Tokyo-based Creww, the Japanese startup behind a community platform offering open innovation opportunities to startups, announced on Wednesday that it is foraying into the coworking space business with the collaboration of major developers and real estate agencies. Named after Creww’s current headquarters called “Creww Dock” in Nakameguro, Tokyo, the new initiative will be conducted under the name of “Docks“.
The company plans to unveil five Docks in Tokyo by April of 2018, the first of which is “Dock-Toranomon” and is set to open on October 30th in the Shiroyama Trust Tower (by Mori Trust) in Kamiyacho, Tokyo. Docks are not only for startups and entrepreneurs. General enterprises are also scheduled to move in and it is expected that they will contribute not only to physical space sharing but also to encouraging collaboration between companies and to fostering open innovation.
Another view of Dock-Toranomon Image credit: Creww
In the so-called startup hub cities around the world the supply of coworking space exceeds the demand for startups, especially in Singapore and Seoul. In these cities, free spaces are provided by government agencies and local municipalities, but private coworking spaces are often more popular, many times dependent on the presence, or lack of, a community centered around the coworking space.
WeWork recently announced its entry into the Japanese market in partnership with Mitsubishi Estate and expects to open 10 to 20 coworking spaces in Tokyo. In addition to this, recently Plug and Play Japan announced the start of an accelerator program in Tokyo and has made it clear that a coworking space will be set up in Shibuya for partner companies and startups. From the beginning of this year Nikkei started the “Nikkei Office Pass” which can be used across the coworking spaces of 25 metropolitan areas with a flat fee, and due to the renewal of the service, the trial service will close this month.
Translated by Amanda Imasaka Edited by Masaru Ikeda
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Styler, the Japanese startup offering an O2O (offline to online) support service for fashion and apparel stores under the same name, announced on Wednesday that it has rebranded the service to Facy. In conjunction with this, the Facy app will employ a new function that allows users to complete purchases and payments online. Styler’s founder and CEO Tsubasa Koseki says that the reason for rebranding is that the previous service name was often misidentified as a “styling service” by new users. The new service name was chosen with the intention of offering a real life purchasing experience to online customers, with “Facy” stemming from “face-to-face”. The company name will remain Styler. With the addition of the e-commerce function to Facy, it will allow physical fashion and apparel stores to easily set up their online storefront. For this function, Styler takes care of everything from the delivery of goods to the settlement of payments for online customers of shops on Facy. From the shops’ point of view, it is similar to Uber Eats’ system. Styler provides a series of services for shops and in return takes 20% of the price of items sold (with…
Tokyo-based Styler, the Japanese startup offering an O2O (offline to online) support service for fashion and apparel stores under the same name, announced on Wednesday that it has rebranded the service to Facy. In conjunction with this, the Facy app will employ a new function that allows users to complete purchases and payments online.
Styler’s founder and CEO Tsubasa Koseki says that the reason for rebranding is that the previous service name was often misidentified as a “styling service” by new users. The new service name was chosen with the intention of offering a real life purchasing experience to online customers, with “Facy” stemming from “face-to-face”. The company name will remain Styler.
With the addition of the e-commerce function to Facy, it will allow physical fashion and apparel stores to easily set up their online storefront. For this function, Styler takes care of everything from the delivery of goods to the settlement of payments for online customers of shops on Facy. From the shops’ point of view, it is similar to Uber Eats’ system. Styler provides a series of services for shops and in return takes 20% of the price of items sold (with the current campaign it is 10%).
Koseki explained:
When customers want fashion items they are going to physical stores. But, the user experience at these stores is not necessary high.
Meanwhile, using online search engines to meet the abstract needs of fashion is also not suitable. Stores are accustomed to proposing products that suit the needs of these customers.
With Facy, we want to connect the good points of online and offline, so that purchasing can be completed there.
Using their own media to address fashion related topics, Facy’s website has 15 million unique users (UUs) a month, including 500,000 monthly active users (MAUs) who use the mobile app to interact with shops or browse interactions between shops and other users. The company intends to raise it to about 1 million MAUs by the end of the year through various measures.
