Asian fashion e-commerce platform “60%” secures $3M for Hong Kong, Taiwan expansion
Tokyo-based Sixty Percent (60%), the Japanese startup running a cross-border e-commerce platform focused on Asian fashion brands under the same name, announced on Wednesday that it has secured 460 million yen (about $3 million US) in a Series A round. Participating investors are KURONEKO Innovation Fund (managed by Yamato Holdings and Global Brain), Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, PE&HR, Hakobune, Frontier International, Japanese hip-hop music producer Verbal as well as unnamed individual investors. The amount includes debt from financial institutions. This follows the startup’s pre-series A round revealed in May of 2021 when KURONEKO Innovation Fund and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital participated. The latest round brought the startup’s funding sum up to date to about 650 million yen (about $4.4 million US). Since its launch back in July of 2018, Sixty Percent has been running a marketplace-styled online select store for Asian street fashion brands. Five years passed since its launch, and the platform has now 100,000 items from more than 1,500 brands. Compared to the previous funding round back in April of 2021, their monthly gross merchandise value was over quintupled while the number of brands was over tripled. Many of the brands dealt on the platform are niche indie ones that…
Tokyo-based Sixty Percent (60%), the Japanese startup running a cross-border e-commerce platform focused on Asian fashion brands under the same name, announced on Wednesday that it has secured 460 million yen (about $3 million US) in a Series A round.
Participating investors are KURONEKO Innovation Fund (managed by Yamato Holdings and Global Brain), Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, PE&HR, Hakobune, Frontier International, Japanese hip-hop music producer Verbal as well as unnamed individual investors. The amount includes debt from financial institutions.
This follows the startup’s pre-series A round revealed in May of 2021 when KURONEKO Innovation Fund and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital participated. The latest round brought the startup’s funding sum up to date to about 650 million yen (about $4.4 million US).
Since its launch back in July of 2018, Sixty Percent has been running a marketplace-styled online select store for Asian street fashion brands. Five years passed since its launch, and the platform has now 100,000 items from more than 1,500 brands.
Compared to the previous funding round back in April of 2021, their monthly gross merchandise value was over quintupled while the number of brands was over tripled. Many of the brands dealt on the platform are niche indie ones that have been launched in Japan for the first time, while 90% of users are in their teens to 20s (Gen Z) with an average age of about 21 years old.
Since the platform is a marketplace where brands sell directly to consumers, but if their items were transported directly from their countries in Asia, they would have to go through customs procedures and shipping costs would be high. In order to eliminate these problems, The platform offers fulfillment, aggregation, logistics, and payment services based on technology, acting as an intermediary between brands and users as well.
According to founder and CEO Taiga Manabe, while the previous pre-series A round funding was intended to help the company mature e-commerce experience, it will now more focus more on strengthening marketing effort with the latest funding. The platform is designed for domestic sales in Japan but has confirmed purchases from users in about 50 countries.
Starting with Hong Kong, Taiwan, and other Greater China countries, the platform is rolling out global expansion by making its mobile app multilingual, supporting multi-currency payments, and improving logistics. To optimize logistics, customs and shipping procedures, the company may collaborate with Yamato Holdings, one of the investors.
By joining the company as a individual investor and advisor, Japanese hip-hop music producer Verbal will assist the company in branding and business development. In addition, the company will strengthen its hiring effort for all positions including CxO candidates, engineers, product managers, marketing, and content planning.
Japan VC Radar – A glance of the most active lead VCs in 2023 (Infographic)
This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). He is the Managing Partner of Shizen Capital (formerly known as Tachi.ai Ventures) in Japan. You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him on Nostr @reggae. The Japanese translation of this article is available here. As is customary, we are publishing once again our annual VC Radar for Japan. The 2023 edition of the VC Radar reflects Japan’s most active Lead VCs in 2023. Specifically, this infographic depicts the number of new investments led by Japan’s independent venture capital funds into domestic startups last year. Only investments in which the VC firm served as Lead investor for a startup that was not already in their portfolio are counted here. We believe this is an important tool for Japan’s growing startup ecosystem. You can read more about our rationale here (special thanks to Mayumi for compiling this data !). (One additional note: we strive for full accuracy on this infographic and apologize for any…
This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.”
He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). He is the Managing Partner of Shizen Capital (formerly known as Tachi.ai Ventures) in Japan. You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him on Nostr @reggae. The Japanese translation of this article is available here.
As is customary, we are publishing once again our annual VC Radar for Japan. The 2023 edition of the VC Radar reflects Japan’s most active Lead VCs in 2023.
Specifically, this infographic depicts the number of new investments led by Japan’s independent venture capital funds into domestic startups last year. Only investments in which the VC firm served as Lead investor for a startup that was not already in their portfolio are counted here.
We believe this is an important tool for Japan’s growing startup ecosystem. You can read more about our rationale here (special thanks to Mayumi for compiling this data !).
(One additional note: we strive for full accuracy on this infographic and apologize for any mistakes. Feel free to direct any requested corrections to infographic@shizen.vc).
