THE BRIDGE

Mobile

Rebright Partners forms $20M fund, focused on investing in mobile startups in India

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See the original story in Japanese. Rebright Partners, a startup fund backed by leading Japanese internet companies and focused on investing in startups in Southeast Asia, announced today that it has formed a new fund called Rebright Partners II Investment Partnership, looking to enhance investments in consumer-focused mobile-first or mobile-only startups in India. The fund is valued 2.4 billion yen or $20 million, following the “zeroth” fund Batavia Incubator launched in 2011 in partnership with Indonesian financial conglomerate Corfina as well as the first fund launched in 2011. In population, India is expected to exceed China and become the world’s most populous country within 15 years. Regarding the number of smartphone users, India will overtake the U.S. to rank in as the second largest market globally in 2016 (according to eMarketer, December 2014). E-commerce providers in India, such as Flipkart, Amazon India, and Snapdeal, are seeing a good growth, while leading U.S.-based  investment firms like Google Capital and Tiger recently established their local offices in India at the beginning of this year. Among Japanese leading companies, Softbank announced last year that they would strengthen massive investment efforts in India, investing in Snapdeal, taxi-hailing app Ola, and Locon Solutions, the company behind India’s leading property search portal Housing.com. Upon forming the new fund, Rebright Partners appointed Brij Bhasin, who previously worked…

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See the original story in Japanese.

Rebright Partners, a startup fund backed by leading Japanese internet companies and focused on investing in startups in Southeast Asia, announced today that it has formed a new fund called Rebright Partners II Investment Partnership, looking to enhance investments in consumer-focused mobile-first or mobile-only startups in India. The fund is valued 2.4 billion yen or $20 million, following the “zeroth” fund Batavia Incubator launched in 2011 in partnership with Indonesian financial conglomerate Corfina as well as the first fund launched in 2011.

In population, India is expected to exceed China and become the world’s most populous country within 15 years. Regarding the number of smartphone users, India will overtake the U.S. to rank in as the second largest market globally in 2016 (according to eMarketer, December 2014). E-commerce providers in India, such as Flipkart, Amazon India, and Snapdeal, are seeing a good growth, while leading U.S.-based  investment firms like Google Capital and Tiger recently established their local offices in India at the beginning of this year.

Among Japanese leading companies, Softbank announced last year that they would strengthen massive investment efforts in India, investing in Snapdeal, taxi-hailing app Ola, and Locon Solutions, the company behind India’s leading property search portal Housing.com.

Upon forming the new fund, Rebright Partners appointed Brij Bhasin, who previously worked at Bangalore-based accelerator GSF, as an investment manager in India while inviting former Deloitte Tohmatsu employee Takumi Kawai as an investment manager for the Southeast Asian market.

In India, Rebright Partners has invested in four local startups including Tookitaki (big data analysis) and Newsinsorts (curated news app) thus far, while also considering to invest in several e-commerce app startups.

According to Rebright Partners’ Takeshi Ebihara, Japanese mobile apps like Smartnews or Mercari are doing well not only in Japan but also globally, so Rebright Partners wants to bring these experiences from the Japanese mobile industry to startup ecosystems in India as well as Southeast Asia to help them grow further and faster.

Rebright Partners' Takeshi Ebihara
Rebright Partners’ Takeshi Ebihara

Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

3 Japanese internet companies to launch mobile video ad network targeting females

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This is a part of our coverage of B Dash Camp Fukuoka 2015.See the original story in Japanese. Japan’s largest cosmetics portal company iStyle (TSE:3660), internet portal company Excite Japan (TSE:3754), and startup-focused VC firm Incubate Fund announced on Friday that they have jointly launched a company called Open8, focused on providing a women-targeted video ad network for smartphone users. iStyle COO Yuko Takamatsu was appointed as CEO of Open8. We could hear from him about details at the recent B Dash Camp event in Fukuoka. Open8 will be an ad network platform specifically focused on the F1 layer in Japan, women aged from 25 to 34, expecting to reach 15 million female users leveraging existing user bases from iStyle and Excite Japan. Takamatsu claimed that they will let other leading media involved to reach 30 million female users when start selling ad slots. This launched was supported by continuous descending price and performance of desktop PC advertising. It was told that the online advertising market was valued over $8.3 billion in Japan, but advertising rates kept descending. Takamatsu’s opinion is now a common understanding for all the people in the Japanese online media industry. Meanwhile, despite a rapid shift…

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From the left: Open8 CEO-designate / iStyle COO Yuko Takamatsu, iStyle COO Kei Sugawara

This is a part of our coverage of B Dash Camp Fukuoka 2015.
See the original story in Japanese.