Koseki added:
About 250 stores are currently using Facy. As our presence in the industry has increased, there have been increasing cases of major companies approaching us asking, ‘Won’t you join us?’
One of the reasons they have been afforded such a reputation is Facy’s high conversion rate as that of an O2O app. One example given to us of the power of Facy was that of Journal Standard, a fashion brand/retailer as well as a client of Facy, which put on a campaign offering, “Buy 10,000 yen, get 1,000 yen off,” and revealed that 22% of the customers that made purchases were from Facy. Putting aside rewards like discount campaigns, this performance is more than ten times better than the number of O2O customers driven from social network service-based interactions.
As for the future of Styler, in order to secure the scalability of the media operation, the company is looking into using artificial intelligence based on fashion information transmitted by stores and the posted contents of users to automatically write articles. Because it is funded by Transcosmos (TSE:9715), a leading BPO (business process outsourcing0 provider in Japan, it may be possible to operate a chatbot for stores that performs the function of a call center, etc. In terms of overseas deployment, Styler has been developing services for Asia from an office in Vietnam for some time. The company has started recruiting for jobs in Taipei, and has begun operating a Chinese Facebook page. Based on this knowledge, it seems that a service launch in Taiwan can be expected in the not so distant future.
Translated by Amanda Imasaka
Edited by Masaru Ikeda
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Crevo, the Japanese startup offering crowdsurced animation production platform, announced on Thursday that it has secured 310 million yen (about $2.8 million US) in funding. This round was led by Itochu Technology Ventures with participation from Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital, AG Capital, and D4V. Detailed financial terms such as share ratios and the payment date have not been disclosed. Additionally, the company will launch the Collet animation production management tool, which until now had been used internally only. The tool organizes the portfolio of animation creators, a job board, video files generated during the production process, and chatting function with clients. The company believes that conducting meetings with clients online can cut time down by 1/5th. The company will initially open this tool up to 30 ad agencies and video production companies. According to Crevo CEO Kensuke Shibata, the usage fees remain undecided, but we should expect it to be cheaper than the monthly fees of hiring an assistant for process management. The funds raised this time around will go towards the future development of this platform. For better serving creators In recent years, several specialized crowdsourcing platforms geared at creators have appeared….
Tokyo-based Crevo, the Japanese startup offering crowdsurced animation production platform, announced on Thursday that it has secured 310 million yen (about $2.8 million US) in funding. This round was led by Itochu Technology Ventures with participation from Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Capital, AG Capital, and D4V. Detailed financial terms such as share ratios and the payment date have not been disclosed.
Additionally, the company will launch the Collet animation production management tool, which until now had been used internally only. The tool organizes the portfolio of animation creators, a job board, video files generated during the production process, and chatting function with clients. The company believes that conducting meetings with clients online can cut time down by 1/5th.
Collet
The company will initially open this tool up to 30 ad agencies and video production companies. According to Crevo CEO Kensuke Shibata, the usage fees remain undecided, but we should expect it to be cheaper than the monthly fees of hiring an assistant for process management. The funds raised this time around will go towards the future development of this platform.
For better serving creators
In recent years, several specialized crowdsourcing platforms geared at creators have appeared. Similar to Crevo, these platforms in Japan like Kaizen (growth hacking / online experience optimization), Viibar (video production) and Mugenup (game character illustration) are aiming to create their own way of systematizing workflows by linking together creators scattered all over the world online.
The creative field, not just animation or video production, is populated by those with individualized skills. If a company puts out similar orders, as expected the client’s output will have little variation. The crowdsourcing method also has a great advantage in terms of presenting options from the client’s perspective.
On the one hand, giving directions online can be difficult. Even if you prepare tools to ensure efficiency, if someone cannot use them, it could lead to further inefficiency. Crevo made the decision to open up Collet to the public after refining it through projects with 700 companies over the past three years. According to Shibata, there has been an increase in requests for animation production from media publishers and printing companies.
