The New Era of IR: Leaving 'Tasks' to AI, Shifting Humans to 'Dialogue'
This is Ito, CFO of Loglass. While Loglass primarily focuses on cloud-based management systems, we launched a new product called "Loglass AI IR" on December 9, 2025. Our second product, "Loglass Personnel Planning," fell within the broad scope of management control, but this new AI IR product is clearly outside that domain.
Having spent over 15 years involved in IR activities for listed companies at my previous job at a securities firm, and currently engaging in dialogues with investors even as a private company, I would like to write on Note about the potential this product brings to a new era of IR.
Product page:https://www.loglass.jp/ai-ir
IR is not a 'cost' but a 'financial strategy'
To begin with, how is "IR" defined in your company? It is still sometimes perceived as "public relations for investors" or "the task of creating financial results materials," but the true role of IR is completely different.
The essence of IR lies in maximizing corporate value through the reduction of the cost of capital (WACC).
Based on the DCF method, which is the fundamental formula for corporate valuation, corporate value is calculated by discounting future cash flows by the discount rate (WACC).
For example, if a company that generates 100 million yen in free cash flow every year forever has a WACC of 5%, its business value is 2 billion yen. On the other hand, if the WACC is 20%, the company's business value is calculated at 500 million yen. In other words, a lower WACC leads to higher business value.
Many companies are naturally conscious of the cash flow (or profit) that serves as the numerator, and they engage in trial and error every day to achieve it. The Loglass management cloud helps with this, and it has been well-received by many of our customers.
On the other hand, I believe that awareness of improving (lowering) the "cost of capital," which is the denominator, is still not sufficient. In fact, this sense of the issue is the basis for the Tokyo Stock Exchange's promotion of "management that is conscious of the cost of capital."
'Information asymmetry' discounts stock prices
Investors demand a risk premium for things where the reality is not visible (uncertainty). "Will this company really grow?" "Is governance functioning?" As long as there is information asymmetry between the company and investors, investors will seek higher returns, and as a result, the stock price will be discounted.
Even for the same business, a company with high business transparency has lower risk, while a company whose business is difficult to see has higher risk. For investors, a performance decline that is already visible is not a risk. If a performance decline is clear, they should not buy the stock, or they can make a profit by short-selling. The risk for investors is uncertainty, which manifests as stock price volatility.
This is where IR comes in. Disclose information as accurately and sincerely as possible, engage in repeated dialogues, and resolve information asymmetry. If this increases investor confidence, the risk premium will decrease, and the WACC will go down. In other words, excellent IR can be called a "financial strategy" using words and data.
The bottleneck is in the 'tasks'
The theory is simple. However, execution is not easy. To realize "high-quality dialogue" to lower the WACC, a huge loop of preparation and feedback is required.
Accurately capturing sharp questions from investors ("Why invest in this business?" "Isn't capital efficiency poor?"), bringing them back to management meetings, and refining management strategy. This cycle is what is important.
However, what is the reality of the IR field? Hundreds of 1-on-1 meetings per year. Creating minutes for them, organizing Q&A, creating reports for internal sharing... Excellent IR personnel are overwhelmed by these tasks and are not spending time on the dialogues with investors or feedback to management that they should be facing.
This is not just a matter of operational efficiency, but an extremely significant management issue: a "loss of opportunity to lower WACC."
AI refined with a deep understanding of the IR field
To address these challenges, Loglass presents the solution: 'Loglass AI IR'.
While there are many meeting minutes tools available in the world, almost none satisfy the needs of IR departments. This is because those products are not built with an understanding of the specific conversations and situations unique to IR.
We have taken sufficient time to understand the realities of the IR field and have refined our solution to ensure it is truly useful as an AI solution.
When I first used 'Loglass AI IR,' I was shocked. I wondered what all that time I spent during my days at a securities firm—attending corporate IR meetings, taking minutes, categorizing investor questions, and summarizing investor feedback—had actually been for.
I wondered about the helplessness I felt when briefing on an investor's profile, only to be able to convey superficial information such as, 'This is a hedge fund founded in London in [Year] by [Name], whose investment strategy is characterized by a fundamental-focused, bottom-up approach.'
Seeing AI not only automatically create meeting minutes but also analyze dialogue and handle reporting made my past struggles flash before my eyes, and at the same time, I felt a hope bordering on jealousy that 'IR professionals from now on will be able to spend more time on what is truly essential.'
Humans shift to 'Dialogue'
Whatever can be left to AI should be left to AI entirely. Thanks to Loglass AI IR taking on the burden of 'recording and organizing dialogue,' humans (IR professionals and CFOs) can focus on 'dialogue' to interpret investor insights and realize better management.
'Leave tasks to AI, and humans to dialogue.'
I believe this is one of the strategies for increasing corporate value in the current Japanese market, where the issue of PBR below 1x is being highlighted.
To all CFOs and IR heads who want to accelerate IR as a finance strategy: please take a look at this solution our team has built. As a user myself, I recommend it with confidence.
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We are also waiting to hear from those who want to join the Loglass IR business!
Loglass AI IR Product Page: https://www.loglass.jp/ai-ir