Jellness raises $2.4M pre-Series A to grow solo leisure service for over-60s
What's the deal? Tokyo-based JellnessDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised US$2.85M in a pre-Series A round led by FFG Venture Business PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and PARTNERS FUNDDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The company runs "Shumitime," a small-group leisure service aimed at people in their 60s and 70s who want to go out alone. It also announced expansion into Japan's Kansai region.
What's the endgame? Jellness positions itself as an "AI-native Agetech company" focused on enriching the second half of people's lives. The funds will expand its experience-supply system and geographic reach.
Why now? Since launching in September 2025, Shumitime has drawn 6,381 total participants in a year, with monthly gross merchandise value growing roughly 20 times. About 40% of participants book a second tour within 90 days of their first.
Roughly 85% of participants are in their 60s and 70s, most of them women, and 95% sign up alone. Jellness plans and runs every tour itself, using LINE chats, surveys, and AI to record each customer's preferences and tailor experiences. Offerings range from half-day walks and food tours to overnight hiking trips.
Market expansion: From December 2026, Jellness will begin operating in Kansai — its first major move beyond the Kanto region. The company says it has received more than 100 requests for Kansai tours through word of mouth alone, and is recruiting local team members to build experiences with regional partners. Backers include Kansai-based investors Nanto Capital PartnersDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and NANKAI NEXT VenturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
Other investors in the round include Yokohama CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, SMBC Venture CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Resona CapitalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
The signal: Japan has 36.19 million people aged 65 or older, roughly 30% of its population, and by 2050 one in five households is projected to be a single person over 65. Jellness is betting that the travel industry's assumption — that leisure is something done with family or friends — no longer fits how an ageing, increasingly solo population wants to spend its time.