What stands out is that the orders are coming from departments separate from the companies’ advertising divisions. The business is still developing and, while it is trivial, I’d like to see some explanatory materials, but it seems that Crevo’s service is prepared to meet those needs.
Translated by Amanda Imasaka Edited by Masaru IKeda
See the original story in Japanese. Kyoto-based Darma Tech Labs (DTL), known for organizing a hardware-focused startup accelerator Makers Boot Camp (MBC), announced earlier this month that it opened an international makerspace named Kyoto Makers Garage (KMG) jointly with Advanced Science, Technology & Management Research Institute of Kyoto (ASTEM) and Kyoto Research Park (KRP). In commemoration of the establishment, they held an opening party inviting Mayor of Kyoto City Daisaku Kadokawa at KMG the same day. KMG was built reforming the garage next to the Kyoto Central Wholesale Market and consists of four elements: “co-working space” usable as share office, “maker space” for manufacturing, “event space” and “gallery space”; in partnership with accelerators focusing on hardware startup outside Japan (such as Usine IO of Paris and Fab Foundry of New York), KMG plans to actively hold hackathon or meet-up events as a hub for entrepreneurs or creators from all over the world. The maker space of KMG is equipped with fused deposition modeling-type 3D printer (additive manufacturing equipment), laser cutter and desktop CNC milling device. Users have to attend charged lecture in advance when using the equipment. KMG also provides service in English to support hardware startups and entrepreneurs from…
Inside the venue Image credit: Kyoto Makers Garage
KMG was built reforming the garage next to the Kyoto Central Wholesale Market and consists of four elements: “co-working space” usable as share office, “maker space” for manufacturing, “event space” and “gallery space”; in partnership with accelerators focusing on hardware startup outside Japan (such as Usine IO of Paris and Fab Foundry of New York), KMG plans to actively hold hackathon or meet-up events as a hub for entrepreneurs or creators from all over the world.
Daisaku Kadokawa, Mayor of Kyoto City, makes a speech at the opening party. Image credit: Makers Boot Camp
The maker space of KMG is equipped with fused deposition modeling-type 3D printer (additive manufacturing equipment), laser cutter and desktop CNC milling device. Users have to attend charged lecture in advance when using the equipment. KMG also provides service in English to support hardware startups and entrepreneurs from abroad.
The establishment of KMG was realized through the acceptance of DTL’s proposal by the municipal participation program for citizens, Machizukuri Otakara Bank, managed by Kyoto City. Access to KMG is 10 minutes on foot from Tanbaguchi Station of JR West San-in Main Line, or 5 minutes from Sichijo-senbon Bus Stop of Kyoto City Bus. It is open from 11 am to 6 pm on weekdays.
Translated by Taijiro Takeda Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy
See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Infostellar, the Japanese startup developing and offering an antenna sharing platform for satellite operations, announced today that it has secured $7.3 million in a series A round. This round was led by Airbus Ventures with participation from Weru Investment, D4V plus Sony Innovation Fund as well as two existing investors, FreakOut Holdings and 500 Startups Japan. Following the latest fund inflow, Infostellar has appointed Dr. Lewis Pinault, Managing Investment Partner for Airbus Ventures in Japan, to their company board. Infostellar claims that it will use the funds to expand its network of partner antennas participating in the StellarStation antenna sharing platform and hire additional talented team members. For the company, the latest round follows their seed round raising 60 million yen (about $545,000) back in October of 2016 and securing a grant worth 51.24 million yen ($465,000) from ICT Innovation Creation Challenge Program run by the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC). While the usage of commercial satellites has risen sharply, satellite owners are facing a problem that requires the building of several base stations on the ground to interact with a satellite because one base station can interact with a…
Tokyo-based Infostellar, the Japanese startup developing and offering an antenna sharing platform for satellite operations, announced today that it has secured $7.3 million in a series A round. This round was led by Airbus Ventures with participation from Weru Investment, D4V plus Sony Innovation Fund as well as two existing investors, FreakOut Holdings and 500 Startups Japan. Following the latest fund inflow, Infostellar has appointed Dr. Lewis Pinault, Managing Investment Partner for Airbus Ventures in Japan, to their company board.
