MBS innovation DRIVE

MBS innovation DRIVE, Inc. (株式会社MBSイノベーションドライブ) is a Japanese corporate venture and business-development company established on September 3, 2018, as a wholly owned subsidiary of MBS Media Holdings, Inc., the holding company of the Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) group. Headquartered on the 28th floor of Akasaka Biz Tower in Minato-ku, Tokyo, with an Osaka branch in Chayamachi, Kita-ku, it was created to generate new businesses for the MBS Group, which includes Mainichi Broadcasting and GAORA. Its stated mission is to combine the group's long-accumulated television and radio know-how with emerging technologies and business models to build the next pillars of growth. The company positions itself under the slogan "Be the Mavericks" (異端者であれ), framing itself as a successor to the pioneers who first opened up television broadcasting. It pursues both external investment and in-house business development across fields such as AI, VR, audio streaming, digital marketing, IP and content, gaming, and inbound tourism. Its portfolio and group activities span digital marketing (including the social media marketing tool OWNLY), VTuber development and talent management through the .LIVE agency, e-commerce sites such as Hinata Life and Kachimo, and the live-streaming service SHOWROOM. As a subsidiary of MBS Media Holdings, MBS innovation DRIVE operates as the group's innovation and new-business arm rather than as a broadcaster itself. Its leadership has included President and Representative Director Shin Hamaguchi, with directors including Takahiro Nakagawa and Yasushi Nishi, and auditors Norikazu Kawase and Junichiro Inagaki. The company continues to launch new content ventures, including a male VTuber project developed with Upland.

MBS innovation DRIVE, Inc. was established on September 3, 2018, as a wholly owned subsidiary of MBS Media Holdings, Inc., the holding company of the Mainichi Broadcasting System (MBS) group. It was created to respond to the rapidly changing environment surrounding the broadcasting business and to generate new businesses for the MBS Group, which includes Mainichi Broadcasting and GAORA. The company was capitalized at 100 million yen (including capital reserve), entirely funded by MBS Media Holdings. From its base in Tokyo and Osaka, the company set out to combine the group's long-accumulated television and radio expertise with new technologies and business models. Its approach pairs external investment with in-house business development, aiming to fuse the strengths of partners and group companies to step into unexplored areas. The fields it targets include AI, VR, audio streaming, digital marketing, IP and content, gaming, and inbound tourism. Among the businesses associated with its portfolio and group activities are a digital marketing operation active since 2011, whose social media marketing tool OWNLY is used by major beverage and food manufacturers; a VTuber business started in 2017 that develops characters such as Den-no Shojo Shiro and operates the .LIVE talent agency, with more than 20 talents and over 2.3 million total YouTube subscribers as of June 2025; the e-commerce site Hinata Life launched in 2017, alongside the TV-shopping-linked e-commerce site Kachimo; and the live-streaming service SHOWROOM, an early pioneer of the gifting business model in Japan. The company has continued to launch new content ventures. In 2026 it announced a joint male VTuber project called Tobariku with Upland, with four members debuting in September 2026. Leadership has also evolved, with a change of Representative Director and President announced in June 2026. Under the slogan "Be the Mavericks," MBS innovation DRIVE positions itself as the MBS Group's engine for creating the next generation of media and content businesses beyond broadcasting.

• MBS innovation DRIVE, Inc. established as a wholly owned subsidiary of MBS Media Holdings.

• Announcement of a change of Representative Director and President.

• Joint male VTuber project 'Tobariku' with Upland announced.

• Four members of the 'Tobariku' male VTuber project debut.

The MBS Group's innovation and new-business creation company, combining broadcasting know-how with new technology to build next-generation media.

• OWNLY

  Social media marketing tool for unified campaign management and user-generated content collection and analysis.

• .LIVE

  VTuber agency and talent management operation.

• Hinata Life

  E-commerce site for lifestyle goods and home appliances.

• Kachimo

  E-commerce site linked with TV shopping.

• SHOWROOM

  Live-streaming service.

1. 1TOP | MBS innovation DRIVEmbs-id.co.jp
2. 2会社概要 | MBS innovation DRIVEmbs-id.co.jp
3. 3MBS innovation DRIVE - Wikidatawikidata.org