THE BRIDGE

Masaru Ikeda

Masaru Ikeda

Masaru started his career as a programmer/engineer, and previously co-founded several system integration companies and consulting firms. He’s been traveling around Silicon Valley and Asia exploring the IT industry, and he also curates event updates for the Tokyo edition of Startup Digest.

Articles

Japanese startup qualifies for global competition with real life analytics for retail stores

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SeedStars World is an initiative touring 20 cities worldwide to discover high profile startups. Here in Japan, a local preliminary competition event took place on Friday at Samurai Startup Island, an incubation office located on Tokyo’s bayfront. More than a dozen of startups from Japan and the rest of the world gave pitches in an effort to qualify for the final global competition next February in Lausanne, Switzerland. Here is a quick rundown of the three teams selected from the bunch. 1st place: Locarise Locarise is an analytics solution for retail stores. By placing small sensors inside and around your store, the system can collect metrics such as how many people passed in front of the store and how many customers you have served. The system’s web-based dashboard shows you these metrics, as well as other things like visit duration, and retention rate. For a business owner monitoring many store locations, you can easily stay up to date on real-time target rates for KPIs at many stores in a single interface. 2nd place: Eigooo Eigooo is a service that lets users learn English by chatting with a native speaker using mobile message apps such as Line. The service was launched…

seedstars-world-tokyo

SeedStars World is an initiative touring 20 cities worldwide to discover high profile startups. Here in Japan, a local preliminary competition event took place on Friday at Samurai Startup Island, an incubation office located on Tokyo’s bayfront.

More than a dozen of startups from Japan and the rest of the world gave pitches in an effort to qualify for the final global competition next February in Lausanne, Switzerland. Here is a quick rundown of the three teams selected from the bunch.

1st place: Locarise

locarise_screenshot

Locarise is an analytics solution for retail stores. By placing small sensors inside and around your store, the system can collect metrics such as how many people passed in front of the store and how many customers you have served. The system’s web-based dashboard shows you these metrics, as well as other things like visit duration, and retention rate. For a business owner monitoring many store locations, you can easily stay up to date on real-time target rates for KPIs at many stores in a single interface.

2nd place: Eigooo

eigooo_screenshot

Eigooo is a service that lets users learn English by chatting with a native speaker using mobile message apps such as Line. The service was launched by Peter Rothenberg, who previously worked in Japan’s public schools as an English conversation teacher. Through his own experience of exchanging messages on mobile during his commutes, he was convinced that messaging using mobile apps is a good way to master foreign languages.

3rd place: Infogra.me

infogra.me_screenshot

Infogra.me is a sort of slideshare for infographics. You can upload your infographic and share it with many users for free, or even ask the company to create an infographic from your own data. The service is available in six languages, both on the web or with its iOS app.

Their offering is comparable to Piktochart from Malaysia.


In my view, this world championship tour is well-organized, supported by global entrepreneur network SandBox. However, it’s probably too early to see how much impact the event make can have on the global startup community, since it’s still just the first batch.

On the event website, you can browse the many startups that have been selected in other participating cities. After Tokyo, the next local event will take place next Friday in Sydney, Australia.

seedstarsworld_tokyo

Japanese VC invests $2.3M in Korean growth hacking startup

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5Rocks is a Korean startup focused on providing business intelligence (BI) tools for mobile gaming developers. The startup announced today that it has raised 2.55 billion Korean won (approximately $2.3 million) from Japanese venture capital Global Brain. For the latter, this represents its first investment in a Korean startup. Tokyo-based Global Brain has formed joint investment funds with established businesses such as Japanese telco KDDI and internet portal Nifty. The firm boasts a strong portfolio of notable Japanese tech startups including Nanapi, Monoco, Rarejob, and Origami. 5Rocks was launched back in September of 2010 and raised 2 billion won ($1.8 million) from Seoul-based Stone Bridge Capital. The startup was previously known as Ablar Company, providing a mobile-based restaurant finder and booking services for Korean consumers. Back in June, the company rebranded itself as 5Rocks and started developing the mobile BI tools, capitalizing on its previous experience in the mobile app business. The company launched a closed beta version of its BI tools back in late June. A month after launch the tools were adopted by many local game developers including Sunday Toz, Link Tomorrow, Gamevil, Load Complete, Rocket Oz, and Momo. In terms of differentiation from similar tools like Micro…

Global Brain and 5Rocks
From the right: Nobutake Suzuki (Global Brain), Yasuhiko Yurimoto (Global Brain CEO), Changsu Lee (5Rocks CEO), Jeong Seok Roh (5Rocks CSO).

