Xgene Inc. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director: Teppei Kawabe; hereinafter “the Company”) launched “ZARMS”*¹, a Google Workspace™-native AI project management tool, on November 11, 2026. ZARMS is a project management tool that brings everything about a piece of work, from assignees, deadlines, progress, and discussions to deliverables, together in a “card.” When a card is created, a folder and a document are set up automatically in Google Drive. Files stay in the user’s own Drive and are managed together with the card. The AI finds overdue or stalled cards and suggests next actions. Pricing is a flat rate per team, with no additional charges based on headcount. ZARMS is offered as a beta for the time being.
Background
Project information tends to end up scattered across chats, spreadsheets, and documents. Many workplaces share the same challenges: time spent finding answers to questions like “Which version is the latest?” and “Who made this decision, and when?”, and handovers in which context is lost every time the person in charge changes.
Existing tools answer the needs of many different organizations through high customizability and a wealth of features. At the same time, that flexibility tends to leave the burden of setting the rules of use with the users themselves. It can take time before a way of working settles, and operations often come to depend on particular individuals.
We wanted to ease these burdens, even a little, by delivering not only a tool’s features but also a “way of working.” The members involved with the Company have refined their way of working through trial and error while collaborating with teammates in different places. ZARMS incorporates the practices that took shape along the way: keeping the reasoning behind decisions instead of erasing it, gathering files by unit of work, and picking up stalled work early.
ZARMS is built on Google Workspace, which is widely used in Japan, so teams can adopt it without significantly changing how they already work. We have also put in place the conditions that make adoption easier for organizations in Japan: support in Japanese, databases hosted in Japan, and invoice billing.
About ZARMS
ZARMS, whose tagline is “A database that connects work,” is an AI project management tool designed around Google Workspace. Departments and projects are organized as “boards,” and the tasks and deliverables within them as “cards,” which can be managed in three switchable views: Kanban, list, and timeline.
You sign in with your usual Google account, so there is no new ID or password to create. Files also stay in your own Google Drive, so you can adopt ZARMS without changing how you already use Google Workspace. Free Google accounts without a Google Workspace subscription are supported as well.
Key Features
1. Files Stay Together A Google Drive folder and a Google Doc are created automatically for each card, so related files gather around the card. The files themselves are stored in the user’s Google Drive and are not kept on ZARMS*⁷.
2. AI Spots Delays and Stalls The AI creates cards in bulk from meeting minutes and planning documents, and finds overdue or stalled cards and suggests next actions. It also analyzes progress across the boards and groups each user is responsible for, and for cards without an assignee, recommends candidates based on members’ skills and team.
3. Flat Pricing as Your Team Grows Pricing is a flat rate per team, with no additional charges based on headcount. Member limits are 30 on Basic and 100 on Starter, and there is no limit on Standard. External partners can be invited as guests.
4. Handovers Without the Pain ZARMS automatically records who changed which field, when, and from what to what, so the history can be reviewed later. The reason for a change can also be left as a comment. Cards cannot be deleted; they are closed out as “Canceled” or “Archived,” so the reasoning behind decisions is preserved.
Pricing Plans
| Plan | Basic | Starter | Standard*²*³ |
|---|---|---|---|
| Price (excl. tax)*⁴*⁵ | 0 JPY | Monthly: 9,800 JPY/month Annual: 98,000 JPY/year (2 months free) |
Monthly: 19,800 JPY/month Annual: 198,000 JPY/year (2 months free) |
| Includes | • Unlimited cards • Up to 10 boards • Up to 30 members • 13 months of audit logs • Search by card number/ • Automatic change comments • Standard support (handled in order) |
• AI bulk search/ • Up to 30 boards • Up to 100 members • 13 months of audit logs • Integrate with existing systems via API • Connect your preferred agents via MCP • Priority support |
• AI bulk search/ • Unlimited boards • Unlimited members • 13 months of audit logs • Integrate with existing systems via API • Connect your preferred agents via MCP • Priority support |
Integration with AI Agents and External Systems
Rather than competing with AI agents and the tools our customers build themselves, ZARMS aims to be a foundation from which they can read and write business data. For this reason, external integration via API and MCP (Model Context Protocol, a common standard for connecting AI tools with external services) is available from the Starter plan upward.
- Connect your preferred AI agent: Connect AI tools such as Claude and ChatGPT via MCP to retrieve information and perform operations within the user’s own permissions, without opening ZARMS.
- Integrate with your systems and apps: Use the API to connect ZARMS data with the business systems you already run or the applications you build yourself.
- Administrators decide the scope: External integrations work only within the scope an administrator has permitted.
- Routine integrations do not use AI credits: Routine operations via MCP and the API do not consume ZARMS AI credits*⁶ (calling ZARMS AI features from a connected tool does).
Security Initiatives
- Authentication with Google accounts: ZARMS issues no passwords of its own. Settings on the Google account, such as 2-Step Verification and passkeys, apply as they are. When a Google account is deleted or disabled, it can no longer sign in to ZARMS.
