# Masa Shimizu

> Masahiro 'Masa' Shimizu is the Founder & CEO of ZEALS Co., Ltd. and Omakase.ai, the Japanese pioneer of Chat Commerce. He started ZEALS as a Meiji University freshman in 2014 with robots and a mission to 'elevate Japan,' pivoted to chatbots within one month of Facebook opening its Messenger API in 2016, built Japan's #1 social chat commerce platform with 300+ employees and $69M+ raised, and is now taking that same hospitality-first philosophy — what he calls 'Omotenashi' — into voice-powered AI agents for global e-commerce through Omakase.ai.

- **Role:** Founder & CEO at ZEALS / Omakase.ai
- **Organizations:** ZEALS Co., Ltd., ZEALS Inc. (U.S.), Omakase.ai
- **From:** Okayama Prefecture, Japan
- **Nationality:** Japanese
- **Education:** Enrolled (founded ZEALS as a freshman), Meiji University
- **Known for:** Forbes '30 Under 30 Asia' 2018 — Enterprise Technology category, Forbes Japan Entrepreneur Rankings 2025 — Top 20, Built Japan's #1 social chat commerce platform (ZEALS) with 300+ employees

## Career timeline

- **2014** — Founded ZEALS Co., Ltd. (April 1) as a Meiji University freshman, initially pursuing robot development to address Japan's declining workforce
- **2016** — Spotted Facebook's Messenger chatbot API announcement (April 12) and shipped ZEALS' first chatbot service within one month (May 13); coined and launched Chat Commerce®
- **2018** — Named to Forbes '30 Under 30 Asia' list in the Enterprise Technology category
- **2021** — Tokyo Stock Exchange approved ZEALS for listing on the Mothers Market (December 23); IPO subsequently postponed amid global market turbulence
- **2022** — Led Series E funding round raising 5 billion yen (~$38M+) from JIC Venture Growth Investments, Z Venture Capital, Japan Post Capital, and Salesforce Ventures (May)
- **2022** — Established ZEALS Inc., a U.S. subsidiary in Delaware (September 1), anchoring North American expansion from San Francisco
- **2025** — Launched Omakase.ai Voice — a voice-powered AI sales agent for e-commerce; ranked #1 Product of the Day on Product Hunt (January 13)
- **2025** — Selected as Top 20 in Forbes Japan Entrepreneur Rankings 2025; Omakase.ai surpassed 10,000 AI agents globally and $100K ARR in first month

## Achievements

- Forbes '30 Under 30 Asia' 2018 — Enterprise Technology category
- Forbes Japan Entrepreneur Rankings 2025 — Top 20
- Built Japan's #1 social chat commerce platform (ZEALS) with 300+ employees
- Raised over $69 million in total funding across multiple rounds
- Pioneered Chat Commerce® — coined and commercialized the category in Japan (2016)
- Secured clients including Estée Lauder, L'Oréal, MAC Cosmetics, Shiseido, NTT Docomo, Asahi Beer
- Omakase.ai ranked #1 Product of the Day on Product Hunt (January 13, 2025)
- Omakase.ai achieved 10,000+ AI agents globally in first 3 months
- $100K+ ARR in Omakase.ai's first month
- LinkedIn Top Startups recognition

## Latest updates

- **2025-11** — Featured on 'One Amazing Thing with Greg Kihlström' podcast (Episode #46) discussing Omakase.ai's Voice AI agent and the future of agentic commerce
- **2025-01** — Omakase.ai Voice launched and ranked #1 Product of the Day on Product Hunt; platform reached 10,000+ AI agents globally
- **2025-01** — Named to Forbes Japan Entrepreneur Rankings 2025 Top 20
- **2022-09** — Established ZEALS U.S. subsidiary (ZEALS Inc.) in Delaware; relocated leadership to San Francisco
- **2022-05** — Closed Series E round of 5 billion yen (~$38M+) with Salesforce Ventures, JIC Venture Growth Investments, and others

## Links

- Website: https://zeals.ai
- LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/masazeals/
- Twitter/X: https://twitter.com/masa_zeals
- Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/masa_zeals/
- Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/masahiro.shimizu.73/

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Profile page: https://yespress.io/masa-shimizu
Published by YesPress — https://yespress.io
Last updated: 2026-05-25