Funds Startups Executes Novel Venture Debt Utilizing Phantom Stock for Confidential AI Company 'Acompany'
Funds Startups provided a novel venture debt using Phantom Stock (pseudo-shares) to Acompany, a deep tech firm developing Confidential AI. This method allows the startup to raise funds without equity dilution.
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- 📰 Published: April 14, 2026 at 18:04
- 🔍 Collected: April 14, 2026 at 09:31
- 🤖 AI Analyzed: April 19, 2026 at 19:26 (129h 54m after Collected)
Funds Startups Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Hirohiro Maekawa, hereinafter 'our company') announced that it has executed a venture debt utilizing Phantom Stock (pseudo-shares) from the Funds Venture Debt Fund 1 Investment Business Limited Partnership (hereinafter 'this fund') to Acompany Inc. (Headquarters: Nagoya City, Aichi Prefecture; Representative Director & CEO: Ryosuke Takahashi, hereinafter 'Acompany'), a company engaged in product/research and development in the 'Confidential AI' domain.
■ Background of the Investment Execution
Acompany, to which we have provided venture debt this time, is a deep tech startup originating from Nagoya University that provides products/technologies related to Confidential Computing and consulting services related to secure data utilization.
In recent years, with the rapid evolution of AI, data utilization has become the source of competitiveness in all businesses. On the other hand, challenges surrounding data are becoming more complex and serious than ever before, ranging from the leakage of personal information and privacy violations to national security risks.
Acompany is tackling this challenge head-on with an approach called 'Confidential AI' that can protect secrets, and has already accumulated numerous use cases with many major companies, starting with its partnership with KDDI Corporation.
As global data protection regulations are strengthened, Japan is sending out the new concept of 'data security' and leading international rulemaking. Demand for this field is rapidly expanding both domestically and internationally, and we believe that the technology/mechanisms provided by Acompany have the potential to become the de facto global standard in the future.
We executed this transaction out of a desire to support Acompany's challenge to build an infrastructure that balances 'defense' and 'offense' so that companies can utilize data with peace of mind, and to pioneer a new era of data utilization predicated on trust.
■ Features of This Transaction: A New Option Utilizing Phantom Stock
This transaction is our company's first financing utilizing Phantom Stock (*).
This scheme meets Acompany's need to keep the issuance ratio of stock options (hereinafter 'SO') associated with venture debt procurement within a certain limit, while also enabling our company to secure a certain return during future fundraising. We believe this scheme can be an effective move for startups that have a considerable period until IPO and a high probability of conducting financing before then.
Generally, in venture debt involving the issuance of SO, the potential dilution rate of shares is one point of discussion in scheme design. In addition, deep tech companies often take a long time to go public, making it difficult to foresee when returns from SO will be realized, which can be a hurdle for capital providers when considering investment.
Phantom Stock is a scheme that provides flexibility to both startups and investors, as it does not involve the dilution of shares and makes it possible to enjoy returns without waiting for an IPO. Our reason for existence is not to be bound by traditional customs or existing methods, but to face each investment opportunity head-on and derive optimal solutions by bringing together the wisdom and creativity of our team.
An interview article with Acompany regarding this financing has been published, and it touches upon the background leading to the adoption of Phantom Stock, so please be sure to read it: https://note.com/funds_startups/n/nb0e1b028271c
*) Phantom Stock is a 'pseudo-share' scheme in which, when pre-agreed conditions (such as the next financing) are met, cash calculated based on the stock price at that time is received from the issuer. Because it does not involve the issuance of shares, investors can enjoy returns corresponding to the increase in stock price while existing shareholders maintain their voting rights.
■ About Acompany
Under the mission of 'Trust. Data. AI. Bringing trust to all data and AI utilization,' Acompany supports all data and AI utilization globally by leveraging Confidential Computing technology. Under security and trust, we connect data and AI, allowing everyone to receive the benefits of data.
■ Background of the Investment Execution
Acompany, to which we have provided venture debt this time, is a deep tech startup originating from Nagoya University that provides products/technologies related to Confidential Computing and consulting services related to secure data utilization.
In recent years, with the rapid evolution of AI, data utilization has become the source of competitiveness in all businesses. On the other hand, challenges surrounding data are becoming more complex and serious than ever before, ranging from the leakage of personal information and privacy violations to national security risks.
Acompany is tackling this challenge head-on with an approach called 'Confidential AI' that can protect secrets, and has already accumulated numerous use cases with many major companies, starting with its partnership with KDDI Corporation.
As global data protection regulations are strengthened, Japan is sending out the new concept of 'data security' and leading international rulemaking. Demand for this field is rapidly expanding both domestically and internationally, and we believe that the technology/mechanisms provided by Acompany have the potential to become the de facto global standard in the future.
We executed this transaction out of a desire to support Acompany's challenge to build an infrastructure that balances 'defense' and 'offense' so that companies can utilize data with peace of mind, and to pioneer a new era of data utilization predicated on trust.
■ Features of This Transaction: A New Option Utilizing Phantom Stock
This transaction is our company's first financing utilizing Phantom Stock (*).
This scheme meets Acompany's need to keep the issuance ratio of stock options (hereinafter 'SO') associated with venture debt procurement within a certain limit, while also enabling our company to secure a certain return during future fundraising. We believe this scheme can be an effective move for startups that have a considerable period until IPO and a high probability of conducting financing before then.
Generally, in venture debt involving the issuance of SO, the potential dilution rate of shares is one point of discussion in scheme design. In addition, deep tech companies often take a long time to go public, making it difficult to foresee when returns from SO will be realized, which can be a hurdle for capital providers when considering investment.
Phantom Stock is a scheme that provides flexibility to both startups and investors, as it does not involve the dilution of shares and makes it possible to enjoy returns without waiting for an IPO. Our reason for existence is not to be bound by traditional customs or existing methods, but to face each investment opportunity head-on and derive optimal solutions by bringing together the wisdom and creativity of our team.
An interview article with Acompany regarding this financing has been published, and it touches upon the background leading to the adoption of Phantom Stock, so please be sure to read it: https://note.com/funds_startups/n/nb0e1b028271c
*) Phantom Stock is a 'pseudo-share' scheme in which, when pre-agreed conditions (such as the next financing) are met, cash calculated based on the stock price at that time is received from the issuer. Because it does not involve the issuance of shares, investors can enjoy returns corresponding to the increase in stock price while existing shareholders maintain their voting rights.
■ About Acompany
Under the mission of 'Trust. Data. AI. Bringing trust to all data and AI utilization,' Acompany supports all data and AI utilization globally by leveraging Confidential Computing technology. Under security and trust, we connect data and AI, allowing everyone to receive the benefits of data.