IDEABLE WORKS Raises About ¥180M Series A for HACKK TAG

IDEABLE WORKS, the company behind the artist gallery platform HACKK TAG, announced on October 28 that it has raised about ¥180 million (roughly 1.8億円) in a Series A round through a third-party share allotment. The company did not disclose its valuation.

Six investors took part: Writeup Ventures, Kyoto Capital Partners, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, Anchor Ship Partners Group, Suminemine Investment Works and the nonprofit very50.

How HACKK TAG works

HACKK TAG lets artists gather their profile, works, social media links, event information and articles in one place, and sell original pieces or made-to-order reproductions. Artists register works from a smartphone and can apply to exhibition projects in digital galleries installed in public spaces such as stations and hotels. Registration and applications are free; an administrative fee applies once an exhibition is confirmed, the company says.

The PUBLIC GALLERY service targets commercial facilities, hotels and stations, turning unused wall space into low-cost digital galleries. IDEABLE WORKS handles everything from running art contests to collecting, swapping and displaying works, so operators carry essentially no workload. Current sites include Imperial Hotel Osaka, Eslite Spectrum Nihonbashi, Kyoto Station Building and four stations on the Meitetsu Seto Line.

PRIVATE GALLERY is a subscription for shops, welfare and medical facilities: a digital frame regularly receives a playlist of high-definition artworks. With a frame purchased outright, the service fee is ¥5,980 per month including tax; the hardware price is available on request. Visitors can buy originals or high-definition reproductions of works they like. A pediatric clinic in Saitama Prefecture also streams artwork by local children.

Where the money goes

The funds will go toward expanding bases with overseas growth in mind, developing a proprietary digital frame designed for art, and building an in-house content management system for large-scale distribution. The company aims to vertically integrate hardware, software and content.