DeNA to Acquire Knot, Inc., Operator of AI Global Recruitment Platform “Noxx” Founder Kiyotaka Kobayashi to Join DeNA to Lead New Business Creation and Startup Investment

TOKYO, JAPAN - April 27, 2026 - DeNA Co., Ltd. today announced that it has acquired 100% of the shares of Knot, Inc., operator of the AI-powered global recruitment platform Noxx, making it a wholly-owned subsidiary. Knot’s founder, Kiyotaka Kobayashi, is scheduled to join the DeNA Group to lead new business creation and startup investment.

■ Noxx

Noxx is an AI platform designed mainly for the U.S. market to eliminate the costs and inefficiencies associated with global hiring. The service enables companies to reduce recruitment costs while improving hire quality by using AI to analyze a high volume of applications from around the world from multiple perspectives and determine their compatibility with the company in a fraction of the time. By streamlining the remote hiring infrastructure, Noxx expands the options for companies to directly access top talent, both domestically and internationally.

■ Kiyotaka Kobayashi

Kobayashi is a serial entrepreneur who has launched multiple businesses based in Japan and Silicon Valley. In 2009, he founded Nobot, a mobile advertising network for smartphones, which he grew into the second largest in Japan before selling it to the KDDI Group in 2011. Since relocating to Silicon Valley in 2013, he has gained extensive experience launching various ventures in the U.S. and currently leads the business as Co-Founder & CEO of Noxx, an AI-powered global recruitment platform.

Also, as a partner at the Tokyo Founders Fund since 2015, he has invested in approximately 40 companies, primarily in the U.S., and has played a central role in forming and managing a community of 80 to 100 Japanese entrepreneurs based in the Bay Area. He also contributes to the development of Japanese entrepreneurs as a mentor for DelightX, an AI-focused venture building program operated by Delight Ventures.

■ Kobayashi Joining DeNA

DeNA is currently taking a multifaceted approach to creating AI business through internal projects, startup investments via DeNA and Delight Ventures, and entrepreneurship support programs in the U.S. Deep engagement within the startup ecosystems of both the Japanese and U.S. market is a core requirement for new business creation and startup investment in the rapidly changing AI era.

Kobayashi has been involved in entrepreneurship, investment, and community building in Silicon Valley for over 12 years and maintains strong ties with local entrepreneur and investor networks. Upon joining DeNA, he will be responsible for sourcing, evaluating, and incubating new businesses and startup investments originating from the U.S. Also, as part of “AI” For & With Startups —a support initiative for the multifaceted growth of portfolio companies—he will actively support these startups as they expand into North America.

■ Knot, Inc. Overview

• Name
  Knot, Inc.
• Location
  San Francisco, California, U.S.
• Representative
  Kiyotaka Kobayashi (Co-Founder & CEO)
• Established
  2021
• Business
  Development and operation of AI-powered global recruitment platforms