The Nikkei reported early this morning that Japan’s second largest telco KDDI will acquire a full stake in Tokyo-based Soracom, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) startup offering data service optimized for IoT (Internet of Things). The acquisition price is reportedly about 20 billion yen ($180 million US). Founded in 2014 by former Amazon Web Services engineer Ken Tamagawa, the mobile company has now become a 40-people team serving about 7,000 businesses in Japan as well as around 800 companies in the US and Europe.
KDDI started working on IoT-optimized services last year including several efforts like a massive partnership with Toyota for serving connected cars. In February of this year the Japanese telco acquired Iret, the Japanese startup behind cloud-based solution suite Cloudpack, while the former also announced in March that it would jointly set up a new company called ARISE Analytics with Accenture, aiming to promote data analytics businesses.
Tokyo-based Uuum, Japan’s leading YouTuber management agency, announced today that its IPO application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has been approved. The company will be listed on the TSE Mothers Market on 30 August with plans to offer 302,000 shares for public subscription and to sell 77,500 shares in over-allotment options, for a total of 292,300 shares. Nomura Securities will lead the underwriting. Its share price range will be released on 10 August with bookbuilding scheduled to start on 14 August and pricing on 21 August. According to the consolidated statement as of May 2017, they posted revenue of 3.30 billion yen (about $29.7 million) with an ordinary profit of 221.7 million yen ($2.0 million) and a net profit of 185.9 million yen ($1.7 million). Led by the company’s CEO Kazuki Kamada (holding a 39.45% stake), its major shareholders include Anri (16.97%) and Jafco (TSE:8595 15.43%). Since its launch back in 2013 under its previous name of On Sale, Uuum has been becoming Japan’s largest multi-channel network (MCN) by employing renowned Japanese YouTubers such as Hikakin. The company recently partnered with Nintendo for a blanket agreement regarding the use of the latter’s game characters for livestreaming. See also: Japanese…
Tokyo-based Uuum, Japan’s leading YouTuber management agency, announced today that its IPO application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has been approved. The company will be listed on the TSE Mothers Market on 30 August with plans to offer 302,000 shares for public subscription and to sell 77,500 shares in over-allotment options, for a total of 292,300 shares. Nomura Securities will lead the underwriting.
Its share price range will be released on 10 August with bookbuilding scheduled to start on 14 August and pricing on 21 August. According to the consolidated statement as of May 2017, they posted revenue of 3.30 billion yen (about $29.7 million) with an ordinary profit of 221.7 million yen ($2.0 million) and a net profit of 185.9 million yen ($1.7 million). Led by the company’s CEO Kazuki Kamada (holding a 39.45% stake), its major shareholders include Anri (16.97%) and Jafco (TSE:8595 15.43%).
Since its launch back in 2013 under its previous name of On Sale, Uuum has been becoming Japan’s largest multi-channel network (MCN) by employing renowned Japanese YouTubers such as Hikakin. The company recently partnered with Nintendo for a blanket agreement regarding the use of the latter’s game characters for livestreaming.
See the original story in Japanese. This is part of our ‘Tokyo Office Tour’ series (RSS), a modest attempt to better understand how folks in the local startup scene are working every day. Over the last year several FinTech startup activity bases were established around the Tokyo Station. Finolab relocated and renewed their space, and a number of events were held at FinGate, which was established by Heiwa Real Estate. There are also many FinTech startups at the Global Business Hub Tokyo (GBHT), which is also home to 500 Startups Japan among others. The financial district in Tokyo is largely located across from Tokyo Station and divided between the Marunouchi-Otemachi side and the Yaesu-Nihonbashi side. The Marunouchi-Otemachi side was established by Yatarou Iwasaki, the founder of the former Mitsubishi Zaibatsu conglomerate, while the Yaesu-Nihonbashi side holds the origins of the modern financiers. As the name suggests, Marunouchi is the area directly in front of the Imperial Palace and there are not many properties to be had for startups just beginning, but in the Nihonbashi area, FinTech startup offices are popping up more and more. This spring, in a little corner of Nihonbashi’s Kabutocho neighborhood, MUFG Digital Accelerator, which is presided…
This is part of our ‘Tokyo Office Tour’ series (RSS), a modest attempt to better understand how folks in the local startup scene are working every day.