5Rocks is a Korean startup focused on providing business intelligence (BI) tools for mobile gaming developers. The startup announced today that it has raised 2.55 billion Korean won (approximately $2.3 million) from Japanese venture capital Global Brain.

For the latter, this represents its first investment in a Korean startup. Tokyo-based Global Brain has formed joint investment funds with established businesses such as Japanese telco KDDI and internet portal Nifty. The firm boasts a strong portfolio of notable Japanese tech startups including Nanapi, Monoco, Rarejob, and Origami.

5Rocks was launched back in September of 2010 and raised 2 billion won ($1.8 million) from Seoul-based Stone Bridge Capital. The startup was previously known as Ablar Company, providing a mobile-based restaurant finder and booking services for Korean consumers. Back in June, the company rebranded itself as 5Rocks and started developing the mobile BI tools, capitalizing on its previous experience in the mobile app business.

The company launched a closed beta version of its BI tools back in late June. A month after launch the tools were adopted by many local game developers including Sunday Toz, Link Tomorrow, Gamevil, Load Complete, Rocket Oz, and Momo. In terms of differentiation from similar tools like Micro Strategy and Yellowfin, 5Rocks’ solutions are more niche-focused, and dedicated to improving user retention in mobile gaming apps.

The startup revealed that it will start soon providing a closed beta version to five Japanese game developers: Pokelabo, MyNet, Mutations Studio, KLab and NewsTech. Following its entry into the Japanese market, they are planning business expansion to Mainland China.

Here in Japan, we have seen several startups competing in this space, including planBCD, Growth Push, and Fello. With 5Rocks now also in the arena, these startups will be forced to be deliver even better features moving forward.

(Thanks to beSUCCESS for pointing out this one, and for image above)

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Japan’s KLab partners with Kabam to better serve US and European users

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Japanese mobile game developer KLab (TSE:3656) today announced that it has partnered with US-based Kabam to start publishing apps in the US and Europe using Kabam’s publishing platform. As part of the partnership, the Japanese company plans to start distributing Eternal Uprising next month, a remake app of fantasy RPG Requiem of God Destruction that won over many Japanese fans in 2012. To date KLab has been providing apps to the global market through its US subsidiary, but it will switch its distribution channels in Europe to the Kabam platform, since markets in the region have different languages and different charging models. The US company has channels to 100 different markets around the world, which provides help for Klab in terms of app localization, marketing, and fees collection. Kabam established a $50 million fund last April to help Asian game developers generate revenue in US and European markets. For the US company, the partnership with KLab is the first step of the initiative. In Europe, the smartphone gaming app market recently started to pick up, and many Japanese gaming companies are aggressively looking for local partners to intensify their European businesses. KLab had a 1.1 billion yen (about $11 million)…

klab_kabam_logos

Japanese mobile game developer KLab (TSE:3656) today announced that it has partnered with US-based Kabam to start publishing apps in the US and Europe using Kabam’s publishing platform. As part of the partnership, the Japanese company plans to start distributing Eternal Uprising next month, a remake app of fantasy RPG Requiem of God Destruction that won over many Japanese fans in 2012.

To date KLab has been providing apps to the global market through its US subsidiary, but it will switch its distribution channels in Europe to the Kabam platform, since markets in the region have different languages and different charging models. The US company has channels to 100 different markets around the world, which provides help for Klab in terms of app localization, marketing, and fees collection.

eternal-uprising_screenshot

Kabam established a $50 million fund last April to help Asian game developers generate revenue in US and European markets. For the US company, the partnership with KLab is the first step of the initiative.

In Europe, the smartphone gaming app market recently started to pick up, and many Japanese gaming companies are aggressively looking for local partners to intensify their European businesses.

KLab had a 1.1 billion yen (about $11 million) operating loss last year due to delays publishing new game titles. But it showed rapid recovery in the last few months, and raised 930 million yen (about $9.3 million) from Japanese ad agency Hakuhodo (TSE:2433) and Oak Capital last month.