See also:
Japanese DX solution provider BeBit raises $8.2M, acquires Tsunago in Malaysia
Tokyo-based BeBit, the Japanese startup offering companies with digital transformation (DX) solutions through improving user experience (UX), has secured 1.2 billion yen (about $8.2 million) in a series B round.. San-in Godo Bank (TSE: 8381), Benesse Holdings (TSE: 9783), Mitsubishi Estate (TSE: 8801), Rakuten Securities and Turn Cloud Technology Service participated in the latest round. This follows the company’s previous funding round back in July of 2020. San-in Godo Bank follows their previous investment. The latest round brought the company’s funding sum to date up to 3.7 billion yen ($25.4 million). The company will use the funds to invest in solidifying their team structure, including strengthening solutions and recruiting personnel. Since its foundation back in March of 2000, BeBit has been helping companies create business results through strategic planning, design, and UX improvement using digital technologies. Since 2022, the company has been offering OmniSegment, an e-commerce-focused growth marketing solution, to which the company recently added a generative AI function, aiming to adopt cutting edge technologies into UX improvement. BeBit announced on Tuesday that it has completed the acquisition of Tsunago, an Malaysian startup offering OMO (online merges with offline) solutions. In terms of BeBit’s startup acquisition, this follows the one…
Tokyo-based BeBit, the Japanese startup offering companies with digital transformation (DX) solutions through improving user experience (UX), has secured 1.2 billion yen (about $8.2 million) in a series B round.. San-in Godo Bank (TSE: 8381), Benesse Holdings (TSE: 9783), Mitsubishi Estate (TSE: 8801), Rakuten Securities and Turn Cloud Technology Service participated in the latest round.
This follows the company’s previous funding round back in July of 2020. San-in Godo Bank follows their previous investment. The latest round brought the company’s funding sum to date up to 3.7 billion yen ($25.4 million). The company will use the funds to invest in solidifying their team structure, including strengthening solutions and recruiting personnel.
Since its foundation back in March of 2000, BeBit has been helping companies create business results through strategic planning, design, and UX improvement using digital technologies. Since 2022, the company has been offering OmniSegment, an e-commerce-focused growth marketing solution, to which the company recently added a generative AI function, aiming to adopt cutting edge technologies into UX improvement.
BeBit announced on Tuesday that it has completed the acquisition of Tsunago, an Malaysian startup offering OMO (online merges with offline) solutions. In terms of BeBit’s startup acquisition, this follows the one of Taiwanese MarTech startup Omniscient Cloud Technologies (now known as BeBit Tech).
The Malaysian startup offers Tsunago Store (showcasing goods but not selling them), Tsunago AI (AI camera-based behavioural analysis service on shop visitors), OMO consulting, app developments as well as operations. Since its foundation back in 2017, the company serves to Isetan Mitsukoshi department store, major local telco Celcom (Axiata Group), and The Social restaurant chain, among others.
In addition, Alphas CEO Hajime Hirose, Cinnamon AI Co-CEO Hajime Hotta and Datack CTO Yosuke Kimoto have joined the company as advisors. The acquisition will allow BeBit to expand its consulting and SaaS-integrated UX business into the Southeast Asia region with a focus on Singapore and Malaysia towards the global market.
A massive opportunity still up for grabs in Tokyo’s real estate sector
This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). He is the Managing Partner of Shizen Capital (formerly known as Tachi.ai Ventures) in Japan. You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him on Nostr @reggae. The Japanese translation of this article is available here. The other day a large growth equity fund in Europe reached out to me. This firm has invested across Europe as well as into North America. They contacted me because they are considering to open an office in Tokyo. This is of course fantastic news and a testament to how some capital allocators globally are waking up to the opportunity of Japan’s digital renaissance for investment. One anecdote that came up in my discussions with this fund relates to their search for Tokyo office space. It is a story that made me realize how Tokyo’s real estate companies are blindly missing a massive opportunity. Apparently, the firm had submitted an inquiry via the contact form on one of…
This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.”
He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). He is the Managing Partner of Shizen Capital (formerly known as Tachi.ai Ventures) in Japan. You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him on Nostr @reggae. The Japanese translation of this article is available here.
The other day a large growth equity fund in Europe reached out to me. This firm has invested across Europe as well as into North America. They contacted me because they are considering to open an office in Tokyo.
This is of course fantastic news and a testament to how some capital allocators globally are waking up to the opportunity of Japan’s digital renaissance for investment.
One anecdote that came up in my discussions with this fund relates to their search for Tokyo office space. It is a story that made me realize how Tokyo’s real estate companies are blindly missing a massive opportunity.
Apparently, the firm had submitted an inquiry via the contact form on one of the websites of a well-known real estate developer. They expressed their inquiry in English, on an English version of the real estate company’s website. Unbeknownst to them, this may have been their first misstep.
Over two months have elapsed, and the fund manager still has not received a response of any kind from the real estate company.
Hello Tokyo, is anyone home ?
Now, this is a fund with over $2 billion in assets under management, and over 100 portfolio companies spanning 10 countries. They intend to use their future Tokyo office as a launch pad both for investing in APAC and for bringing European companies into the Japanese market. Needless to say, this fund’s first interaction with Japan at the operational level has not left a favorable impression.
I’ve been fortunate to meet members of the investment and innovation teams of several real estate firms in Japan. Nearly all of the individuals I have met strike me as incredibly intelligent, open-minded, and innovative. Yet there seems to be a disconnect between the strategies of Japan’s real estate firms on one hand, and with the government’s ambition to transform Japan into a startup nation on the other.
To their credit, the Japanese government has crafted policies which have fostered incredible progress in accelerating Japan’s venture ecosystem in a short time. I tip my cap to the forward-thinking champions in the government who are driving these reforms. True, Japan trails other successful venture ecosystems like North America and Europe, however the benefit of being late is that there are successful models available for Japan to emulate.
When it comes to allocating real estate toward building global innovation hubs, I submit that lessons from the fantastically successful experiences of France, the Netherlands, and the Nordic countries could prove relevant for Japan to consider.
