Global Brain leads round in AI-native hotel operator 10pct.

What's the deal? Global BrainDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →'s ninth fund has invested as lead investor in 10pct.Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Tokyo-based startup that runs and manages hotels and inns using AI and data. The Minato-based company was founded in July 2023 by Yusuke Nakabori.

What's the endgame? 10pct. directly operates hotels and inns in Kyoto, Hakuba, Minakami Onsen, and other locations across Japan. It uses that on-the-ground experience to build a hotel management DX platform, centred on a booking engine with demand forecasting, automated pricing, and tools to lift direct-booking rates.

Beyond the buildings: The company also runs an M&A advisory business for lodging facilities and partners with local governments and DMOs on area branding and promotion. The aim is to raise the tourism value of whole regions, not just individual properties.

Why now? Japan's inbound tourism demand has surged with rising foreign visitor numbers. But that demand clusters in major cities and famous destinations, fuelling overtourism and chronic labour shortages, while many regions with strong local assets stay underused due to ageing lodging infrastructure and weak management.

Investor's take: Global Brain cited the management team's expertise, its data- and AI-driven approach to restructuring "the upstream of management," and a business model that spreads tourism value across regions rather than single points.

The signal: The deal reflects investor appetite for AI applied to legacy service sectors, positioning technology as a fix for Japan's structural tourism problems — from labour shortages to underused regional destinations.