Japanese Google Glass challenger raises $5 million

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See the original story in Japanese. Telepathy is a Japanese startup focused on developing wearable technology. The company is led by serial entrepreneur Takahito Iguchi, the inventor of the pioneering augmented reality app Sekai Camera. Telepathy announced today it has raised $5 million from Silicon Valley-based VC Firsthand Technology Value Fund (NASDAQ:SVVC). The fund is known for having previously invested in prominent tech companies including Facebook and Twitter. The startup unveiled its first product, Telepathy One, last year at SXSW, positioned as a direct competitor to Google Glass. There will be an SDK for app developers this fall, and the company will begin marketing the device in 2014. With these new funds, the company will hire more engineers to work at its headquarters in Silicon Valley.  Iguchi explained: Wearable technology will enable the next wave in social networking, […] and the initial response to our Telepathy One prototype has been astounding. The $5 million funding will enable us to enrich the user experience of Telepathy One, which we expect to bring to market in 2014. If you are a hardware or software engineer interested in working with the company, you can find more details here. The startup also announced today…

telepathy prototype

See the original story in Japanese.

Telepathy is a Japanese startup focused on developing wearable technology. The company is led by serial entrepreneur Takahito Iguchi, the inventor of the pioneering augmented reality app Sekai Camera. Telepathy announced today it has raised $5 million from Silicon Valley-based VC Firsthand Technology Value Fund (NASDAQ:SVVC). The fund is known for having previously invested in prominent tech companies including Facebook and Twitter.

The startup unveiled its first product, Telepathy One, last year at SXSW, positioned as a direct competitor to Google Glass. There will be an SDK for app developers this fall, and the company will begin marketing the device in 2014. With these new funds, the company will hire more engineers to work at its headquarters in Silicon Valley. 

Telepathy's Takahito Iguchi, chief investment officer of Firsthand Kevin Landis
Telepathy’s Takahito Iguchi, chief investment officer of Firsthand Kevin Landis

Iguchi explained:

Wearable technology will enable the next wave in social networking, […] and the initial response to our Telepathy One prototype has been astounding.

The $5 million funding will enable us to enrich the user experience of Telepathy One, which we expect to bring to market in 2014.

If you are a hardware or software engineer interested in working with the company, you can find more details here.

The startup also announced today that Peter Hoddie, the former QucikTime architect at Apple, has joined its advisory board. They plan to bring his experience in digital video technology to the development of their wearable device.

For more infomation on Telepathy One, check out the short news clip below.

Japanese startup Booklap partners with Baidu’s Hao123

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See the original story in Japanese. Booklap is a handy service that helps you find great books. It does so by presenting quotes from books that have that impressed other users. Tokyo-based Prosbee, the startup behind the initiative, recently announced it has partnered with the world’s second largest search engine, Baidu, to provide this quote presentation on the Japanese version of Hao123, a web directory from the Chinese search giant. According to Alexa, Hao123 ranks as the 29th most popular global site, and 6th in Mainland China. This traffic volume is about equal to that of Google Japan, MSN, or Pinterest. The site has a significant presence among users over 30. And with this partnership, the startup aims to make more middle-aged users aware of its service. Booklap is presenting its content for Japanese users, but they have been aggressively participating in many startup competitions outside Japan. This leads us to believe that they’re interested in business expansion around the Asian region. We’ve asked Baidu about whether they plan to extend this collaboration beyond the Japanese language, but we have not yet received any comment on that. In an entertainment industry crowded with various media formats, busy consumers everywhere want…

hao123-booklap_logos

See the original story in Japanese.

Booklap is a handy service that helps you find great books. It does so by presenting quotes from books that have that impressed other users. Tokyo-based Prosbee, the startup behind the initiative, recently announced it has partnered with the world’s second largest search engine, Baidu, to provide this quote presentation on the Japanese version of Hao123, a web directory from the Chinese search giant.

According to Alexa, Hao123 ranks as the 29th most popular global site, and 6th in Mainland China. This traffic volume is about equal to that of Google Japan, MSN, or Pinterest.

The site has a significant presence among users over 30. And with this partnership, the startup aims to make more middle-aged users aware of its service.

