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On-demand theater service Dreampass acquired by Yahoo Japan

Yukari Mitsuhashi Yukari Mitsuhashi
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Japanese startup Bluem, which operates the on-demand cinema service Dreampass, announced today that it has been acquired by Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689) for an undisclosed sum. Dreampass will be working with Yahoo Eiga (or “Yahoo Movies”) and video streaming service Gyao, which is also run by Yahoo Japan. For those of you who might not be familiar with the service, Dreampass first launched all the way back in August of 2010. It sort of works like Groupon but is dedicated to the screening of older movies in theaters. Users are able to request a screening of their favorite movies, and by popular vote, Dreampass will negotiate with content holders to allow such a screening. If the screening is permitted, tickets will be made available on the Dreampass website for users to purchase. A wide variety of movies are requested, ranging from Hollywood classics to Japanese animations and even recorded sports events. For example, there are tickets on sale to watch The Dark Knight at a theater in Shinjuku for 1,500 yen (about $15). Dreampass was chosen as a representative startup for Japan at Startup Weekend 2011, an event held across 50 different countries. The team is a graduate of Open Network…

dreampass-logo

Japanese startup Bluem, which operates the on-demand cinema service Dreampass, announced today that it has been acquired by Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689) for an undisclosed sum. Dreampass will be working with Yahoo Eiga (or “Yahoo Movies”) and video streaming service Gyao, which is also run by Yahoo Japan.

For those of you who might not be familiar with the service, Dreampass first launched all the way back in August of 2010. It sort of works like Groupon but is dedicated to the screening of older movies in theaters. Users are able to request a screening of their favorite movies, and by popular vote, Dreampass will negotiate with content holders to allow such a screening. If the screening is permitted, tickets will be made available on the Dreampass website for users to purchase.

dreampass

A wide variety of movies are requested, ranging from Hollywood classics to Japanese animations and even recorded sports events. For example, there are tickets on sale to watch The Dark Knight at a theater in Shinjuku for 1,500 yen (about $15).

Dreampass was chosen as a representative startup for Japan at Startup Weekend 2011, an event held across 50 different countries. The team is a graduate of Open Network Lab in Ebisu, Tokyo, and consists of six core members who will soon be working for Yahoo Japan.

In the past few years, we’re seeing a startup eco-system gradually taking shape here in Japan. Last year, there were a few startups acquired by local internet giants and a few smaller buyouts as well. I plan to present a round-up of these acquisition in the near future, so stay tuned!

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Tokyo-based advertising startup FreakOut raises $5.3M from Yahoo Japan

Masaru Ikeda Masaru Ikeda
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FreakOut is a Tokyo-based startup developing a smartphone advertising platform for real-time bidding (RTB). Today it announced that it has raised 500 million yen (approximately $5.3 million) in series B funding from YJ Capital, the investment arm of Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689). FreakOut was launched in 2010 by Yuzuru Honda who previously launched a content-matching ad platform called Brainer, which was subsequently sold to Yahoo Japan in 2008.  The startup has been delivering its white-label platform to more than 3,000 advertisers through 90 agencies in Japan and the US. With this new funding, the startup expects to intensify operations at its US subsidiary, FreakOut International Inc., which was launched in New York last April. Prior to this fundraising, the startup raised 350 million yen ($3.7 million) from two Japanese VC firms last year. TechCrunch Japan reports that the current value of the company is about 10.3 billion yen ($110 million).

freakout_logoFreakOut is a Tokyo-based startup developing a smartphone advertising platform for real-time bidding (RTB). Today it announced that it has raised 500 million yen (approximately $5.3 million) in series B funding from YJ Capital, the investment arm of Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689).

FreakOut was launched in 2010 by Yuzuru Honda who previously launched a content-matching ad platform called Brainer, which was subsequently sold to Yahoo Japan in 2008.  The startup has been delivering its white-label platform to more than 3,000 advertisers through 90 agencies in Japan and the US. With this new funding, the startup expects to intensify operations at its US subsidiary, FreakOut International Inc., which was launched in New York last April.

