xCARE, Developer of Expert Platform for Pharmaceutical and Medical Device Development, Raises ¥600 Million in Series A Funding

xCARE Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, CEO: Masaru Fukunaga), which operates a specialized expert talent platform in the medical and healthcare domain, has successfully raised a total of ¥600 million through a Series A funding round. This funding was achieved via third-party allotment of shares to mint, Kyoto University Innovation Capital, Chugin Capital Partners, and ANRI, as well as loans from financial institutions.

xCARE's Present and Future

Despite the rise of AI and the ongoing review of talent strategies in pharmaceutical and medical device development, securing personnel with advanced specialized knowledge remains a persistent structural challenge. xCARE addresses these issues by providing a unique platform that enables "timely placement of necessary expertise on a project basis when needed."

In the pharmaceutical and medical device industry, which xCARE targets, the traditional means of securing resources have been "hiring" and "outsourcing." However, xCARE is promoting a new team-building model that flexibly incorporates external expert talent through service contracts into organizations for core business processes. By adopting a "time-based utilization" system (a mechanism to utilize professionals only for the time needed), it enables optimal resource allocation for projects of all sizes, from startups to major pharmaceutical companies, according to project progress and budget. Major manufacturers have praised the service, stating, "We can build our team without increasing fixed costs," while venture companies appreciate that "we can flexibly assign talent to projects with high uncertainty."

Moving forward, xCARE aims to further strengthen its expert network and establish itself as an infrastructure player that drives the "liquefaction of specialized knowledge" in the medical and healthcare domain, offering a third option alongside "hiring" and "outsourcing."

▲ xCARE's Service Concept

xCARE's Vision and the Purpose of This Funding Round

xCARE envisions a world where advanced specialized knowledge accumulated in the medical and healthcare fields is opened up to society, circulating "challenging assets" into "new challenges." The company aims to grow into "the company that best knows" which talent to assign, under what conditions, and to which projects to create optimal teams. Seamless access to diverse expertise, regardless of company size, is a critical key that significantly influences business growth.

The funds raised in this round will be primarily invested in the following objectives:

Implementing AI to enhance the expert platform's functionality and improve matching accuracy.

Further expanding the talent network to meet diverse specialized needs.

Recruiting top talent to support xCARE's growth and strengthening internal systems and infrastructure.

Through these initiatives, xCARE aims to build an infrastructure that rapidly leads to the social implementation of seeds in the global life sciences.

Comments from Investors

■ mint Inc.

Hironori Takeda, General Partner

The uneven distribution of specialized talent in pharmaceutical and medical device development is a serious structural management issue not only for drug discovery startups but also for major pharmaceutical companies. xCARE's platform is a groundbreaking solution that offers the industry a third option, following "hiring" and "full outsourcing," by enabling the assignment of specialized talent on a "project basis" and "hourly basis." Driven by Mr. Fukunaga's vision, who understands the realities of the medical field and has led the fluidization of medical talent, and Ms. Tanase's drive to meet the diverse needs of pharmaceutical companies, these two forces are realizing an infrastructure that operates a leading expert network in Japan. We will join them in their challenge to overturn existing business practices and lead the seeds of global life sciences to social implementation.

■ Kyoto University Innovation Capital Co., Ltd.

Haruki Ohashi, Manager, Investment Department

In recent years, against the backdrop of the rise of AI and the reevaluation of talent strategies by pharmaceutical companies, the demand for flexible acquisition of specialized personnel is increasing in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries. Kyoto iCAP expects that xCARE's industry-specific expert talent platform will contribute to the revitalization of Japan's life science ecosystem, including startups. We will contribute to the development of the medical industry in collaboration with Kyoto University's knowledge.

■ Chugin Capital Partners Co., Ltd.

Rei Ishimoto, Director, Investment Department

We feel that xCARE is engaged in opening up the advanced specialized knowledge accumulated in the medical and healthcare fields to society and circulating its "challenging assets" into "new challenges." Especially in an era where startups originating from regional universities and research seeds are aiming for the global market, access to diverse expertise greatly influences growth. xCARE is building a specialized knowledge network to overcome these "invisible walls" and has the potential to become a new infrastructure in Japan's medical and healthcare domain. We have felt great potential in the execution capabilities of the team, including Mr. Fukunaga and Ms. Tanase, since its inception. This time, we have decided to make an additional investment, believing further in that potential and future. As a partner, we want to co-create a future where startups challenging from regional areas to the world continue to be born.

■ ANRI Inc.

Kazuhiro Sakakibara, Senior Associate

We believe the strength of xCARE's service lies not so much in enabling clients to "outsource tasks" but rather in allowing them to "bring in necessary talent from outside." It's about "continuously assigning specialized personnel through xCARE via service contracts to the core of business operations that cannot be easily outsourced," not just "outsourcing separable tasks." We hope to transform the way teams are built in the drug discovery and medical device fields and contribute to further revitalization and development of the industry.

What is xCARE?

xCARE forms a specialized platform for the development and commercialization phases in the pharmaceutical and medical device industries, boasting approximately 2,500 registered professionals (side jobs/freelancers). It offers on-demand, spot-based service contracts utilizing these registered talents to meet the needs of venture companies with limited resources or large corporations undertaking temporary projects. xCARE has its own project management team with advanced expertise in the development and commercialization phases of the medical industry, providing talent services that include proposing optimal teams and developing timelines.

Company Profile

Company Name: xCARE Inc.
Headquarters: Mansion Shibuya Namiki 304, 1-31-19 Higashi, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo
Representative: Masaru Fukunaga, Representative Director
Established: January 31, 2022
HP: https://xcareplatform.com