Booklap is presenting its content for Japanese users, but they have been aggressively participating in many startup competitions outside Japan. This leads us to believe that they’re interested in business expansion around the Asian region. We’ve asked Baidu about whether they plan to extend this collaboration beyond the Japanese language, but we have not yet received any comment on that.

In an entertainment industry crowded with various media formats, busy consumers everywhere want a service that recommends books they’ll like. So I expect the startup to start working on global expansions as soon as possible.

Hao123 was launched back in 1999 and was acquired by Baidu in 2004. The directory launched its Japanese version back in 2012, and has been gathering attractive content to establish a solid presence in the Japanese market. Prior to partnering with Booklap, the Chinese giant also started content syndication with Japanese entertainment wesite Bokete.jp.

Booklap raised 20 million yen (approximately $200,000) last month from Incubate Fund, Voyage Ventures, and Genuine Startups.

booklap_screenshot

Why a Japanese startup is betting on human-powered data entry over OCR

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See the original story in Japanese. BearTail, a startup comprised mainly of graduates from Tsukuba University, today unveiled a cloud-based household accounting solution called Dr. Wallet. The service lets you do personal finance data entry by simply scanning your receipts. It was launched in beta back several months ago, and is now available for the Android platform. In Japan, there are more than a few competitors in this space. Since last year, we’ve seen more than 20 startups providing cloud-based accounting services for freelancers and SMEs. (See our previous article for more info.) In terms of differentiation from conventional services, Dr. Wallet does not use OCR (optical character recognition) but instead depends on human-powered data entry for ensuring accuracy. It also automatically sorts and classifies your purchases. With this human-powered processing, the startup could achieve data entry accuracy of up to 99.98%, likely enough to ease users’s concerns of erroneous inputs. But why is this startup providing the service for free when the back-end human component is likely so costly and time-consuming? We’re told that BearTail is exploring monetizing the accounting service with big data solutions. If they collect purchase histories from users, they establish some behavior models. For example,…

dr-wallet_logoSee the original story in Japanese.

BearTail, a startup comprised mainly of graduates from Tsukuba University, today unveiled a cloud-based household accounting solution called Dr. Wallet. The service lets you do personal finance data entry by simply scanning your receipts. It was launched in beta back several months ago, and is now available for the Android platform.

In Japan, there are more than a few competitors in this space. Since last year, we’ve seen more than 20 startups providing cloud-based accounting services for freelancers and SMEs. (See our previous article for more info.)

In terms of differentiation from conventional services, Dr. Wallet does not use OCR (optical character recognition) but instead depends on human-powered data entry for ensuring accuracy. It also automatically sorts and classifies your purchases. With this human-powered processing, the startup could achieve data entry accuracy of up to 99.98%, likely enough to ease users’s concerns of erroneous inputs.

dr-wallet_mobileapp_screenshot

But why is this startup providing the service for free when the back-end human component is likely so costly and time-consuming? We’re told that BearTail is exploring monetizing the accounting service with big data solutions. If they collect purchase histories from users, they establish some behavior models. For example, if you find users who frequently stay at a certain hotel or use a beauty salon, you can give them a discount coupon that encourages them to pay with a specific brand of credit card.

This scheme calls to mind fellow Japanese startup Sansan, which operates a free CRM business card solution called Eight. Their strategy is also “Grow first, monetize later”, building a reputation and driving users to their high-end service Link Knowledge.

BearTail unveiled a subscription-based, e-commerce service called Amazon Gacha back in February, which randomly selects items from Amazon’s showcase and delivers them to users. But it was subsequently forced to shut down in order to avoid a possible infringement on Amazon’s trademark. But I believe its new service is well thought out in terms of a monetization, and it will be an interesting company to watch as it continues to grow.

