WE ARE HIRING · 採用情報
GTM Manager (U.S.)
San Francisco
Kotoba builds frontier voice generation AI. We are looking for a GTM Manager (U.S.) to build and scale our model licensing and API business with large U.S. enterprises — owning the go-to-market motion end to end, from pipeline creation and technical validation with our researchers through to contract close and expansion.
ABOUT KOTOBA
At the frontier of voice generation AI
Kotoba is a generative AI company on a mission to “become the defacto for voice AI in East Asia,” developing state-of-the-art voice generation AI models. At our core is a low-latency, high-accuracy speech translation model that connects conversations so naturally it feels as though both speakers share the same language. It supports major language pairs — including Japanese, English, Korean, Chinese, and Spanish — breaking down the language barrier. We also develop our own ultra-low-latency speech-to-text and text-to-speech models that run everywhere from the data center to edge devices, and we license this foundational technology, which powers the next generation of voice agents, to Fortune 50 companies and major U.S. tech firms. We create world-class voice AI from our two hubs in Tokyo and San Francisco.
Kotoba brings this technology to the world through its own product, the Kotoba app, available on iOS and Android. Since launch it has won explosive support across countries and regions including Japan and Korea, growing to a steady 2,000–3,000 new downloads per day. In the App Store and Google Play category rankings, it has reached No. 1 in its category, ahead of the likes of Google Translate and Audible. Loved by individual users, it is also seeing accelerating adoption among major enterprises — centered on Japan — and has supported nearly 100 events on the ground, including SusHi Tech Tokyo. It has drawn media attention as well, featured on numerous programs such as TV Asahi, NHK, TV Tokyo, Abema Prime, and PIVOT.
Kotoba was founded in 2023 by two Japanese generative AI researchers who earned their PhDs at top U.S. universities. To date it has raised a cumulative total of more than ¥3 billion (roughly US$23 million) from prominent VCs in Japan and the U.S. (including Kindred Ventures and Globis Capital Partners) and from the corporate venture arms of leading U.S. and Japanese enterprises, and it also receives strong government support in Japan for AI model training. World-class research paired with a product that keeps winning in the market — with both, Kotoba is one of the most exciting generative AI startups today.
Media
— TV Tokyo：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=17CG6kSv2zs
— TV Asahi：https://tver.jp/episodes/epy340m62i
— PIVOT：https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=N30YYfIqGEg
Kotoba was founded in 2023 by two Japanese generative AI researchers who earned their PhDs at top U.S. universities. To date it has raised a cumulative total of more than ¥3 billion (roughly US$23 million) from prominent VCs in Japan and the U.S. (including Kindred Ventures and Globis Capital Partners) and from the corporate venture arms of leading U.S. and Japanese enterprises, and it also receives strong government support in Japan for AI model training. World-class research paired with a product that keeps winning in the market — with both, Kotoba is one of the most exciting generative AI startups today.
ROLE DESCRIPTION
THE ROLE
As GTM Manager (U.S.), you will own Kotoba’s voice foundation model licensing and API business in the United States. Our models — real-time speech translation, speech-to-text, and text-to-speech — are already licensed to Fortune 50 companies and major U.S. tech firms. Your mission is to turn this early traction into a repeatable, scalable U.S. enterprise business. You will build the U.S. go-to-market motion from the ground up: mapping and prioritizing target accounts, generating pipeline through outbound, inbound, industry events, and partnerships, and rigorously managing deals through to signed contracts. Throughout the deal cycle, you will design and drive technical validation (PoCs) together with our researchers, resolving customers’ technical requirements and concerns one by one on the way to close. After signature, you will drive adoption and expansion as customers scale their usage of our models and APIs. You will work from our San Francisco hub, in close coordination with researchers, engineers, and leadership across San Francisco and Tokyo. As one of the first dedicated GTM hires in the U.S., you will shape our strategy, playbooks, and pricing, and feed U.S. market insights directly back into our product and research roadmap.
RESPONSIBILITIES
What you'll do
Own the pipeline of model licensing and API deals with large U.S. enterprises end to end — from prospecting and qualification through negotiation, close, and expansion.
Build repeatable pipeline generation across outbound, inbound, industry events, and partnerships, starting with target account mapping.
Design and drive technical validation (PoCs) together with our researchers, resolving technical blockers on the way to close.
Work with leadership on deal structuring, pricing, and contract terms for licensing and API agreements, and serve as the first point of contact for inbound U.S. inquiries.
Drive post-signature adoption, usage growth, renewals, and account expansion.
Coordinate across customers and internal teams in the U.S. and Japan, and feed customer needs back to leadership, research, and product.
QUALIFICATIONS
Who we're looking for
Required
Experience selling AI, API, infrastructure, or developer-platform products to large U.S. enterprises (enterprise sales, business development, GTM, or solutions engineering).
A track record of building pipeline from scratch and closing complex, six-to-seven-figure deals — ideally in a founding or zero-to-one environment where you built the strategy, playbooks, and process yourself.
You do not need to be an engineer, but you should have enough technical understanding to drive technical validation together with researchers.
Based in (or willing to relocate to) the San Francisco Bay Area, and able to work in person from our SF hub.
Fit with a hard-working, fast-paced AI startup environment.
Preferred
Experience selling voice AI, speech technology, or foundation-model licensing.
Existing relationships with AI/ML buyers at U.S. big tech or Fortune 500 companies.
Experience at an AI lab, model provider, or API-first developer platform.
Experience selling into media, telecom, automotive, or contact-center industries.
Experience at a high-growth startup.
HOW TO APPLY
If you’re interested, please apply Kotoba’s hiring team directly
at hiring@kotoba.tech with your resume attached.