The financial district in Tokyo is largely located across from Tokyo Station and divided between the Marunouchi-Otemachi side and the Yaesu-Nihonbashi side. The Marunouchi-Otemachi side was established by Yatarou Iwasaki, the founder of the former Mitsubishi Zaibatsu conglomerate, while the Yaesu-Nihonbashi side holds the origins of the modern financiers. As the name suggests, Marunouchi is the area directly in front of the Imperial Palace and there are not many properties to be had for startups just beginning, but in the Nihonbashi area, FinTech startup offices are popping up more and more.
This spring, in a little corner of Nihonbashi’s Kabutocho neighborhood, MUFG Digital Accelerator, which is presided over by the Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) opened up their first co-working space called The Garage. I popped in to see their space after the dust settled from renovations.
The MUFG Digital Accelerator currently operates a four month acceleration program about once a year, and it is time for them to finalize the batch for their second phase. The 7 startup teams currently participating in the batch have reached the final stage and are putting the finishing touches on their plans for collaboration for the demo day on July 28.
On the premise of cooperating together, “Facilitators” from the MUFG Digital Accelerator assign MUFG employees called “MUFG Mentors” to each of the seven participating startups, as well as external collaborators from VCs and other accelerators who are participating as “Pro-mentors”. Over the course of the program, monthly pitch days, weekly and biweekly mentoring, API meet-ups and mini Hackathon gatherings are held at The Garage.
(Unlike corporate accelerators) an independent accelerator is one that aims to support entrepreneurs trying to develop businesses from scratch with various resources, encourage market-ready products to be released to the world, and lead the companies to the next fundraising round. On the other hand, corporate accelerators will look for startups to collaborate with, the aim being to create some sort of output, but it is rare for truly productive collaborations to be born by merely matching up startups and in-house business personnel.
In the case of MUFG, each group company recently established a department called the “FinTech Promotion Office”, and each company has devoted active internal personnel to lead, thus creating a smoother environment for collaboration with startups. Much like a reality talent competitions such as American Idol, during the second stage representatives from each group company listen to pitches made by the startups, nominate teams they see as compatible for potential business collaborations, and commit themselves to supporting the team until the program ends (or even after that).
The MUFG accelerator program has evolved from its first batch as a FinTech accelerator, to a broader scope with the second batch as a digital accelerator. Until now, participation in the program was restricted to domestic Japanese startups, but starting with the next batch, they will actively focus on accepting overseas startups. But before that, we look forward to the demo day for the second batch on July 28th.
Astroscale, a Singapore- / Tokyo-based startup developing satellites to remove space debris from Earth’s orbit, announced on Friday that it has fundraised $25 million in a series C round. Japanese venture investment company aStart, ANA Holdings (TSE:9202), Japanese cutting tool manufacturer OSG (TSE:6136), Japanese government-backed investment fund Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), Jafco as well as Mitsubishi UFJ Capital participated in this round. INCJ, Jafco and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital have participated in the past rounds. Astroscale said that it will use the funds to expand the operations of their UK subsidiary and strengthen their management team. For Astroscale, this follows their $7.7 million series A round funding and $35 million series B round funding. Among the newly-joined investors, Astroscale has received sponsorship from OSG to start developing a a space debris detection satellite called IDEA OSG 1 in 2015. Astroscale plans to launch IDEA OSG 1 in early 2018 followed by a magnet-use space debris removal satellite prototype ELSA-d in the first half of 2019. The company aims to start commercializing its business in 2020. Astroscale claims that it expects ANA to share their knowledge about safe flight operations and control as well as OSG to provide tools for…
Astroscale, a Singapore- / Tokyo-based startup developing satellites to remove space debris from Earth’s orbit, announced on Friday that it has fundraised $25 million in a series C round. Japanese venture investment company aStart, ANA Holdings (TSE:9202), Japanese cutting tool manufacturer OSG (TSE:6136), Japanese government-backed investment fund Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ), Jafco as well as Mitsubishi UFJ Capital participated in this round. INCJ, Jafco and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital have participated in the past rounds. Astroscale said that it will use the funds to expand the operations of their UK subsidiary and strengthen their management team.
