# Masahiro Shimizu: CEO, ZEALS

Canonical ID: `096a1f73-3222-4fe5-b491-44626e3c6a20`

Japanese entrepreneur, founder and CEO of [ZEALS](/companies/zeals). Founded ZEALS in 2014 as a freshman at Meiji University, initially pursuing robotics before pivoting to chat commerce after Facebook opened its Messenger API in 2016. Coined the category of "Chat Commerce" in Japan, building a platform with 400+ enterprise clients including NTT Docomo, Asahi, and L'Oreal. Forbes 30 Under 30 Asia 2018 (Enterprise Technology). Expanded ZEALS to San Francisco in 2022 and launched the D1 compact humanoid robot for indoor work, returning to his original robotics vision. The company raised 69M+ USD through Series E.

- **Nationality:** Japanese
- **Verification posture:** verified

## Current roles (1)

- [ZEALS](https://registry.deploy.report/companies/zeals.md) CEO (secondary-verified)

## Foundings (1)

- [ZEALS](https://registry.deploy.report/companies/zeals.md)

See all founders: [/founders](https://registry.deploy.report/founders.md)

## Sources (4)

1. https://www.newscom.com
2. https://www.forbes.com/profile/masahiro-shimizu/
3. https://yespress.io/masa-shimizu
4. https://www.japantimes.co.jp/2024/12/25/special-supplements/zeals-social-chat-commerce-platform-engaging-conversation-plus-ai/


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