SmartNews built a machine-learning news app in Tokyo and scaled it into a $2B unicorn with a major US presence.
Curating the news with machine learning
Founded in 2012 in Tokyo, SmartNews built a news-discovery app that uses machine learning to surface relevant, high-quality stories from thousands of sources — with a stated mission to deliver the world’s quality information to the people who need it and reduce filter-bubble effects. The app became hugely popular in Japan before expanding abroad.
A unicorn that went to America
SmartNews reached a $2 billion valuation as a unicorn and made a serious push into the United States, reporting roughly $104 million ARR in 2025. Few Japanese consumer-app companies have attempted, let alone sustained, that scale of US expansion.
Why it represents the next generation
SmartNews is a rare Japanese consumer-internet company built on machine learning that competes in the US market — a model of how Japanese product and AI talent can reach a global audience.
Why it matters for global partners and investors
- For publishers and advertisers, SmartNews is a large, ML-driven distribution channel in Japan and the US.
- For investors, it is a rare Japanese consumer-app unicorn with real US scale.
- The trend to watch is algorithmic news distribution and its US monetisation.
Frequently asked questions
What is SmartNews?
SmartNews is a Tokyo-founded news-discovery app, launched in 2012, that uses machine learning to curate quality news from many sources. It is popular in Japan and has expanded into the United States.
How big is SmartNews?
SmartNews is a unicorn valued at around $2 billion, with roughly $104 million in annual recurring revenue reported in 2025.
Why does SmartNews matter?
It is one of the few Japanese consumer-internet companies built on machine learning to compete at scale in the US market, showing how Japanese product and AI talent can reach a global audience.
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This profile is part of Japonity’s next-generation Japanese companies series, spotlighting the startups and challengers redefining Japan’s new economy.
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