LINE Works

Business chat and workflow app tied to the LINE consumer app, dominant in Japan.

LINE WORKS keeps growing by riding Japan's LINE habit while Microsoft and Google circle with bigger AI budgets but no equivalent local foothold.

LINE Works is a workplace messaging and collaboration tool used by about 590,000 Japanese companies. It is hard to replace because it connects to LINE, the consumer messaging app that almost every Japanese small business already uses daily for customer communication, and Microsoft Teams or Google Workspace cannot easily recreate that advantage without owning LINE itself. The main threat is that Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini are becoming smart enough to do many of the same AI tasks that LINE Works just added (like transcribing meetings or reading documents), while competitors like Chatwork are also targeting small businesses with cheaper options, so if those rivals can prove they are winning over actual customers, or if Japan's government creates problems for LINE's brand, LINE Works could lose its grip.

• ¥16B ARR (~$110M) (2025-07)
• 590K corporate clients, 5.8M users (2025-01)
• #1 Japan paid messenger, 7 years running (2024-12)

• Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini could commoditize LINE WORKS' new AI features (AiNote, AiStudio). Severity: medium
• LINE brand trust could be affected if LY Corporation faces renewed regulatory action tied to past LINE data leak issues. Severity: medium
• Chatwork and Kubell actively contest SME market leadership with vendor-commissioned Nielsen data. Severity: medium
• No independently verified headcount or profitability data; reliance on self-reported ARR figures. Severity: low

Is LINE WORKS profitable in 2026?

No net income figures are public, but LINE WORKS reported ARR surpassing 16 billion yen (about 110 million dollars) as of July 2025 with roughly 40% year over year growth for multiple consecutive years, per Fuji Chimera Research Institute data cited at its 10th anniversary event, July 2025.

Could AI replace LINE WORKS?

Unlikely soon. LINE WORKS is embedding AI (AiNote, Roger, AiCall, AiStudio) into its own chat, board and drive system of record built on NAVER's CLOVA stack rather than being replaced by generic assistants, though Microsoft Copilot and Google Gemini could commoditize its standalone AI add ons over time.

Who owns LINE WORKS?

LINE WORKS Corporation is majority owned by NAVER Corporation, which held 70% as of a May 2020 SEC filing, with LINE Corporation holding 10.6%. LINE Corporation was later folded into LY Corporation via the 2021 SoftBank NAVER joint venture merging LINE and Yahoo Japan.

What is LINE WORKS' biggest competitor in Japan?

Chatwork is the closest SME rival, claiming 886,000 companies as of December 2024 per Nielsen NetView data commissioned by its parent Kubell. Microsoft Teams dominates larger Japanese enterprises, while LINE WORKS has held the #1 paid business messenger spot in Japan for seven straight years through 2024.

Is LINE WORKS growing or losing customers?

Growing, per its own reporting: about 590,000 global corporate clients and 5.8 million users as of January 2025, ARR of roughly 16 billion yen in July 2025, and around 40% year over year revenue growth sustained for multiple years, according to company statements at its July 2025 anniversary event.

Does LINE WORKS use AI, and how?

Yes. Since November 2024 it has shipped AiNote for meeting transcription, Roger for voice message to text (February 2025, v1.3 in April 2026), plus AiCall, Vision, OCR and AiStudio, a generative AI assistant platform priced from 950 yen per user per month as of June 2026.

• 2026-06-09AiStudio priced from 950 yen/user/month; Shift management app beta launched
• 2026-04LINE WORKS Roger major update v1.3 with multi channel support
• 2025-07-11ARR reported to have surpassed 16 billion yen (about $110M)
• 2025-07-09NAVER Cloud CEO reframes LINE WORKS as AI powered workplace platform
• 2025-02LINE WORKS Roger voice to text tool launched
• 2024-11LINE WORKS AiNote meeting transcription tool launched
• 2021-03LINE Corp absorbed into LY Corporation via SoftBank NAVER 50/50 merger
• 2020-05-10NAVER held 70% of WORKS MOBILE; LINE Corp raised stake to 10.6%
• 2016-01Japan focused commercial service launched
• 2015-06-03LINE WORKS Corp established via spin off from NAVER

• Naver's Line Works penetrates Japanese collaboration tool market (2025-07-11)
• Naver founder and board chairman Lee Hae-jin's long-standing dream... (2025-07-10)
• Deloitte SOC3 Report 2024
• Form 6-K (2020-05-10)
• Line Corporation
• LINE WORKS
• LINE WORKS株式会社 (2026-06-09)
• NAVER Cloud CEO Kim Yu-won presents AI-powered B2B business vision (2025-07-09)
• Improving Labor Productivity at SMEs through DX (2024-12-30)
• What is LINE WORKS AiNote (2025-08-06)
• WORKS MOBILE Japan Company Profile
• LINE WORKS blog