Prior to this fundraising, the startup raised 350 million yen ($3.7 million) from two Japanese VC firms last year. TechCrunch Japan reports that the current value of the company is about 10.3 billion yen ($110 million).

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Gyao and Gree team up to invest in animation content development

Masaru Ikeda Masaru Ikeda
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Gyao, a broadband video distribution company and a subsidiary of Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689), and Japanese social gaming giant Gree (TYO:3632) announced today the two companies have agreed to establish a fund to invest in animation content development. The fund will be worth 100 million yen (over $1 million dollars), and the two companies will split the ownership of the joint venture 50/50, and it will tentatively be called ‘Future Content Partners’. Content from the fund’s portfolio companies is expected to be distributed to Yahoo Japan’s premium service subscribers in formats for broadband video streaming, in social gaming, and more. Gyao, Gree, and Yahoo Japan have agreed to set up an information portal in the first half of this year, which focuses on introducing animated content such as games, video titles, and e-comic books. A recent survey says that the Japanese animation business is worth 219.7 billion yen (or approximately $2.3 billion), and revenues have been on the rise for the last three years. When we look at the retail business that springs from the animation industry, such as merchandising character toys, its volume exceeds more than a trillion ($10.6 billion). So it’s definitely a lucrative space. GREE (English / Japanese)

yahoo-gree

Gyao, a broadband video distribution company and a subsidiary of Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689), and Japanese social gaming giant Gree (TYO:3632) announced today the two companies have agreed to establish a fund to invest in animation content development. The fund will be worth 100 million yen (over $1 million dollars), and the two companies will split the ownership of the joint venture 50/50, and it will tentatively be called ‘Future Content Partners’.

Content from the fund’s portfolio companies is expected to be distributed to Yahoo Japan’s premium service subscribers in formats for broadband video streaming, in social gaming, and more. Gyao, Gree, and Yahoo Japan have agreed to set up an information portal in the first half of this year, which focuses on introducing animated content such as games, video titles, and e-comic books.

A recent survey says that the Japanese animation business is worth 219.7 billion yen (or approximately $2.3 billion), and revenues have been on the rise for the last three years. When we look at the retail business that springs from the animation industry, such as merchandising character toys, its volume exceeds more than a trillion ($10.6 billion). So it’s definitely a lucrative space.

GREE (English / Japanese)

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GREE and Yahoo Japan set up joint venture for mobile social game development

Rick Martin Rick Martin
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See our Japanese report on this story Japanese social gaming giant GREE (TYO:3632) and Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689) are announcing [1] today that they will establish a joint venture for development of social games for smartphones. The initiative is tentatively called GxYz [2] With 200 million yen (about $2.16 million) in capital dedicated to the venture, this solidifies a partnership that was first announced back in November of 2012. Yahoo Japan is the most popular web portal in Japan, and GREE is looking to tap into that audience, funneling traffic from the smartphone version of the site to social games on GREE. The gaming company also hopes that those users can use Yahoo Wallet to pay for content on GREE. GREE and Yahoo Japan announced back in December that they would be co-sponsoring the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid. For more details, see GREE’s announcement in English and in Japanese.  ↩ We’re really glad that this is tentative.  ↩

yahoo-gree

See our Japanese report on this story

Japanese social gaming giant GREE (TYO:3632) and Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689) are announcing [1] today that they will establish a joint venture for development of social games for smartphones. The initiative is tentatively called GxYz [2]

With 200 million yen (about $2.16 million) in capital dedicated to the venture, this solidifies a partnership that was first announced back in November of 2012. Yahoo Japan is the most popular web portal in Japan, and GREE is looking to tap into that audience, funneling traffic from the smartphone version of the site to social games on GREE. The gaming company also hopes that those users can use Yahoo Wallet to pay for content on GREE.

