Announcement of Acquisition of DeMiA Inc.

SHIFT Inc. (“SHIFT,” headquartered in Minato-ku, Tokyo, Japan; Masaru Tange, CEO and Representative Director) announced today that it has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire a 100% equity interest in DeMiA Inc. (“DeMiA,” headquartered in Kyoto, Kyoto, Japan; Keiya Sakamoto, Representative Director), a provider of software services including web app and smartphone app development, AI and data analysis and engineer development.

1. Reason for the acquisition
In Japanese IT industry where SHIFT provides services, there still exist social issues such as excessive labor due to the shortage of IT personnel, chronic structural problems, and security accidents and incidents including the leakage of personal information. As a company “supporting to produce products and services that sell,” SHIFT is committed to providing essential solutions to customers’ business issues. In working to resolve essential business issues, SHIFT has continued its growth with a wide variety of initiatives that also contribute to resolving social issues around the Japanese IT industry.
For example, SHIFT adopts to use CAT examination that SHIFT originally developed in its recruitment activities. This exam enabled SHIFT to recruit people with necessary talents for software testing regardless of candidates’ knowledge or experience in the IT industry or the programming skills and to establish a system that those recruited play an active role immediately after joining SHIFT. Consequently, SHIFT believes that SHIFT contributes to the creation of IT human resources.

Currently, DeMiA has about 20 outstanding engineers who are alumni or current students of Kyoto University, one of the most prestigious universities in Japan. In addition to software development services for clients, DeMiA creates and develops engineer training programs that are unique, original and based on with “real knowledge” that DeMiA has gained through hands-on experiences including software development, technological development, and training human resources for advanced engineer skills. DeMiA is well connected to and has an in-depth understanding of promising, talented students who might technologically drive Japan in the future, and therefore, it has a high advantage in securing talented engineers.
The training programs developed by DeMiA include practical knowledge that is not necessarily attainable in academic institutions and create and train skillful engineers who can immediately make significant contributions in software development projects at competitive technology companies. These training programs have already been provided to junior and senior high school students, which we believe structurally solve the shortage of engineers and other social issues faced by the Japanese IT industry as CAT examination does.

After DeMiA joins the SHIFT Group, SHIFT aims to further enhance the training programs from the following four perspectives:
1. In the SHIFT Group
– Provided as the training material for non-IT personnel and junior-level engineers who join the SHIFT Group
2. For B2B (client/user companies and companies that deploy engineers)
3. For B2C (junior high school and high school students)
4. For B2C (university students)

Leveraging DeMiA’s training programs, approach-channels and recruiting capabilities for talented university students, the SHIFT Group continues to accelerate its growth and contribute to “produce customers’ software services / products that sell.”

*QCD is a term that consists of three concepts: Quality, Cost and Delivery. It has been widely advocated to be crucial for “ever-improving manufacturing” in Japan whose manufacturing industry has been globally competitive.

Please refer to the link below for further information.
20220524_DeMiA_EN_01