As our friends in Europe discovered, the best innovations tend to arise when there is a density of entrepreneurs working on a diverse array of startups within close physical proximity. This is not only true in theory; there is also empirical evidence to back this up. When the density of founders surpasses a certain threshold, the probability of unique insights and groundbreaking innovations rises exponentially.
Twenty years ago, the aforementioned European countries set out to replicate Silicon Valley in their own geographies. However, they lacked many of the fertile conditions that the San Francisco Bay Area possessed for becoming startup hubs. Following a couple false starts and failed attempts, they eventually cracked the code in creating the necessary critical density of entrepreneurs.
How to cultivate an international startup hub
So how did they do it in Europe ? One key factor is that they found a way to give free office space to startups. Some governments funded initiatives directly, whereas others nudged private sector actors, such as banks and real estate companies, to offer free office space themselves.
From the perspective of a startup founder, every 1€ spent on rent is 1€ deprived from working on innovation. So naturally, startup founders flocked to these free office space offerings: Over a short time; the critical density thresholds were surpassed and the virtuous cycle kicked in.
Moreover, these startup office hubs became some of the most sought after locations in which large enterprises desired to join as tenants. Even from the most narrow financial perspective of the property owner, offering free office space to startups more than paid for itself from the increased appeal of the property.
With Japan increasingly rising onto the radar of international investors, there is a compelling opportunity here for a real estate company to step outside of their conventional business model and become a Tokyo hub for global startups and fund managers.
Forecasts for 2024 from six visionary VCs
This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.” He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). He is the Managing Partner of Shizen Capital (formerly known as Tachi.ai Ventures) in Japan. You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him on Nostr @reggae. The Japanese translation of this article is available here. Years ago I began publishing an annual list of technology predictions in order to provoke constructive dialogue and highlight insightful female VCs globally. In continuity and upon popular demand, here are forecasts from six professionals who are poised to make an outsized positive impact on the venture ecosystem in 2024. Happy year-end festivities to all ! Kathy Matsui – General Partner, MPower Partners 1. Return of ESG: While 2023 saw criticisms such as ‘greenwashing’ negatively impact ESG sentiment around the world, we actually interpret this as a positive development, as greater investor and regulatory scrutiny on ESG substance is likely to result in better-quality disclosures and enhanced value creation over the long-run. 2. Japan’s IPO and M&A market…
This guest post is authored by Mark Bivens. Mark is a Silicon Valley native and former entrepreneur, having started three companies before “turning to the dark side of VC.”
He is a venture capitalist that travels between Paris and Tokyo (aka the RudeVC). He is the Managing Partner of Shizen Capital (formerly known as Tachi.ai Ventures) in Japan. You can read more on his blog at http://rude.vc or follow him on Nostr @reggae. The Japanese translation of this article is available here.
Years ago I began publishing an annual list of technology predictions in order to provoke constructive dialogue and highlight insightful female VCs globally.
In continuity and upon popular demand, here are forecasts from six professionals who are poised to make an outsized positive impact on the venture ecosystem in 2024.
Happy year-end festivities to all !
Kathy Matsui – General Partner, MPower Partners
1. Return of ESG: While 2023 saw criticisms such as ‘greenwashing’ negatively impact ESG sentiment around the world, we actually interpret this as a positive development, as greater investor and regulatory scrutiny on ESG substance is likely to result in better-quality disclosures and enhanced value creation over the long-run.
2. Japan’s IPO and M&A market comeback: Similar to other markets, Japan’s IPO market cooled off in 2023, but assuming a global recession can be avoided and inflation/interest rates are under control, the domestic IPO market is well-positioned to recover during 2024. Moreover, with recent acquisitions of Japanese startups, we also see the potential for M&A to become an increasingly popular exit option.
Maria Gutierrez Peñaloza – Co-Founding Partner, Nido Ventures
Nearshoring in Mexico, especially in manufacturing and technology, is set for significant growth. This shift, driven by geographic proximity, cultural ties, time zone alignment, and cost benefits, positions Mexico as an ideal destination for U.S. companies looking to relocate operations nearby.
The technology gap for manufacturing, once seen as a hurdle, now presents a unique opportunity for Mexican companies to develop technologies that enhance quality, efficiency, and innovation. This progress is attracting, and will continue to attract, considerable venture capital investment, with a steady rise in foreign direct investment in Mexico, reflecting confidence in its growth potential.
We expect the impact of nearshoring to be substantial. As local companies bridge the technological gap, they draw more venture capital, spurring innovation and growth. This creates a dynamic ecosystem where technology and manufacturing merge, potentially establishing Mexico as a high-tech manufacturing hub in the Americas.
At Nido Ventures, we are actively investing in this nearshoring wave, targeting companies directly or indirectly enhancing nearshoring efficiency. The upcoming year is likely to witness significant strategic partnerships, increased venture funding, and a rise in tech-driven startups in the B2B realm, further consolidating Mexico’s global economic position.
Yuri Nakayama – Director, Animal Spirits
In 2024, I will continue to focus on the trend in the climate tech sector as in 2023. The Paris Agreement, adopted at COP21 in 2015, has led many countries/companies around the world to declare carbon-neutral objectives. In order to achieve the goals, technological breakthroughs are imperative, thereby founding new startups and investing in these startups is becoming an increasing priority. Moreover many venture capital funds specializing in climate tech have been established.
Following the global trend, attention and funding for the climate tech sector are growing also in Japan. Initially, the software domain was the first to gain momentum, but recently, the Deep Tech sector also seems to raise a lot of money from Japanese VC as well. Given the fact that Japan is one of the major emitters of greenhouse gases, taking measures for decarbonization is crucial, and I expect this trend will continue.