For Astroscale, this follows their $7.7 million series A round funding and $35 million series B round funding. Among the newly-joined investors, Astroscale has received sponsorship from OSG to start developing a a space debris detection satellite called IDEA OSG 1 in 2015. Astroscale plans to launch IDEA OSG 1 in early 2018 followed by a magnet-use space debris removal satellite prototype ELSA-d in the first half of 2019. The company aims to start commercializing its business in 2020.
Astroscale claims that it expects ANA to share their knowledge about safe flight operations and control as well as OSG to provide tools for producing satellites. In terms of ANA’s investments in space-related businesses, this is the second case following the one in Japanese spaceflight developer startup PD Aerospace (about $180,000) back in December of 2016. ANA launched their in-house R&D initiative Digital Design Lab in April of 2016, aiming to promote innovations in their group in order to expand themselves beyond aerospace business, by also running a crowdfunding site called WonderFLY.
See the original story in Japanese. In January of 2016 Japanese C2C (consumer-to-consumer) marketplace app Mercari announced a 450 million yen (about $4.1M US dollars) investment in Base, the Japanese version of Shopify, effectively shocking it back to life. Somehow it feels as if the Japanese entrepreneurial ecosystem has been enriched. On Tuesday Tokyo-based Mercari revealed their project “Mercari Fund” to invest in startups specialized in C2C products/services and marketplaces. It is an “investment project” with Mercari itself making the investments rather than establishing an investment arm or subsidiary. The companies invested in will also be considered for partnerships with Mercari’s services, such as Mercari (marketplace app) and Mercari Atte (a service enabling users to sell/buy stuff on a meeting basis). Up to now, Mercari has been investing in startups such as Base (Shopify-like instant e-commerce platform), Rentio (rental service of home appliances and camera), Flamingo (language learning service). In February of this year they acquired Zawatt, the Japanese startup which has been operating the Sumaoku flea market app. Although I confirmed the company’s goals, I feel that the main purpose is to create an economic zone with Mercari at the center, meet the needs of even more users, and…
In January of 2016 Japanese C2C (consumer-to-consumer) marketplace app Mercari announced a 450 million yen (about $4.1M US dollars) investment in Base, the Japanese version of Shopify, effectively shocking it back to life.
Somehow it feels as if the Japanese entrepreneurial ecosystem has been enriched.
On Tuesday Tokyo-based Mercari revealed their project “Mercari Fund” to invest in startups specialized in C2C products/services and marketplaces. It is an “investment project” with Mercari itself making the investments rather than establishing an investment arm or subsidiary. The companies invested in will also be considered for partnerships with Mercari’s services, such as Mercari (marketplace app) and Mercari Atte (a service enabling users to sell/buy stuff on a meeting basis).
Up to now, Mercari has been investing in startups such as Base (Shopify-like instant e-commerce platform), Rentio (rental service of home appliances and camera), Flamingo (language learning service). In February of this year they acquired Zawatt, the Japanese startup which has been operating the Sumaoku flea market app.
Although I confirmed the company’s goals, I feel that the main purpose is to create an economic zone with Mercari at the center, meet the needs of even more users, and carve out a secure place for themselves. One example is Kauru, Mercari’s new service released in May, it takes the established market of books and gives an enriched user experience by providing them with estimated market prices from information gained when they input a barcode.
It is possible to tackle this type of specialized service through their own initiative alone, but if they are looking to expand the economic zone more speedily, investment will be a natural way. I also confirmed this, but we can assume there will be more cases of acquisition, similar to Zawatt. Regarding concrete methods of collaboration, the company is considering further collaborations with Mercari ID and Atte, and has plans to make this information public in the future.
Also, while the individual investment amount will not be disclosed, keeping in mind the considerable investment volume of 450 million yen in Base in January of last year, we can think of it as being in the investment amount range where business synergies are felt and adjust it individually. Unlike an investment fund that keeps external funds here and there, it will be an investment project purely for business synergy.
