Go’s IPO — Japan’s biggest so far this year — has done more than provide a much-needed boost to the country’s languishing listing season. It has also provided the taxi-hailing app with the capital needed to address an existential issue: Japan’s driver shortage.
Go, which went public on Tuesday, plans to use the ¥88.6 billion ($553 million) raised from its IPO to expand its robotaxi business and make acquisitions, according to a company spokesman.
“We intend to use the proceeds from the sale of newly issued shares to invest in research and development related to robotaxi and invest in business expansions, including strategic mergers and acquisitions in our business within and outside the taxi industry,” the spokesperson said.
The Japanese taxi company’s debut came in one of Japan’s quietest import periods, at a time when the government was telling startups to sell themselves instead of going public. Go picked up investments from BlackRock, Wellington Management and M&G Investment Management in the process, underscoring where global institutional money is willing to go in Japan right now. The stock has since fallen below its offering price, closing at ¥2,314 on Friday, down about 4% from its IPO price of ¥2,400.
Go’s robotaxi ambitions are rooted in a human problem. Japan’s taxi industry is run out of drivers. The number of taxi drivers has decreased about 20% in recent yearsaccording to a report cited by Japan’s Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism.
An aging population means this number is unlikely to recover. Ride-hailing services launched in Japan in 2024but remain restricted in certain areas and require drivers to be employed by a taxi company. restrictions that have done little to address the shortage.
Go was was founded in 1977 as a taxi operator and now runs Japan’s largest horse racing app with 35 million downloads, 85,000 partner vehicles and 80% share of Japan’s taxi app market per year of use, covering 46 of Japan’s 47 prefectures.
Go believes robotaxis will be part of its future — though it’s unclear when that vision will become a reality.
Go is partnering with Waymo, a self-driving subsidiary of Alphabet, along with Nihon Kotsu, one of Japan’s largest taxi companies. Go is responsible for the strategic coordination of the partnership, according to the spokesperson. CEO Hiroshi Nakajima has previously said that Go will not invest in self-driving systems itself, according to Nikkei Asia.
Go has not set a timetable for fully driverless operations.
“We intend to start driving fully autonomously, without the presence of a special human, when we validate our technology and receive approval to do so,” the spokesperson said.
In the meantime, Go is looking for ways to give its traditional business a competitive edge. For example, the company has partnered with Kakao T, Alipay and WeChat Pay to allow inbound travelers from South Korea, China and Taiwan to use Go-related taxis directly from their local apps.
Go isn’t the only company betting on the future of Tokyo’s robotaxi.
In March, Uber, Wayve and Nissan have announced plans to pilot robotaxi services in Tokyo by the end of 2026, marking Uber’s first partnership for autonomous vehicles in Japan. The service will use Nissan Leaf electric vehicles powered by Wayve’s AI Driver and will be bookable through the Uber app.
Uber has also partnered S.Ride to allow international guests to book rides through the Uber app. Didi Mobility Japana joint venture between SoftBank and Didi Chuxing, has a similar deal.
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