Skyland Ventures backs experiential entertainment startup ex Labs in seed round
What's the deal? Skyland VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has invested in ex Labs, a Tokyo-based startup that designs, produces, and operates experiential entertainment such as puzzle hunts, murder mysteries, and immersive events. The seed round was announced in July 2026.
What's the endgame? ex Labs will use the funds to develop new content for commercial, cultural, and tourism venues, strengthen ties with creators and performers, build out its operations, and launch a new experiential entertainment label. Its core business converts underused shared spaces and idle hours in venues into "destinations for experiences."
Why now? Founded in November 2025, ex Labs is starting a venue-activation business with a first project at Shibuya Sakura Stage. Running from September to October 2026, the event Uwasabanashi Investigation Committee case1 sends participants roaming the site to gather clues and solve a mystery, aiming to boost foot traffic, dwell time, and spending at in-house stores.
The company partnered with Tokyu Land, 404 Not FoundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and TSUTAYA BOOKSTORE Shibuya Sakura Stage on the launch. Past work includes a mystery set in a late-night Kinokuniya bookstore and Lost Frame , staged across the Shimokitazawa district.
Who's behind it? ex Labs is led by chief executive officer Yuki Iida, a student entrepreneur at the University of Tokyo. Skyland Ventures general partner and CEO Kei Kinoshita said Iida has "experienced more than 4,000 murder mysteries and puzzle games himself," using that understanding to build the company's own content.
Skyland Ventures said it backed ex Labs for its model that designs space, story, audience, and operations as one, turning idle assets in venues and neighbourhoods into new markets.
The signal: Skyland Ventures, founded in 2012 and an investor in more than 200 startups, names entertainment among its priority themes, with a focus on real-world experiences people physically attend. The bet reflects a wider push to revive commercial complexes, museums, and public spaces — a challenge Skyland capitalist Yuzuha Imamura called one "for society as a whole."
Read more: PR TIMES
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