CyberAgent launches its own crowdfunding platform

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Today Japanese internet giant CyberAgent launched a crowdfunding platform called Makuake (meaning ‘beginning’). The company started the service as a rewards-type crowdfunding service, but plans to enhance it to become an investment-type platform in the future. As you may already know, CyberAgent also runs one of Japan’s biggest blogging platforms, Ameba, where many celebrities or entertainers post updates for fans and promote themselves. In collaboration with such celebrities, the company plans to launch many notable crowdfunding projects, thus attracting more users. At the time of launch, we can find seven projects on site. This includes an initiative from a Japanese soccer player to assist young athletes in the country master English so they can better partake in international activities. The company is also inviting a fundraising project to manufacture Raspberry Pi-enabled robot Rapiro, and that will go live later this month. The platform is currently available for PC, and a smartphone version will go live this coming fall. It is expected that Makuake will transact $1 million in deals monthly by next March. Via CNET and IT Media

makuake

Today Japanese internet giant CyberAgent launched a crowdfunding platform called Makuake (meaning ‘beginning’). The company started the service as a rewards-type crowdfunding service, but plans to enhance it to become an investment-type platform in the future.

As you may already know, CyberAgent also runs one of Japan’s biggest blogging platforms, Ameba, where many celebrities or entertainers post updates for fans and promote themselves. In collaboration with such celebrities, the company plans to launch many notable crowdfunding projects, thus attracting more users.

At the time of launch, we can find seven projects on site. This includes an initiative from a Japanese soccer player to assist young athletes in the country master English so they can better partake in international activities. The company is also inviting a fundraising project to manufacture Raspberry Pi-enabled robot Rapiro, and that will go live later this month.

The platform is currently available for PC, and a smartphone version will go live this coming fall. It is expected that Makuake will transact $1 million in deals monthly by next March.

Via CNET and IT Media

makuake_screenshot

GREE gives up on its messaging app

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Japan’s social gaming giant GREE launched a messaging app late last year. Dubbed Tellit (originally called GREE Messenger), the app was a quiet entry in a very crowded field of players like Line, Kakao Talk, and DeNA’s Comm. At the time, we understood that it was somewhat of an experimental effort — and now that experiment will be coming to a close, as GREE recently announced it will shutdown the messaging app on September 1st. The app was developed by eBuddy, a messaging app-focused company based in Amsterdam, and subsequently rebranded as Tellit to intensify the global marketing efforts. TechInAsia points out that it previously topped the free iOS rankings in Malaysia, Italy and Germany, and our own digging shows that it also reached the top of the social networking category in Thailand, Chile, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia. Here in Japan, the app didn’t get any TV commercial blitz that we saw competitors like Line, Comm, and KakaoTalk receive. GREE is planning to shutdown its offices in UK, UAE, Brazil, and the Netherlands this month, which reduces its foreign business locations by a half. The company also shutdown its Beijing office back in May, and is planning to reduce its…

tellit_featured

Japan’s social gaming giant GREE launched a messaging app late last year. Dubbed Tellit (originally called GREE Messenger), the app was a quiet entry in a very crowded field of players like Line, Kakao Talk, and DeNA’s Comm. At the time, we understood that it was somewhat of an experimental effort — and now that experiment will be coming to a close, as GREE recently announced it will shutdown the messaging app on September 1st.

The app was developed by eBuddy, a messaging app-focused company based in Amsterdam, and subsequently rebranded as Tellit to intensify the global marketing efforts. TechInAsia points out that it previously topped the free iOS rankings in Malaysia, Italy and Germany, and our own digging shows that it also reached the top of the social networking category in Thailand, Chile, Yemen, and Saudi Arabia.

Here in Japan, the app didn’t get any TV commercial blitz that we saw competitors like Line, Comm, and KakaoTalk receive.

GREE is planning to shutdown its offices in UK, UAE, Brazil, and the Netherlands this month, which reduces its foreign business locations by a half. The company also shutdown its Beijing office back in May, and is planning to reduce its work force in its Korea office by 30%. The focus of its international operations are expected to shift to San Francisco, though it still has its studio and office in Korea and its GREE Ventures operation in Singapore.

Some of our readers may remember that there were reports that DeNA recently cut back operations on its Comm messaging app. For GREE and DeNA, it’s probably necessary for them to find new frontiers where they can find more success.