Yoko Gocho – Venture Capitalist / Manager, Capital Medica Ventures
In 2023, impact investment and impact startups attracted more attention than ever in Japan, with the birth of several new impact investment funds and the first impact IPO.
I expect this trend to accelerate in 2024, but as the number of players increases, the value of simply being an “impact investor” or “impact business practitioner” will relatively diminish, and the substance of one’s business will come under greater scrutiny. I believe that the question will be whether or not a company is implementing the PDCA cycle to improve the outcomes it creates through impact measurement and management (IMM), and whether or not it is making a contribution to the impact it creates (would it have been achieved without its own business?).
This applies not only to startups, but also to investors. As a practitioner of impact investing, I will be working even harder to ensure that the contribution of investors will be strongly questioned by both society and entrepreneurs.
Momoka Takahashi – Venture Capitalist, Hakobune
I believe that 2024 will be the year when the evolution and fusion of AI technology and immersive experiences, as well as IP (intellectual property) and UGC (user generated content), will be key to a major breakthroughs in entertainment and purchasing experiences. Immersive experiences where consumers are directly part of the content, be it movies, music, games, or culture, and the UGC that emerges from these experiences will influence each other, and personalization through AI will create more vivid and lively entertainment experiences.
The purchasing experience will also reflect consumer preferences, transforming the buying process itself into a personalized and entertaining experience. The evolution and democratization of AI will provide consumers with unprecedented levels of customization and immersion, and will also open up new dimensions of communication and creativity, leading to a new cultural paradigm that will shape the lifestyles of the future. I look forward to riding this wave of change without fear.
Mayumi Wakebe – Investment Director, Shizen Capital
By 2050, the population of the African continent is expected to reach approximately 2.5 billion (1/4 of the world’s population), which means that it is a large and young market as well as a treasure trove of human resources.
In addition, under the African Continental Free Trade Area concept, the liberalization of intra-regional movement of people and services and the move toward a single market have begun. With this potential, along with various global players, the African diaspora born in Europe and the U.S. are entering the African economy as startups and VCs with funds and networks. African governments are also paying attention to startups as a driver of economic growth, and regulatory reforms and collaborative projects are flourishing.
Compared to the $6.5B investment in Africa as a whole in 2022 (including $1.6B in Debt), venture investment in 2023 has declined considerably. In addition, while there were notable Exits, such as the InstaDeep acquisition ($682m), there were also down rounds and closures of startups that had been talked about in the media. In other words, it was an important year for raising awareness of DD , organizational management and changing economic conditions (e.g., supply cost spikes, currency, etc.), as well as for increasing the number of Exit examples.
In addition, the quantity of existing and new Africa-focused funds, both domestic and international (including some great funds from Japan), continues to increase in pursuit of financial returns and business synergies. Therefore, 2024 will be an active year in which more investments will be made than in 2022, and I would like to get involved in activities to encourage this trend.
Japan’s Degas secures $6.7M to serve more to unbanked small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa
Tokyo-based Degas, the Japanese startup aiming to help improving the livelihoods of small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, announced last week that it has secured 970 million yen (about $6.7 million). Participating investors in the latest unspecified round are Animal Spirits, Global Catalyst Partners Japan, Hakuhodo DY Ventures, Nanto CVC (run by Nanto Bank and Nanto Capital Partners), and Primal Capital. The company has so far secured 240 million yen in the 1st close of the seed round revealed in November of 2020 (Primal Capital, Akatsuki’s Heart Driven Fund, and others participated) and subsequently 1 billion yen (round unknown; Deepcore, Monex Ventures, Inclusion Japan, and Ikemori Venture Support participated) in January of 2023. Since its launch back in 2018 by Doga Makiura, who was featured by TED as “one of the 12 young people around the world in 2014, the company has been offering financial services to more than 46,000 small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Through its mobile app and local operations, the company has been serving to small farmers not covered by traditional financial institutions leveraging data collection and AI-based credit decisions. Degas will use the funds to expand its existing farmer finance business and launch two new businesses. The…
Tokyo-based Degas, the Japanese startup aiming to help improving the livelihoods of small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa, announced last week that it has secured 970 million yen (about $6.7 million). Participating investors in the latest unspecified round are Animal Spirits, Global Catalyst Partners Japan, Hakuhodo DY Ventures, Nanto CVC (run by Nanto Bank and Nanto Capital Partners), and Primal Capital.
The company has so far secured 240 million yen in the 1st close of the seed round revealed in November of 2020 (Primal Capital, Akatsuki’s Heart Driven Fund, and others participated) and subsequently 1 billion yen (round unknown; Deepcore, Monex Ventures, Inclusion Japan, and Ikemori Venture Support participated) in January of 2023.
Since its launch back in 2018 by Doga Makiura, who was featured by TED as “one of the 12 young people around the world in 2014, the company has been offering financial services to more than 46,000 small farmers in sub-Saharan Africa. Through its mobile app and local operations, the company has been serving to small farmers not covered by traditional financial institutions leveraging data collection and AI-based credit decisions.