GREE and Yahoo Japan announced back in December that they would be co-sponsoring the Tokyo 2020 Olympic bid.

  1. For more details, see GREE’s announcement in English and in Japanese.  ↩

  2. We’re really glad that this is tentative.  ↩

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Yahoo Japan’s Face Stealer app transforms you into Obama, or anyone else you’d like to be

Rick Martin Rick Martin
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Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689) has just released a very clever application called Face Stealer. It’s a fun camera app that lets you choose from an assortment of masks, including the Mona Lisa, US president Barack Obama, and a few others. I gave the app a quick run through, trying out the Obama mask and dog mask, and it works pretty well — although it is a little bit spooky (see my video above). Interestingly, users can also create their own masks to add to the list, simply by taking a photo of your friend and then wearing their face as a mask. Or you can select photos from your camera roll to create masks from. While posing in your favorite mask, you can take shapshots to share to Facebook and Twitter, or even video to share to Facebook and YouTube. It’s a fun little novelty photo app which I encourage you to try, especially if you’re feeling a little presidential. You can get it for free over on Apple’s App Store.

Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689) has just released a very clever application called Face Stealer. It’s a fun camera app that lets you choose from an assortment of masks, including the Mona Lisa, US president Barack Obama, and a few others. I gave the app a quick run through, trying out the Obama mask and dog mask, and it works pretty well — although it is a little bit spooky (see my video above).

Interestingly, users can also create their own masks to add to the list, simply by taking a photo of your friend and then wearing their face as a mask. Or you can select photos from your camera roll to create masks from.

While posing in your favorite mask, you can take shapshots to share to Facebook and Twitter, or even video to share to Facebook and YouTube.

It’s a fun little novelty photo app which I encourage you to try, especially if you’re feeling a little presidential. You can get it for free over on Apple’s App Store.

face-stealer-yahoo-japan

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Yahoo Japan Takes 10% Stake of Wedding Site

Masaru Ikeda Masaru Ikeda
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Nikkei Business Online is reporting that Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689) has taken more than a 10% stake of wedding-related, buzz marketing site Minnano Wedding. The financial details have not been disclosed. The startup began as a service in February of 2008 under Japan’s social gaming giant DeNA, and it was then spun off in October of 2010. The site has collected much input and feedback from people who have used wedding venues, and also allows for bill-sharing to show how much was actually paid on wedding ceremonies. The website has 1.1 million monthly visitors, and boasts more than 200,000 posts about 5,000 wedding places in Japan. In January, the startup launched a wedding venue portal for ‘shotgun marriage’ couples, in association with Benesse Corporation, a Japanese correspondence education company who also provides preschool and infant learning courses. Similarly, another Japanese internet giant, Cyber Agent, has been running a wedding portal site called Wedding Park since 1999. It has more than 60,000 posts about 4,000 wedding places in Japan.

yahoojapan_minnano_wedding

Nikkei Business Online is reporting that Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689) has taken more than a 10% stake of wedding-related, buzz marketing site Minnano Wedding. The financial details have not been disclosed.

The startup began as a service in February of 2008 under Japan’s social gaming giant DeNA, and it was then spun off in October of 2010. The site has collected much input and feedback from people who have used wedding venues, and also allows for bill-sharing to show how much was actually paid on wedding ceremonies. The website has 1.1 million monthly visitors, and boasts more than 200,000 posts about 5,000 wedding places in Japan.

In January, the startup launched a wedding venue portal for ‘shotgun marriage’ couples, in association with Benesse Corporation, a Japanese correspondence education company who also provides preschool and infant learning courses.

Similarly, another Japanese internet giant, Cyber Agent, has been running a wedding portal site called Wedding Park since 1999. It has more than 60,000 posts about 4,000 wedding places in Japan.

minnnano_wedding_screenshot

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