, and knowledge bases.
- Allowing human oversight for complex deals, special pricing, and exceptions.
■ Future Vision
Hiway aims to transform existing CRM into a revenue engine, evolving into an AI operational base that advances practical sales tasks. The company is committed to organizational expansion, specifically in engineering and product development.
CEO Fumitaka Kubo stated, "We are reinventing CRM as an autonomous sales assistant." Investors from DNX Ventures added, "We are confident that Hiway's challenge will become the new infrastructure for the underserved B2B indirect sales space in Japan."
Hiway will leverage this capital to accelerate the development of an AI agent designed to autonomously execute tasks such as inquiry management and quote generation by utilizing product master data, price lists, customer history, and corporate knowledge.
By streamlining the manual, email, and phone-heavy processes currently used to support dealer sales representatives, Hiway aims to create an environment where both manufacturers and retailers can dedicate more time to relationship building and revenue growth.
To meet growing customer demand, the company will also strengthen its external system integration capabilities and system implementation support while scaling its engineering and business operations teams.
■ Challenges in Indirect Sales and Background of Funding
In Japan's B2B landscape, many enterprises adopt indirect sales models through dealers and distributors. However, most sales activities remain dependent on manual operations via email and phone, with information scattered across Excel, PDF, CRM, and core business systems.
Dealers often inundate representatives with requests for specifications, pricing inquiries, quote requests, and delivery confirmations. Representatives must manually track down information, craft answers, and log the interactions in a CRM. Despite the frequency of these tasks, they often rely on individual expertise and ad-hoc management.
Traditional CRM and Partner Relationship Management (PRM) products have focused on partner portals and case registration but have failed to support the actual practical work of handling inquiries and quotes. Hiway challenges this by reinventing CRM not as a record-keeping system, but as a revenue engine that autonomously supports sales activities.
■ Product Enhancement Highlights
Hiway is developing features to streamline product spec verification, quoting, and delivery scheduling. By integrating data back into corporate CRMs, Hiway promotes the digitization of sales activities for both manufacturers and dealers.
Specific AI agent functionalities, currently in PoC with selected users, include:
- Processing inquiries/quote requests from email, phone, and forms to structure product information, quantities, and delivery conditions.
- Generating draft answers and quotes by referencing product masters, pricing, history, and knowledge bases.
- Allowing human oversight for complex deals, special pricing, and exceptions.
■ Future Vision
Hiway aims to transform existing CRM into a revenue engine, evolving into an AI operational base that advances practical sales tasks. The company is committed to organizational expansion, specifically in engineering and product development.
CEO Fumitaka Kubo stated, "We are reinventing CRM as an autonomous sales assistant." Investors from DNX Ventures added, "We are confident that Hiway's challenge will become the new infrastructure for the underserved B2B indirect sales space in Japan."
FAQ
What amount of funding did Hiway raise in its Series A round in 2024?
Hiway raised approximately 300 million JPY in its Series A funding round.
Which company led Hiway's Series A funding round involving 300 million JPY?
DNX Ventures led Hiway's Series A funding round of 300 million JPY.
How much total funding has Hiway secured after raising 300 million JPY in 2024?
Hiway has secured a total of 465 million JPY in funding after the Series A round.
What specific AI product is Hiway developing using the 300 million JPY funding?
Hiway is developing an AI agent to assist with channel sales activities using the funding.
What year did Hiway announce its 300 million JPY Series A funding led by DNX Ventures?
Hiway announced its 300 million JPY Series A funding led by DNX Ventures in 2024.