Degas will use the funds to expand its existing farmer finance business and launch two new businesses. The company will hire experts in carbon credits and data analysis to issue high-quality carbon credits to launch the decarbonization business while aiming to form a marketplace for academic loans, farm machinery leasing, and mobile phone contracts.
via PR Times
Gen AI startup EmbodyMe unveils new app, creates avatars responding to your motion in real time
Tokyo-based EmbodyMe launched a new app called Xpression Avatar, which allows users to move their own avatars in real-time, available for iOS and Android. The app uses the company’s proprietary real-time video generative AI technology to instantly generate your avatar in different styles which responds to your facial expressions and head movements fin real time. Since its launch back in 2016, EmbodyMe has developed several apps in the generative video field, including the EmbodyMe VR app, the Xpression Camera face swap app, as well as the Xpression Chat VR- / ChatGPT-based app. In the new app, the AI technology allows you to generate your avatar in various styles from your photos. The avatar styles available include anime, ukiyoe, humanoid, 1990s, and hip-hop. The user can not only move the avatar in accordance with his/her own movements, but also make the avatar speak his/her favorite lines, and tap a button to make the avatar laugh or sing. The generated images can also be shared on social network services while the mobile screen with the avatar can be shared. The new app is the culmination of EmbodyMe in two ways. One is that, in addition to the preset styles mentioned above, you…
Tokyo-based EmbodyMe launched a new app called Xpression Avatar, which allows users to move their own avatars in real-time, available for iOS and Android. The app uses the company’s proprietary real-time video generative AI technology to instantly generate your avatar in different styles which responds to your facial expressions and head movements fin real time.
Since its launch back in 2016, EmbodyMe has developed several apps in the generative video field, including the EmbodyMe VR app, the Xpression Camera face swap app, as well as the Xpression Chat VR- / ChatGPT-based app. In the new app, the AI technology allows you to generate your avatar in various styles from your photos.
The avatar styles available include anime, ukiyoe, humanoid, 1990s, and hip-hop. The user can not only move the avatar in accordance with his/her own movements, but also make the avatar speak his/her favorite lines, and tap a button to make the avatar laugh or sing. The generated images can also be shared on social network services while the mobile screen with the avatar can be shared.
The new app is the culmination of EmbodyMe in two ways. One is that, in addition to the preset styles mentioned above, you can freely specify your favorite style with text prompts; according to EmbodyMe CEO Issay Yoshida, your prompt is interpreted based on the customized version of the Stable Difussion LLM (Large Language Model).
The second is their proprietary AI technology that can generate video in real time. Moreover, video processing is not performed in the cloud but on the mobile, which makes the company stand out with its unrivaled technology. The company does not need to increase its computational resources as its user base grows because the experience does not rely on the cloud.
EmbodyMe is developing the app for consumers while offering business solutions using the same technology for video production, advertising, live streaming, games, and other applications.
In the generative video AI space, Meta and Stable AI have recently announced their own solutions respectively while Runway has partnered with Getty Images to develop generative AI video models for the film and advertising industries. Pika Labs has reached a $200 million valuation in just six months after its launch.
Japan’s Thirdverse raises $8.1M to focus on developing VR and blockchain game titles
Tokyo-based game developer Thirdverse announced on Thursday that it has secured approximately 1.2 billion yen (about $8.1 million US) in its latest round. B Dash Ventures, Shinsei Corporate Investment, Now, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and Thirdverse CEO Hironao Kunimitsu participated in this round. For the company, this follows a 2 billion yen ($13.5 million) funding back in November of 2022, and brought their funding sum to date to 5.7 billion yen ($38.5 million). Thirverse uses the funds to more focus on developing and global marketing of its latest VR titles X8 and Soul Covenant. X8 has achieved 180,000 downloads since its official launch on the Meta Quest and Steam stores, and has hosted three VR e-sports events; Its PlayStation VR2 and PICO versions will be announced soon. Recently announced at the Tokyo Game Show 2023, Soul Covenant is also scheduled to release in early 2024. The company plans to continue developing new VR game projects and hiring development teams. Via PR Times
Tokyo-based game developer Thirdverse announced on Thursday that it has secured approximately 1.2 billion yen (about $8.1 million US) in its latest round.
B Dash Ventures, Shinsei Corporate Investment, Now, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and Thirdverse CEO Hironao Kunimitsu participated in this round.
For the company, this follows a 2 billion yen ($13.5 million) funding back in November of 2022, and brought their funding sum to date to 5.7 billion yen ($38.5 million).
Thirverse uses the funds to more focus on developing and global marketing of its latest VR titles X8 and Soul Covenant.
X8 has achieved 180,000 downloads since its official launch on the Meta Quest and Steam stores, and has hosted three VR e-sports events; Its PlayStation VR2 and PICO versions will be announced soon.
Recently announced at the Tokyo Game Show 2023, Soul Covenant is also scheduled to release in early 2024. The company plans to continue developing new VR game projects and hiring development teams.
Via PR Times
Japanese serial entrepreneurs secure $13M to launch Izumo VTuber project
Singapore-based AnotherBall announced that it has secured 1.9 billion yen (about $13 million US) in a seed round to promote its VTuber project targeting the English-speaking market called Izumo. The latest round was led by ANRI with participation from Hashed, Global Brain, Globis Capital Partners (GCP), Sfermion, HashKey Capital, Everyrealm, Ethereal Ventures, Emoote, Crunchyroll founder Kun Gao, and other angel investors. This follows an angel round in May of 2023 and brought their funding sum up to 2.2 billion yen (about $15 million US). The company was founded in May of 2022 by CEO Shunsuke Oyu and CTO Tatsuro Shimada, both of whom are known for having founded businesses like VTuber agency Prism Project as well as mom-focused Q&A app Mamari (acquired by KDDI’s Syn. Holdings back in 2016). Izumo is said to aim to create a sustainable platform that enables everyone to live their lives in their own way. The platform has been working on initiatives that incorporate cutting-edge technologies and is using these experiences to allow individual creators to gain fans and monetize their work. It is scheduled to be launched in 2024. Oyu proposes a future in which people are becoming avatars, which in turn expands human…
Singapore-based AnotherBall announced that it has secured 1.9 billion yen (about $13 million US) in a seed round to promote its VTuber project targeting the English-speaking market called Izumo.