Yahoo Japan acquires e-commerce portal provider Venture Republic

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Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689) announced recently that it has taken over leading Japanese e-commerce portal provider Venture Republic. Financial details were not disclosed. Since its launch back in 2001, the latter has been a provider of price comparison sites and commerce-focused vertical media such as Travel.jp, Hotel.jp, and Coneco.net to Japanese online consumers. The company is also known to have invested in Indonesian price comparison site Telunjuk and Singapore’s travel metasearch service Flocations. Upon the acquisition, the company was split into two companies corresponding to different business fields. One company rebranded as Osenikku and will continue operating Coneco.net. And the CEO formed a new company called Venture Republic, which take care of the travel-related media. As a result, the comparison site business has been entirely handed over to Yahoo Japan. Since December of 2010, Venture Republic has been providing user-generated product reviews on consumer products in Yahoo Japan’s e-commerce channel. With the acquisition, the portal giant aims to provide a better user experience to its e-commerce customers. Venture Republic was founded by Japanese businessman Kei Shibata back in 2001, and subsequently listed on the JASDAQ market back in 2009. Later on it was delisted when he bought back its shares.

coneco.net_screenshot

Yahoo Japan (TYO:4689) announced recently that it has taken over leading Japanese e-commerce portal provider Venture Republic. Financial details were not disclosed.

Since its launch back in 2001, the latter has been a provider of price comparison sites and commerce-focused vertical media such as Travel.jp, Hotel.jp, and Coneco.net to Japanese online consumers. The company is also known to have invested in Indonesian price comparison site Telunjuk and Singapore’s travel metasearch service Flocations.

Upon the acquisition, the company was split into two companies corresponding to different business fields. One company rebranded as Osenikku and will continue operating Coneco.net. And the CEO formed a new company called Venture Republic, which take care of the travel-related media. As a result, the comparison site business has been entirely handed over to Yahoo Japan.

Since December of 2010, Venture Republic has been providing user-generated product reviews on consumer products in Yahoo Japan’s e-commerce channel. With the acquisition, the portal giant aims to provide a better user experience to its e-commerce customers.

Venture Republic was founded by Japanese businessman Kei Shibata back in 2001, and subsequently listed on the JASDAQ market back in 2009. Later on it was delisted when he bought back its shares.

Sports game platform Mobcast hits 3.5 million users, eyes markets beyond Japan

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Tokyo-based gaming company Mobcast announced yesterday that its sports-focused gaming platform now has more than 3.5 million users, adding about 380,000 new members every three months. The company expanded its service to Korea back in February, intensifying its localization efforts by acquiring Korean gaming company Entercrews. Mobcast’s Korean gaming platform surpassed 600,000 users, and 300,000 of those have tried MobaSoccer, a soccer title where both Japanese and Korean users can simultaneously play a Japan vs Korea match. In addition to Japan and Korea, the company has expressed interest in expanding to South East Asian markets, and it has already established a local presence in Indonesia. The company has been seeing good results in user acquisition, thanks to marketing efforts in partnership with sports TV shows and notable football clubs. The company parnered with FC Barcelona and shows off high-profile football players in its online soccer gaming app, including stars like Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi. In a previous interview with the company’s CSO (chief strategic officer) Takashi Sato, he unveiled that the company is aiming to reach at least 30 million users in Japan, and one million users in Korea in this year. To learn more about the service, check…

20130422-100818

Tokyo-based gaming company Mobcast announced yesterday that its sports-focused gaming platform now has more than 3.5 million users, adding about 380,000 new members every three months.

The company expanded its service to Korea back in February, intensifying its localization efforts by acquiring Korean gaming company Entercrews. Mobcast’s Korean gaming platform surpassed 600,000 users, and 300,000 of those have tried MobaSoccer, a soccer title where both Japanese and Korean users can simultaneously play a Japan vs Korea match. In addition to Japan and Korea, the company has expressed interest in expanding to South East Asian markets, and it has already established a local presence in Indonesia.

mobcast-girls
Mobcast Girls cheer and promote the game platform in Japanese media.
(Image: Mobcast website)

The company has been seeing good results in user acquisition, thanks to marketing efforts in partnership with sports TV shows and notable football clubs. The company parnered with FC Barcelona and shows off high-profile football players in its online soccer gaming app, including stars like Thierry Henry and Lionel Messi.

In a previous interview with the company’s CSO (chief strategic officer) Takashi Sato, he unveiled that the company is aiming to reach at least 30 million users in Japan, and one million users in Korea in this year. To learn more about the service, check out a couple of its commercials which we have included below.

Japanese TV commercial:

 

Korean TV Commercial: