Go’s IPO, Japan’s largest so far this year, did more than provide a much-needed boost to Japan’s sluggish listing season. It also gave taxi-hailing apps the capital they needed to solve Japan’s existential problem of driver shortage.
Go, which went public on Tuesday, plans to use the 88.6 billion yen ($553 million) raised in the IPO to expand its robotaxi business and make acquisitions, a company spokeswoman said.
An official said, “We plan to use the proceeds from the sale of new shares to invest in business expansion, such as investment in robotaxi-related research and development and strategic mergers and acquisitions (M&A) of businesses within and outside the taxi industry.”
The Japanese taxi-hailing company’s debut comes during one of the country’s quietest listing seasons. At this time, the government has instructed startups to sell themselves rather than go public. In the process, Mr. Ko attracted investments from BlackRock, Wellington Management, and M&G Investment Management, emphasizing that global institutional funds are currently willing to flow to Japan. Since then, the stock price has fallen below the IPO price, closing on Friday at 2,314 yen, down about 4% from the IPO price of 2,400 yen.
Goh’s robotaxi ambitions are rooted in human problems. The Japanese taxi industry is experiencing a shortage of drivers. According to a report cited by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure and Transport, the number of taxi drivers has decreased by about 20% in recent years.
An aging population means those numbers are unlikely to recover. Ride-sharing services launched in Japan in 2024, but are still limited to certain regions and drivers must be employed by taxi companies. Restrictions that have done little to address shortages.
Go was founded as a taxi operator in 1977 and currently operates Japan’s largest ride-hailing app with 35 million downloads, 85,000 affiliated vehicles, and an 80% share of Japan’s taxi app market by time spent (46 out of 47 prefectures in Japan).
Go believes that robotaxi will be part of the future. But it’s unclear when that vision will become a reality.
Go has partnered with Waymo, Alphabet’s self-driving subsidiary, along with Nihon Kotsu, one of Japan’s largest taxi operators. Go is responsible for strategic coordination of the partnership, according to a spokesperson. According to Nikkei Asia, CEO Hiroshi Nakajima previously said Go would not invest in the self-driving system itself.
Go has not set a timeline for fully unmanned operations.
“We plan to validate the technology and, once approved, begin fully autonomous driving without the need for experts,” the spokesperson said.
In the meantime, Go is finding ways to give existing businesses a competitive edge. For example, the company has partnered with Kakao T, Alipay, and WeChat Pay to allow travelers arriving from South Korea, China, and Taiwan to hail Go-affiliated taxis directly from local apps.
Go isn’t the only company betting on Tokyo’s robotaxi future.
Last March, Uber, Wayve, and Nissan announced plans to test a robotaxi service in Tokyo by the end of 2026, marking Uber’s first autonomous vehicle partnership in Japan. The service uses Nissan Leaf electric vehicles equipped with Wayve’s AI drivers and can be booked through the Uber app.
Uber has also partnered with S.Ride to allow international visitors to book rides through the Uber app. Didi Mobility Japan, a joint venture between SoftBank and Didi Chuxing, has a similar agreement.
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