The latest round was led by ANRI with participation from Hashed, Global Brain, Globis Capital Partners (GCP), Sfermion, HashKey Capital, Everyrealm, Ethereal Ventures, Emoote, Crunchyroll founder Kun Gao, and other angel investors. This follows an angel round in May of 2023 and brought their funding sum up to 2.2 billion yen (about $15 million US).
The company was founded in May of 2022 by CEO Shunsuke Oyu and CTO Tatsuro Shimada, both of whom are known for having founded businesses like VTuber agency Prism Project as well as mom-focused Q&A app Mamari (acquired by KDDI’s Syn. Holdings back in 2016). Izumo is said to aim to create a sustainable platform that enables everyone to live their lives in their own way.
The platform has been working on initiatives that incorporate cutting-edge technologies and is using these experiences to allow individual creators to gain fans and monetize their work. It is scheduled to be launched in 2024. Oyu proposes a future in which people are becoming avatars, which in turn expands human potential where VTubers are the future of this.
via PR Times
Japan’s talent assessment platform HRBrain acquired by Swedish investment firm EQT
Nikkei reported on Monday that EQT has agreed to acquire Japanese startup HRBrain for an undisclosed sum. Japanese startup database Initial reported the company was valued around 21.5 billion yen (about $145 million US) when it secured 1.8 billion yen (about $12 million yen in equity and loans in the previous round back in February of 2022. After the aquisition, founder and CEO Hiroki Hori will remain on board and as a shareholder while EQT will dispatch an outside director. Prior to HRBrain, Mori managed a media business unit at CyberAgent (TSE:4751). After recognizing the complexity and inefficiency of the personnel evaluation and goal management of many enrolled members using Excel and other tools, he launched the company in March of 2016 under its previous name of Moskytone. The company’s cloud-based platform under the same name has served over 2,500 companies since its launch back in January of 2017. HRBrain streamlines the workload of HR professionals in the evaluation process by putting everything from the filling out of goal sheets to the management of evaluations by HR professionals into the cloud system, which allows them to create effective data-driven strategies on human resource management. It consists of seven services: Talent…
Nikkei reported on Monday that EQT has agreed to acquire Japanese startup HRBrain for an undisclosed sum. Japanese startup database Initial reported the company was valued around 21.5 billion yen (about $145 million US) when it secured 1.8 billion yen (about $12 million yen in equity and loans in the previous round back in February of 2022. After the aquisition, founder and CEO Hiroki Hori will remain on board and as a shareholder while EQT will dispatch an outside director.
Prior to HRBrain, Mori managed a media business unit at CyberAgent (TSE:4751). After recognizing the complexity and inefficiency of the personnel evaluation and goal management of many enrolled members using Excel and other tools, he launched the company in March of 2016 under its previous name of Moskytone. The company’s cloud-based platform under the same name has served over 2,500 companies since its launch back in January of 2017.
HRBrain streamlines the workload of HR professionals in the evaluation process by putting everything from the filling out of goal sheets to the management of evaluations by HR professionals into the cloud system, which allows them to create effective data-driven strategies on human resource management. It consists of seven services: Talent Management, Organizational Diagnostic Survey, Pulse Survey, Personnel Evaluation, 360-degree evaluation, Labor Management, and In-house Chatbot.
To date, the company has secured funds from Seiga Asset Management (Hong Kong), Dai-ichi Life Insurance, Eight Roads Ventures Japan, Mizuho Capital, SCSK (TSE: 9719), Genesia Ventures, Beenext, Keisuke Honda’s KSK Angel Fund, Mitani Sangyo, CyberAgent’s Fujita Fund, Mizuho Capital, JA Mitsui Leasing, Sparx Group’s Mirai Creation Fund, and others.
Originally from Sweden’s Vallenberg family (it’s said to indirectly control one-third of the Nordic country’s gross national product), EQT currently has assets under management of approximately 232 billion euros, with offices in 20 countries across Europe, Asia, and North America. It has acquired companies like VetPartners and Billtrust.
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Tokyo Government launches center of exchange between entrepreneurs, ecosystem builders
On Monday, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government held a kick-off event to celebrate the opening of Tokyo Innovation Base or TiB for short, a center of exchange between entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in the startup landscape. Based on its startup strategy titled Global Innovation with Startups, the government uses the venue for activities in aim to help increase 10 folds in the number of unicorns, that of founding new businesses, and that of collaborative projects between the government and startups. It will serve as a base for activities to realize all these goals. The venue will host a variety of activities based on four keywords: Global, Growth, Collaboration, and Connect. In Global, the government will collaborate with Plug and Play, Startup Island Taiwan and other foreign initatives while in Growth, it will collaborate with the UTokyo Innovation Platform (UTokyo IPC) which has vast network with universities across the country through its 1st Round program. In Collaboration, the government works with Sony Innovation Fund and other corporate venture capital units to support open innovation while in Connect, it teams up with startup support organizations to hold one to three events a week at the venue. Most recently, Startup Genome and Dealroom are…
On Monday, the Tokyo Metropolitan Government held a kick-off event to celebrate the opening of Tokyo Innovation Base or TiB for short, a center of exchange between entrepreneurs and other stakeholders in the startup landscape.