Infostellar claims that it will use the funds to expand its network of partner antennas participating in the StellarStation antenna sharing platform and hire additional talented team members. For the company, the latest round follows their seed round raising 60 million yen (about $545,000) back in October of 2016 and securing a grant worth 51.24 million yen ($465,000) from ICT Innovation Creation Challenge Program run by the Japanese Ministry of Internal Affairs and Communications (MIC).
While the usage of commercial satellites has risen sharply, satellite owners are facing a problem that requires the building of several base stations on the ground to interact with a satellite because one base station can interact with a low-earth orbit (LEO) satellites for only 40 minutes four times a day due to orbital motion. By partnering with multiple base station owners, Infostellar aims to build a sharing platform of base stations for satellite owners. For base station owners, during the time when they are not able to use their antennas to interact with their own satellite, they can rent out these antennas to other satellite operators through the platform.
How StellarStation works
Every satellite or station typically adopts their unique and different communication protocol, but Infostellar allows satellite owners to use third party base stations by standardizing the protocol through cloud- and hardware-based data format/signal conversion technologies. Since many of these LEO satellites are non-geostationary, the company can assign an available time slot and a base station to a satellite owner by calculating which satellite will be located within the coverage of which station. Base station owners will share user charges.
Infostellar completed a prototype back in January this year, subsequently partnering with base stations owned by universities in Ghana, Taiwan, Mongolia and Thailand in March with the aim of rolling out a full-scale service commercially by next spring.
See the original story in Japanese. Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG, TSE:8316) earlier this month launched their first open-innovation base named Hoops Link Tokyo in central Shibuya, Tokyo. The group utilizes the venue to hold pitch events, meet-up, and seminars tying up with external organizations related to the startup ecosystem. At the beginning of the press conference held on the launch day, Jun Ota (Executive Vice President, SMFG) who presides over open-innovation activities of the group made an opening speech. Since established IT Innovation Department in SMFG two year ago, the group has been financially participating various new business where synergy effects with financial service can be expected, in order to activate the whole digital transformation within the group: SMBC GMO Payment (payments processing joint venture with GMO Payment Gateway), Brees (barcode-based payment service developing together with NEC), Polarify (biometric authentication system jointly developing with NTT Data and Daon), Financial Link (artificial intelligence- and robotic process automation- powered business process outsourcing service jointly developing with NEC, to be soon rebranded into NCore). The group has been mainly cooperating with large enterprises so far, but aims strengthening of coordination with startups on the occasion of the establishment of Hoops Link. Also,…
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMFG, TSE:8316) earlier this month launched their first open-innovation base named Hoops Link Tokyo in central Shibuya, Tokyo. The group utilizes the venue to hold pitch events, meet-up, and seminars tying up with external organizations related to the startup ecosystem.
Jun Ota (Executive VP / Chief Digital Innovation Officer, SMFG makes opening speech at the press conference
At the beginning of the press conference held on the launch day, Jun Ota (Executive Vice President, SMFG) who presides over open-innovation activities of the group made an opening speech. Since established IT Innovation Department in SMFG two year ago, the group has been financially participating various new business where synergy effects with financial service can be expected, in order to activate the whole digital transformation within the group: SMBC GMO Payment (payments processing joint venture with GMO Payment Gateway), Brees (barcode-based payment service developing together with NEC), Polarify (biometric authentication system jointly developing with NTT Data and Daon), Financial Link (artificial intelligence- and robotic process automation- powered business process outsourcing service jointly developing with NEC, to be soon rebranded into NCore). The group has been mainly cooperating with large enterprises so far, but aims strengthening of coordination with startups on the occasion of the establishment of Hoops Link.
Also, on the same day, SMFG announced the cooperation with Work-Bench running accelerator for enterprises in the US and StartX, the accelerator of Stanford University. SMFG also unveiled it will start a startup acceleration program in 2018. The detail of the program is still under consideration but is expected to partly adopt conventional activities including Mirai Hackathon or the Mirai incubation initiative which were presented by SMFG or Mitsui Sumitomo Bank.
