Japanese mobile app developer Utagoe fundraises from KLab

SHARE:

utagoe-klab_logos

Tokyo-based Utagoe, the startup behind mobile app Moment Diary (iOS/Android), announced yesterday that it has raised an undisclosed sum from gaming company KLab and its investment arm KLab Ventures. With the funds, KLab will take a 17.5% stake in the company.

Utagoe was launched back in 2001 by information scientist Tomonari Sonoda, and had been developing a variety of apps using his patented technology for melody recognition. Remarkably it allows you to search for a song just by humming. But in the process of their monetization efforts, they pivoted to become a mobile development company several years ago and have been working on many mobile apps, including Moment Diary.

Moment Diary is a free journal app with a calendar, allowing you to make notes with timestamps, adding texts, images, videos, and even audio. Since its launch back in January of 2011, the app has acquired more than 24.1 million users on iOS and Google Play. In terms of their user demographics, Japan accounts for about 50%, and the rest are mainly from Korea, China, the Middle East, the US, Germany and Russia. Women in their teens and 20s make up the majority of their users.

Through this partnership, Utagoe plans to drive user traffic from Moment Diary to KLab gaming apps, and help them acquire global users. By making the most of KLab’s experience and knowledge in mobile app development, Utagoe hopes to improve its monetization model for mobile apps.

moment-diary_screenshot0 moment-diary_screenshot1