- Minimum necessary access to Drive: In Google Drive, ZARMS accesses only the files it created and the files and folders the user has selected; it never reads the entire Drive. Files are stored in the user’s Google Drive, and ZARMS does not keep the files themselves*⁷.
- Data stored in Japan: Databases are stored on servers in Japan, and application processing also runs in Japan. Some service providers, such as those for AI processing, may process information outside Japan (see the Privacy Policy for details).
- Data isolation between teams: In addition to authentication checks at the API layer, row-level security (RLS) in the database provides defense in depth, so that no team can access another team’s data.
- Not used for AI training: Only the information needed for processing is sent to the AI, and input is never used to train the models*⁸. Administrators can turn AI features off or set monthly usage limits.
- Monitoring: Service status and errors are constantly monitored by the system. Outage and maintenance information is published on the status page.
For details on security and data handling, please see the service website and the Privacy Policy.
Future Outlook
We will continue to study how projects are run and reflect what we learn, together with usage data and customer feedback, in ZARMS. For organizations considering adoption, we are always available to discuss how to proceed, including how to run ZARMS day to day.
Message from the Representative Director
Teppei Kawabe (Representative Director, Xgene Inc.)
I went to a correspondence high school and a correspondence university, so collaborating online with people far away has always been the norm for me. I have used a wide range of tools, from chat and task management tools to spreadsheets and scripts I wrote myself. All of them were rich in features, yet none showed the path of “do it this way and it will work.” While so many tools competed on customizability and the number of features, whether things actually ran well came down, in the end, to the ingenuity of the people using them.
I wanted to give back to society, as quickly as possible, the knowledge of workflow design and information organization that I gained through this trial and error. That is why I founded Xgene Inc. Through ZARMS, we will create more environments where teams can enjoy both their real work and the act of creating together.
Service Overview
ZARMS is an AI project management tool native to Google Workspace.
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Service Name | ZARMS (pronounced “zah-mu-su”) |
| Launch Date | Wednesday, November 11, 2026 |
| Availability | Offered as a beta for the time being (features, specifications, and pricing may change before the official release) |
| Monthly Fee | Basic: 0 JPY / Starter: 9,800 JPY / Standard: 19,800 JPY (all prices exclude tax) |
| Free Trial | The Standard plan free for 30 days (for the first team created with each Google account; no payment information required) |
| Operating Environment | Web browser (recommended: the latest version of Google Chrome) |
| Service Website | https://www.zarms.cloud |
Company Overview
Xgene Inc. was founded in July 2026 with the vision of “a society where everyone can truly enjoy co-creation.”
| Item | Details |
|---|---|
| Company Name | Xgene Inc. (Japanese name: クロスジーン株式会社) |
| Representative | Teppei Kawabe (Representative Director and President) |
| Founded | July 7, 2026 |
| Address | N&E BLD. 6F, 1-12-4 Ginza, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0061, Japan |
| Business | Development of ZARMS, a Google Workspace™-native, AI-powered project management tool |
| URL | https://www.xgene.co.jp |
Inquiries About This Release
Press and Company Inquiries Xgene Inc. Inquiry Desk (press and media, partnerships, and more) Form: https://www.xgene.co.jp/contact Email: contact@xgene.co.jp
Inquiries about the Service ZARMS Inquiry Desk Form: https://www.zarms.cloud/contact Email: contact@zarms.cloud
*¹ Xgene, ZARMS, and related names and logos are trademarks or registered trademarks of Xgene Inc. Google, Google Workspace, Google Drive, Google Docs, and Google Chrome are trademarks or registered trademarks of Google LLC. Other company and product names mentioned are trademarks or registered trademarks of their respective owners. *² When you create your first team with a Google account, a free trial of the Standard plan starts regardless of the plan you select. During the trial, AI, MCP, and API features are available at the Standard level. No payment information is required, and if none is registered by the time the trial ends, the team switches to Basic automatically. *³ The free trial does not apply to a second or subsequent team created with the same Google account. If Starter or Standard is selected for a new team, payment is required when use begins. *⁴ Prices are shown in Japanese yen, excluding tax. What each plan includes may change at the Company’s discretion. Changes affecting billing take effect from the next billing period. Final prices are presented when use begins. *⁵ Payment is accepted by credit card or by invoice (bank transfer). *⁶ On monthly billing, AI credits are granted every month: 1,000 on Starter and 2,000 on Standard. On annual billing, 12,000 (Starter) or 24,000 (Standard) credits are granted at the start of the period. Granted credits do not roll over beyond the billing period. Additional credits can be purchased on the Standard plan only, starting from 1,000 credits for 1,000 JPY (excluding tax), and are valid for 90 days. *⁷ For AI search and related features, ZARMS stores the body text of the Google Docs attached to cards. *⁸ We use AI service providers’ services with a setting that does not retain submitted content (Zero Data Retention). However, submitted content may be logged for a limited period under exceptions set by the providers, such as legal obligations.
