Executive Roundtable Part 1: The Vision Behind CLOViZ Poker Startup

Hello! I’m part of the PR team at CLOViZ Inc.

A lot of people are probably wondering what CLOViZ actually is and what kind of team we have. In this blog series, we’ll introduce CLOViZ members in an interview format. Along the way, we’ll share our vision and values, each member’s role and skill set, and what makes both the team and the individuals behind it stand out.

In this article, we’ll introduce CLOViZ Inc., the company driving POKER Q’z, with a focus on our CEO, Masaki.

1. Backgrounds of the CLOViZ founding team

ーーーFirst, could you tell us about your backgrounds?

Masaki (CEO):

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Until this July, I worked in the entertainment industry at Nippon Television Network Corporation. I joined because I was strongly interested not just in producing shows, but in how to make a program work as a business. In practice, I had many opportunities to work on new IP production and non-broadcast revenue projects such as live events. Some of the IP development projects I was involved in include audition programs like “Nizi Project,” “BISH THE NEXT,” and “XY.”

I’ve also been involved in an education business for elementary school students that my mother founded, which now operates in more than 20 locations across Japan.

Our founding philosophy, “When you’re playing, you’re learning,” comes from my experiences in both entertainment and education.

Kitsugi (Director, COO):

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I originally worked at a global consulting firm, where I mainly supported large companies with digital transformation and building data analytics platforms. Through that work, I became deeply interested in solving business problems with technology, so I taught myself programming and also gained broad experience in areas like business operations and product management at a blockchain startup.

Over time, I became even more interested in the potential of B2C products and started wanting to build products myself. During that process, I reconnected with Masaki, whom I already knew. With the recent AI boom, we discussed a business plan around education and AI, and that led to the idea: what if we applied it to poker? That was the spark that led to CLOViZ.

Goto (Director):

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I joined after Masaki asked me for advice on setting up the company and invited me to appear on the YouTube show “POKER ROYALE.” Unlike the other two, I come from the perspective of someone who takes poker seriously as a player. My role includes giving player-focused feedback to improve the app and leveraging my connections in the poker community to bring in supporters.

Masaki:

I met Kitsugi while I was helping out at a blockchain startup. A few years later, we met again and decided to start a business together. He comes from consulting but can also do engineering, so he supports the company from both angles.

Goto is truly exceptional. He graduated top of his class from Kaisei High School, was selected as Mr. Todai during his time at the University of Tokyo, and has also appeared on “Todai-Oh.” But it’s not just his resume—his character is outstanding too, which makes him an invaluable presence. Simply being involved with the company gives people around us a positive impression.

As a poker player, Goto also deeply understands what challenges players face and what they actually need. It’s incredibly reassuring that he can connect those insights to education and business.

Although they’re not here today, another major strength of our company is that we’ve brought together members with top-tier AI research expertise and deep poker knowledge. For example, we have members at the University of Tokyo researching game AI and natural language algorithms, the president and members of a University of Tokyo poker organization, and players active in overseas poker cash games and tournaments. Their expertise plays a major role in the app’s design and technical development.

2. Entertainment x Education

ーーIt’s impressive that you’ve gathered a team with both poker and technical expertise. Can you tell us what led you to start CLOViZ, and what you want to achieve with POKER Q’z?

Masaki:
To be honest, CLOViZ isn’t only about poker. Looking ahead, we want to build businesses at the intersection of entertainment and education. Poker is simply our first theme.

Two main experiences led me to this idea. The first came from my time in the entertainment industry. When we produced audition shows, we heard from many viewers not only that they enjoyed the content as entertainment, but also that it made them feel motivated to work harder themselves. It can be pure fun, but it can also energize people for tomorrow. I saw huge potential in combining entertainment and education, and it became one of the themes I want to pursue for life.

The second came from discoveries in the education business my family runs. There, an AI-powered, gamified math learning tool delivered major results. Compared to traditional paper-and-pencil study, data showed study time increased by eight times. Kids feel like they’re playing, but they naturally keep learning—and knowledge sticks through the process. On top of that, the admin dashboard visualizes each student’s strengths and weaknesses, making personalized learning possible.

I believed we could apply this model to poker, a market with strong growth potential.

POKER Q’z is built on three core goals. First, we want to make poker study more accessible to more people. If you’re highly analytical and self-motivated, you can already use existing analysis tools. But from my own experience, many people have played poker for a long time without ever studying, or they simply don’t know how to learn. For those players, we want to create an environment that feels close to real play: you think through what you would do, see whether that decision was good or bad, and understand where your judgment sits compared to the overall field.

Second is democratizing knowledge. Like shogi or go, valuable insights have traditionally been shared only in local study groups or closed communities. We want to make that knowledge accessible to far more people. By creating a place where anyone in the world can access high-quality learning—not just those with the right connections—we believe the entire community can level up.

Third is building a community that accelerates the cycle of learning and execution. We believe that while playing is an individual battle, preparation doesn’t have to be. By creating a space where members share knowledge and discuss wins and losses from real play, we can support more consistent and effective growth than studying alone.

ーーTo be continued in Part 2...