Translated by Amanda Imasaka
Edited by Masaru Ikeda
See the original story in Japanese. Rakuten Lifull Stay, a Rakuten Group company offering vacation rental services, and Expedia Group’s HomeAway jointly announced their partnership at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. Rakuten Lifull Stay is a joint venture company (JV) between Rakuten (TSE:4755) and Japanese real estate giant Lifull (TSE:2120) with the aim of doing business under the Japanese Home-Sharing Business Act which will be effective January 2018. Through this new partnership, Rakuten Lifull Stay will procure and supply the properties from “hosts”, while HomeAway will attract visitors to Japan as “guests”. Rakuten Lifull Stay will supply HomeAway with domestic properties to be posted on the company’s up and coming website Vacation Stay (tentative name). HomeAway will utilize the power of their 40 million monthly website visitors to market to visitors of Japan, leading to an expansion of inbound travel demand. See also: Expedia buys HomeAway for $3.9B because Airbnb Rakuten Lifull Stay’s CEO Munekatsu Ota and HomeAway Japan’s Director Natsuko Kimura took the stage at the conference. Ota has previous experience as Rakuten International Travel’s Director and was also a general manager of Rakuten’s New Service Development Company, Sharing Economy Division. Kimura has prior work experience…
Rakuten Lifull Stay, a Rakuten Group company offering vacation rental services, and Expedia Group’s HomeAway jointly announced their partnership at a press conference in Tokyo on Monday. Rakuten Lifull Stay is a joint venture company (JV) between Rakuten (TSE:4755) and Japanese real estate giant Lifull (TSE:2120) with the aim of doing business under the Japanese Home-Sharing Business Act which will be effective January 2018.
Through this new partnership, Rakuten Lifull Stay will procure and supply the properties from “hosts”, while HomeAway will attract visitors to Japan as “guests”. Rakuten Lifull Stay will supply HomeAway with domestic properties to be posted on the company’s up and coming website Vacation Stay (tentative name). HomeAway will utilize the power of their 40 million monthly website visitors to market to visitors of Japan, leading to an expansion of inbound travel demand.
Rakuten Lifull Stay’s CEO Munekatsu Ota and HomeAway Japan’s Director Natsuko Kimura took the stage at the conference. Ota has previous experience as Rakuten International Travel’s Director and was also a general manager of Rakuten’s New Service Development Company, Sharing Economy Division. Kimura has prior work experience as Expedia’s Marketing Director in Japan.
In the US and other countries, HomeAway specializes in renting a whole house, so it is characterized by the fact that the property is concentrated in rural and resort areas, compared to Airbnb and similar players in the same industry. Additionally, while Airbnb meets the needs of many young people traveling alone, with HomeAway the users are often middle-aged families and group travelers. It is unclear whether Rakuten Lifull Stay and HomeAway will take a similar strategy in the Japanese market, as the demand for the renting accommodations of Japan-bound visitors is concentrated in urban areas.
At the press conference, Kimura explained they are focusing on pull marketing efforts (Showing users personalized results based on their search history on the HomeAway website, driving user traffic from Google ads etc.) for urban areas such as Tokyo, Osaka and Kyoto which are in high demand of renting accommodations while they are also developing push marketing efforts that arouse demand for regions with high visibility. HomeAway introduced their promotion content for the Setouchi area facing inland sea in the western part of Japan, which it offers in 9 languages geared at 10 countries, as an example of such efforts.
In the field of vacation rentals, Airbnb is leading in sales and growth rate both in Japan and the rest of the world, and with HomeAway entering as a subsidiary of Expedia, and cooperating with other OTA (online travel agency) sites, they are actively aiming to acquire other companies in the same industry. In Japan, it can be said that this new alliance will be mutually beneficial for HomeAway, which has the urgent task of acquiring properties and hosts since they are entering the field later than their competitors, and Rakuten Lifull Stay, which needs to newly develop inbound demand from overseas.
Meanwhile, Tujia, a major Chinese vacation rental company, acquired the vacation rental service department of OTA companies Ctrip and Qunar last October. In February of this year, it was reported that Tujia will establish a Japanese corporation and enter the Japanese market in anticipation of the enforcement of Japanese Home-Sharing Business Act.
Translated by Amanda Imasaka
Edited by Masaru Ikeda