Luup, Inc.

Luup, Inc. is a Japanese company that operates LUUP, a sharing service for electric micromobility. Founded on July 30, 2018, and headquartered in Shinagawa-ku, Tokyo, the company originally incorporated as umeris, Inc. before changing its name to Luup, Inc. in December 2018. Its core business is the provision of the LUUP sharing service, which allows users to rent electric kickboards, electric seat boards, and electric-assist bicycles through a smartphone app. The service launched in Tokyo in May 2020 with electric-assist bicycles, and electric kickboards were added on a trial basis in April 2021. Following the enforcement of the revised Road Traffic Act on July 1, 2023, electric kickboards were reclassified as "specified small motorized bicycles," allowing riders aged 16 and over to use them without a driver's license under certain conditions. LUUP has expanded to numerous Japanese cities including Osaka, Yokohama, Kyoto, Kobe, Nagoya, Hiroshima, Sendai, Fukuoka, Kitakyushu, Hamamatsu, Sapporo, and others. The company's mission is to "create infrastructure that turns the entire city into a 'station-front area.'" In addition to its sharing service, Luup has announced new initiatives such as "LUUP for Community" and a concept model for a three-wheeled universal car called "Unimo." The company is privately held and has attracted attention for both its rapid growth and controversies surrounding user violations and port placement.

Luup, Inc. was established on July 30, 2018, under the name umeris, Inc. On December 19, 2018, it changed its trade name to Luup, Inc. The company initially envisioned a C2C caregiving service but pivoted to electric micromobility sharing due to Japan's transportation infrastructure being unsuitable for C2C services. In April 2019, Luup signed cooperation agreements with several municipalities (Hamamatsu, Nara, Yokkaichi, Tama, and Yokose) for new public transportation and tourism, the first of its kind in Japan. In May 2019, it established the Micromobility Promotion Council with other electric kickboard operators. In October 2019, its electric micromobility demonstration plan received the first certification in the mobility field under the regulatory sandbox system. In May 2020, LUUP launched its sharing service in parts of Tokyo (Shibuya, Meguro, Minato, Setagaya, Shinagawa, and Shinjuku wards) with electric-assist bicycles only. In October 2020, its electric kickboard public road demonstration plan was certified under the New Business Special Exception System, allowing a maximum speed of 20 km/h and travel in bicycle lanes. In April 2021, LUUP expanded to Osaka and began electric kickboard sharing as a demonstration experiment. Further demonstrations followed in Uji (October 2021), Yokohama Minato Mirai 21 (October 2021), and Kyoto (November 2021). In February 2022, Luup announced a logo and kickboard design change, updating vehicles from black to white for better visibility. In April 2022, the revised Road Traffic Act establishing a new vehicle category for electric small mobility passed the Diet and was enacted on July 1, 2023, allowing anyone aged 16 or older to use electric kickboards regardless of nationality; LUUP created an English guidebook. In December 2022, a demonstration experiment began in Utsunomiya. In 2023, LUUP expanded to Kobe (March), Nagoya (May), and Hiroshima (July). In 2024, it launched in Sendai (February), Fukuoka (March), and Kitakyushu (October), and introduced new services "LUUP for Community" (June) and an electric seat board (June). In 2025, it enabled WeChat rentals (June), expanded to Sapporo (July), started a demonstration in Ehime Prefecture (August), and unveiled the "Unimo" concept model (August).

• Founded as umeris, Inc.

• Changed trade name to Luup, Inc.

• Signed cooperation agreements with five municipalities for new public transportation and tourism

• Established the Micromobility Promotion Council

• Received first regulatory sandbox certification in mobility field for electric micromobility demonstration

• Launched LUUP sharing service in Tokyo with electric-assist bicycles

• Electric kickboard public road demonstration certified under New Business Special Exception System

• Expanded LUUP service to Osaka

• Started electric kickboard sharing as demonstration experiment

• Announced logo and kickboard design change

• Revised Road Traffic Act enforced, reclassifying electric kickboards as specified small motorized bicycles

• Launched new service 'LUUP for Community'

• Announced electric seat board

• Enabled e-bike rentals via WeChat for Chinese visitors

• Unveiled concept model of three-wheeled universal car 'Unimo'

Urban short-distance transportation infrastructure, aiming to make the entire city a 'station-front area' with safe, convenient electric micromobility.

• Electric kickboard

  Classified as a specified small motorized bicycle under the revised Road Traffic Act; max speed 20 km/h, no license required for ages 16+.

• Electric-assist bicycle

  Luup-developed electric-assist bicycle, claimed to be among the smallest in Japan.

• Electric seat board

  Announced in June 2024, a seated electric micromobility option.

• Unimo

  Concept model of a small three-wheeled universal car, envisioned for elderly users after license surrender; demonstration experiments planned for fiscal 2026.

1. 1会社情報 | Luup（ループ）luup.sc
2. 2Corporate | Luup（ループ）luup.sc
3. 3Luup, Inc. - Wikidatawikidata.org
4. 4Luup - Wikipediaja.wikipedia.org