As open-innovation venues run by major banks, there are some similar cases within Japan, such as The Garage by Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG, TSE:8306) and Diagonal Run Tokyo by Fukuoka Financial Group (FFG, TSE:8354). In addition, open-innovation activities can be seen recently in the whole financial service industry; Mizuho Bank established a lab within Finolab partnering with NTT Data for its open-innovation support program, Credit Saison (TSE:8253) launched DG Lab jointly with Digital Garage (TSE:4819) and others, JCB started operation of an acceleration program JCB Payment Lab supported by Quantum.
Interview with SMFG’s Goya Furukawa, Manager of Hoops Link Tokyo
Please tell us the history about how SMFG came to start Hoops Link Tokyo:
Goya Furukawa (IT Innovation Dpt., SMFG)
I had been sent to Los Angeles to study abroad until last year. In that neighborhood, there is Silicon Beach known as casual business base including Snapchat but I had received few information that startup business has become active in the Japanese financial industry.
By contrast, I daily heard news about the startups leading fintech or the fintech buyout by banks, such as Venmo known for the P2P money transfer.
Having an awareness of the problem about the difference between Japan and the US, I was assigned to a department in charge of fintech. The Japanese banks are still exclusive and our information given from Otemachi (where Sumitomo Mitsui Banking headquarters and fintech hub exist) will not reach to rising startups which we really deliver it to. To be closer with these startups, I thought we should establish a base in Shibuya.
What will you do in Hoops Link Tokyo?
The pure investment work is not main mission in Hoops Link Tokyo. Its first aim is to broaden business range or to be a base to create new business. Although we have a system covering strategic investment, I think it is important whether a startup deserves collaboration with us. Anyway, since our possible partners have not recognized it yet, our immediate aim is to meet them and stay close with them.
We will support doing something together or matching with another. If we received requests to collaborate with bank or group companies, Hoops Link Tokyo works as the window, as one and more SMFG staffers always stay there. We are also considering Office Hour-like service (walk-in consultation in the business hour) inviting staffers from group companies.
Geodesic Capital (the fund known as being founded by ex-the US Ambassador to Japan John Roos) and ERA (Entrepreneurs Roundtable Accelerator) are in cooperative relationship with us and will introduce us investment / support targets in the US. I want to realize cooperative activities centered on Hoops Link Tokyo; we have these funds to introduce startups having technologies / idea adoptable to our service or we can support these startups when they advance into the Japanese market.
Can you tell us the hours of operation and the frequency of events?
The hours of operation of Hoops Link Tokyo is from 9am to 9pm on weekdays. We plan to hold about three events in a week, mostly at night. Setting the third week of September as “executive week”, we will provide sessions over five consecutive nights having guests who performs as mentors in Hoops Link Tokyo (accepting reservation for participation on the website).
We have to take priority of holding events initially, but I want everyone to recognize where we are and which kind of network we have. I will be glad if they think that bank is an open environment than expected or are concerned about the possibility of collaboration.
Do you have KPI (key performance indicator)-like measure for Hoops Link Tokyo?
We did not set KPI for Hoops Link Tokyo. However, it would be meaningless if it does not achieve any long-term outcome. To stretch a point, the final KPI of Hoops Link Tokyo will be the exit how we succeeded in business creation.
Photos of Hoops Link Tokyo
You can mark Shibuya West Branch of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, next to Mega-Donki. Hoops Link Tokyo is on the 6th floor of the building.Exiting the elevator, you can see the entrance decorated with photographs in sepia tone, bringing back memories of old good days.Under the theme of challenges in difficult situations, Hoops Link Tokyo is designed in the motif of a bar in 1920s during prohibition. The bookshelf works as a hidden door.Each meeting room is named after cocktails such as Grasshopper or Bluesky.Kitchen will be useful in events, stocking a large amount of liquers.
Translated by Taijiro Takeda Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy
Masaru Ikeda
Takeshi Hirano
