We spoke with Taro Tanaka, CEO of SmartFlow Inc., about their next-generation workflow automation platform, "SmartFlow AI."
We explore the company's vision of dramatically improving corporate productivity through AI-powered business process automation and the uniqueness of their product.
SmartFlow AI is a platform where AI automatically detects "repetitive tasks" hidden in daily business operations and automates them as workflows.
Unlike traditional RPA tools, it features a "Proactive Automation" function where AI learns business patterns and proposes optimal automation, let alone no-code configuration.
This allows anyone in any department to easily achieve business efficiency, regardless of IT literacy.
While working at a consulting firm in my previous job, I realized many companies face the challenge of "understanding the need for automation but not knowing where to start."
Existing tools were complex to set up, and they often had to rely on IT departments after all.
From this experience, I was convinced of the need for "a tool where AI understands operations and proposes automation," leading me to develop SmartFlow AI.
Our main target is growing companies with 50 to 500 employees.
While operations rapidly become complex for companies of this size, they often lack specialized IT teams like large enterprises. We believe this is the segment where SmartFlow AI's "AI-proposed automation" can provide the most value.
In fact, companies that used our beta version reported an average reduction of 120 hours of work per month.
Our biggest differentiator is the "Proactive Automation" I mentioned earlier.
While common RPA and workflow tools require users to define the tasks they want to automate, SmartFlow AI analyzes the usage patterns of Slack, email, and various SaaS tools, and proposes, "This workflow can be automated."
Our strength is delivering an experience that feels as if you have an excellent business consultant stationed within your team.
Since the closed beta release in December 2025, it has been used by 30 companies, and we have received a very high NPS (Net Promoter Score) rating of 72.
We received many comments like "AI proposed improvements from the first day of application" and "I was surprised by how easy it was to start without configuration," confirming the product's direction.
Currently, our ARR equivalent has reached nearly 20 million yen, maintaining a monthly growth rate of 25%.
In the short term, toward the official release in April 2026, we are expanding security features and API integrations for enterprise use.
In the medium term, we plan to develop a "Business Intelligence" function where AI visualizes and optimizes the entire business process, evolving from a simple automation tool into a "corporate digital brain."
We also plan Series A fundraising next fiscal year.
We continue developing SmartFlow AI with the mission of "Delivering the power of AI to all companies."
The business automation market is projected to grow to a $30 billion scale by 2030, and we aim to be the core platform within it.
Together with a team that possesses both technological expertise and business understanding, we will build a global SaaS from Japan.
We would be delighted if you could take a look at our product and experience the potential of SmartFlow AI.
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