Based on its startup strategy titled Global Innovation with Startups, the government uses the venue for activities in aim to help increase 10 folds in the number of unicorns, that of founding new businesses, and that of collaborative projects between the government and startups. It will serve as a base for activities to realize all these goals.
The venue will host a variety of activities based on four keywords: Global, Growth, Collaboration, and Connect. In Global, the government will collaborate with Plug and Play, Startup Island Taiwan and other foreign initatives while in Growth, it will collaborate with the UTokyo Innovation Platform (UTokyo IPC) which has vast network with universities across the country through its 1st Round program.
In Collaboration, the government works with Sony Innovation Fund and other corporate venture capital units to support open innovation while in Connect, it teams up with startup support organizations to hold one to three events a week at the venue. Most recently, Startup Genome and Dealroom are scheduled to hold an event this coming Thursday.
The government has conducted various initiatives to encourage entrepreneurship including a startup cafe for potential entrepreneurs near Tokyo Station, the Tokyo Startup Gateway program, and the Aoyama Startup Acceleration Center (ASAC), APT for Women, the initiative to especially encourage female entrepreneurs as well as the global conference.
Compared to these past initiatives encouraging entrepreneurs in their early phase, the new venue seems to be intended to further support those who have already started their own businesses and to further promote startup activities. Other examples of venues for entrepreneurs run by local governments include Fukuoka City’s Fukuoka Growth Next (FGN) and Aichi Prefecture’s STATION Ai (scheduled to open next year).
Tokyo Otaku Mode acquired by Japanese major publisher Shogakukan
Tokyo Otaku Mode announced on Tuesday that it has been acquired by Japanese major publishing company Shogakukan. The terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed. We haven’t confirmed that the company secured funding from VC firms and other sources after January of 2018. To date, the total amount of funds secured through the Series A and Series B rounds apparently surpasses 1.8 billion yen. Buffett Code estimated the company’s was valued at 3 billion yen as of August of 2022. The company was founded in March of 2011 by Naomitsu Kodaka, a former Merrill Lynch employee and former CFO of Gaiax, and then established a U.S. subsidiary in April of 2012 with global expansion in mind. Serving its global audience with updates on Japanese anime and manga in English, it has earned over 20 million followers on its Facebook fan page. After the acquisition, CEO Odaka and Vice Hajime Ataka will continue playing their role respectively. Shogakukan’s President Nobuhiro Oga and other directors join the board of Tokyo Otaku Mode as Chairman and directors respectively. Tokyo Otaku Mode kicked off its business with a media outlet offering Japanese anime and manga updates to the world, and now offers…
Tokyo Otaku Mode announced on Tuesday that it has been acquired by Japanese major publishing company Shogakukan. The terms of the deal have not yet been disclosed. We haven’t confirmed that the company secured funding from VC firms and other sources after January of 2018. To date, the total amount of funds secured through the Series A and Series B rounds apparently surpasses 1.8 billion yen. Buffett Code estimated the company’s was valued at 3 billion yen as of August of 2022.
The company was founded in March of 2011 by Naomitsu Kodaka, a former Merrill Lynch employee and former CFO of Gaiax, and then established a U.S. subsidiary in April of 2012 with global expansion in mind. Serving its global audience with updates on Japanese anime and manga in English, it has earned over 20 million followers on its Facebook fan page. After the acquisition, CEO Odaka and Vice Hajime Ataka will continue playing their role respectively. Shogakukan’s President Nobuhiro Oga and other directors join the board of Tokyo Otaku Mode as Chairman and directors respectively.
Tokyo Otaku Mode kicked off its business with a media outlet offering Japanese anime and manga updates to the world, and now offers character goods, e-commerce, and a logistics outsourcing service that can deliver products from e-commerce and crowdfunding sites to all over the world. In September of 2014, the company became the first investee from Japan’s state-backed Cool Japan Fund. Through the acquisition, Shogakukan is expected to strengthen the overseas expansion of its intellectual property businesses.
See also:
- Tokyo Otaku Mode starts selling custom order replica samurai swords for global fans
- Japanese startup Tokyo Otaku Mode raises $2.7M
- CNet Japan Startup Award nominees: Otaku Mode, Freee, Schoo, Coiney
- Japan’s ANA enlists Tokyo Otaku Mode to help revive tourism
- CocoPPa partners with Tokyo Otaku Mode on anime-themed decorations for your smartphone homescreen
- Tokyo Otaku Mode releases new Otaku news app for iPhone and Android
- Otaku Camera reaches 3 million downloads, proves popular beyond Japan
- Escaping the Galapagos: 5 Japanese startups that looked beyond home
- Tokyo Otaku Mode and MTV81.com to partner on Japan entertainment news syndication
- Tokyo Otaku Mode celebrates Facebook ‘like’ landmark with fun commemorative video
- On My Mobile: Tokyo Otaku Mode’s Nao Kodaka
- Tokyo Otaku Mode keeps improving its manga photo app [Video]
- Tokyo Otaku Mode raises additional funds from three VC firms
- Tokyo Otaku Mode has 10 million Facebook fans — But now what?
via Shogakukan
LA startup Cashi Cake secures $3.7M to promote seaweed-based functional sweets, beverages
Los Angeles-based Cashi Cake, the Japanese startup behind the Misaky Tokyo seaweed confectionery brand and the OoMee seaweed beverage brand, announced on Tuesday that it has secured $3.7 million US in the 1st close of its Series A round. Participating investors include Mitsubishi Foods (TSE: 7451), Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, and undisclosed venture capital firm(s) as well as angel investors including Masaki Yamamoto (CEO, Chatwork), Shinichi Takama, Kazutaka Mori (international attorney, One Aisa Lawyers), Yu Kaneko (qualified institutional investor), and Hiroyuki Miyake (CEO, Synergy Plus). For the company, this follows their two angel rounds (securing approximately 60 million yen in total) and the 1st close of its seed round back in 2022 (since the seed round’s 2nd close has not been announced, so in effect this appears to be the final close of the seed round). The latest round brought the startup funding sum up to date to $5.6 million US. Our readers may recall the company secured a seed round from Chiba Dojo Fund, Coconala Skill Partners (CSP), and Headline Asia as well as two angel investors: Hiromi Okuda, and Shin Murakami. The company revealed at this time that Japanese microalgae developer Euglena (TSE: 2931) also…
Los Angeles-based Cashi Cake, the Japanese startup behind the Misaky Tokyo seaweed confectionery brand and the OoMee seaweed beverage brand, announced on Tuesday that it has secured $3.7 million US in the 1st close of its Series A round. Participating investors include Mitsubishi Foods (TSE: 7451), Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, and undisclosed venture capital firm(s) as well as angel investors including Masaki Yamamoto (CEO, Chatwork), Shinichi Takama, Kazutaka Mori (international attorney, One Aisa Lawyers), Yu Kaneko (qualified institutional investor), and Hiroyuki Miyake (CEO, Synergy Plus).
For the company, this follows their two angel rounds (securing approximately 60 million yen in total) and the 1st close of its seed round back in 2022 (since the seed round’s 2nd close has not been announced, so in effect this appears to be the final close of the seed round). The latest round brought the startup funding sum up to date to $5.6 million US. Our readers may recall the company secured a seed round from Chiba Dojo Fund, Coconala Skill Partners (CSP), and Headline Asia as well as two angel investors: Hiromi Okuda, and Shin Murakami. The company revealed at this time that Japanese microalgae developer Euglena (TSE: 2931) also participated in the previous seed round.
Founded in Los Angeles in September of 2019 by Alissa Miky, Cashi Cake uses technology to process seaweed agar to develop its high-end Japanese confectionery products. In addition to serving their products to the Academy Awards and Emmy Awards eve, the company collaborated with Kim Kardashian’s fragrance brand KKW and was featured in the Bon Appétit food magazine. The company has earned over 1.4 million followers on its Tiktok brand account (Misaky.Tokyo). They will use the funds to hire talents and administrative expenses for brand expansion, as well as product and patent development for selling functional seaweed powder to businesses.
In conjunction with the funding, the company also announced that it will apply for a joint patent with the Tottori Institute of Industrial Technology. The company will apply the institute’s technology for wrapping soy sauce in a membrane created from seaweed to wrapping highly concentrated alcohol, thereby providing a plastic substitute that can be used with any material. Until now, it has been difficult to encapsulate highly concentrated alcohol with the dietary fiber contained in seaweed, but the new technology will make it possible to encapsulate high-alcohol (tequila, gin, whiskey, sake, etc.) and low pH liquids (orange juice, etc.) in any shape or size. It is expected to realize a new texture with a film that pops when chewed in the mouth, and to develop edible containers.
via PR TImes
Fukuoka City helps shorten visa screening process for foreign IT engineers
On Monday, Fukuoka City began operating the Engineer Visa program utilizing the National Strategic Special Zone. In 2019, the city requested the central government to approve a system to shorten and clarify the examination period for foreign IT engineers’ status of residence. Whereas the normal examination period for residency status for foreign nationals takes about one to three months, the special legislation can make it shorter to about one month with the city taking part of the examination process. This will lower the hurdle for Japanese startups based in the city to hire foreign engineers and for foreign startups to establish their base there. The first company to take advantage of the system is expected to be the Japanese subsidiary of VMO Holdings, an offshore development company in Vietnam. Fukuoka City has long been active in attracting overseas startups and encouraging local startups to expand overseas: in 2016, the city began collaborating with the French city of Bordeaux to support drone startups, and in 2017, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Taiwan’s Taipei city to support Fukuoka startups expand overseas and vice versa. In 2017, Fukuoka City established the Fukuoka Global Startup Center to strengthen mutual startup support between…
On Monday, Fukuoka City began operating the Engineer Visa program utilizing the National Strategic Special Zone. In 2019, the city requested the central government to approve a system to shorten and clarify the examination period for foreign IT engineers’ status of residence. Whereas the normal examination period for residency status for foreign nationals takes about one to three months, the special legislation can make it shorter to about one month with the city taking part of the examination process.
This will lower the hurdle for Japanese startups based in the city to hire foreign engineers and for foreign startups to establish their base there. The first company to take advantage of the system is expected to be the Japanese subsidiary of VMO Holdings, an offshore development company in Vietnam.
Fukuoka City has long been active in attracting overseas startups and encouraging local startups to expand overseas: in 2016, the city began collaborating with the French city of Bordeaux to support drone startups, and in 2017, it signed a memorandum of understanding with Taiwan’s Taipei city to support Fukuoka startups expand overseas and vice versa. In 2017, Fukuoka City established the Fukuoka Global Startup Center to strengthen mutual startup support between the city and other countries.
In 2012, the city declared “Startup City” and then established a startup support facility called FUKUOKA Growth Next on the site of the former Daimyo Elementary School. This year, the Fukuoka Daimyo Garden City building was completed adjacent to the facility, and Fukuoka Financial Group (TSE: 8354) opened its open innovation center called GROWTH I in the terrace annex of the building.