Japan’s largest cosmetics portal company iStyle (TSE:3660), internet portal company Excite Japan (TSE:3754), and startup-focused VC firm Incubate Fund announced on Friday that they have jointly launched a company called Open8, focused on providing a women-targeted video ad network for smartphone users. iStyle COO Yuko Takamatsu was appointed as CEO of Open8. We could hear from him about details at the recent B Dash Camp event in Fukuoka.

Open8 will be an ad network platform specifically focused on the F1 layer in Japan, women aged from 25 to 34, expecting to reach 15 million female users leveraging existing user bases from iStyle and Excite Japan. Takamatsu claimed that they will let other leading media involved to reach 30 million female users when start selling ad slots.

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Japanese women-targeted media sites planned to participate in the Videotap mobile ad network.

This launched was supported by continuous descending price and performance of desktop PC advertising.

It was told that the online advertising market was valued over $8.3 billion in Japan, but advertising rates kept descending.

Takamatsu’s opinion is now a common understanding for all the people in the Japanese online media industry.

Meanwhile, despite a rapid shift to mobile from PC, there’s a huge space to explore and develop more in the mobile advertising industry. Takamatsu didn’t undisclosed exact numbers but told us there are more than a little mobile ad inventory remaining unsold. By targeting this space, Takamatsu wants to grab the chance of a once-in-ten-years paradigm shift in the marketing industry.

So they had their eyes on the mobile video space which is now stress-free for users thanks to recent advances in mobile networking and higher penetration of smart devices. They are aiming to shift the big advertising budget of Japanese national clients from TV and other broadcast advertising into the mobile advertising space.

Open8 is planning to launch a video ad network for smartphones called Videotap. To see how it works, check out the video below.

As can be seen, Videotap gives users no chance to skip a video ad clip while watching but shows it in an unscrolled frame in the upper side of the screen so that one doesn’t look away. When the 15-second clip is finished, it will be folded into a small banner frame. The service will be offered on an impression-guaranteed basis.

In addition to women-targeted mobile video advertising, we were told that Open8 plans to launch another advertising service focused on mobile game apps.

Translated by Masaru Ikeda
Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

TheaterLive4u app showcases Japanese theatrical plays on mobile devices

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This is a part of our coverage of B Dash Camp Fukuoka 2015. Osaka-based Nextage, a startup that broadcasts theatrical plays online, launched the English version of a mobile app called TheaterLive4U earlier this month, enabling theatrical performance fans around the world to watch Japanese plays on mobile devices. The app features more than 200 titles performed by over 60 theatrical companies, and selected titles are provided with English subtitles. The app is available for free on the iTunes AppStore and Google Play, but a flat fee starting at 980 yen ($8) per month will be charged to watch the plays. The revenue will be split 70:30 between a theatrical company and Nextage, which will give theatrical companies an additional revenue stream even after a show closes, helping struggling actors and actresses make a better living in show business. At the B Dash Camp event in Fukuoka on Thursday, Nextage was chosen as one of 54 nominees from more than 100 applicants in the pitch competition, where CEO Manabu Fukui gave a great pitch to a crowd of investors and entrepreneurs. Edited by Kurt Hanson

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This is a part of our coverage of B Dash Camp Fukuoka 2015.

Osaka-based Nextage, a startup that broadcasts theatrical plays online, launched the English version of a mobile app called TheaterLive4U earlier this month, enabling theatrical performance fans around the world to watch Japanese plays on mobile devices. The app features more than 200 titles performed by over 60 theatrical companies, and selected titles are provided with English subtitles.

The app is available for free on the iTunes AppStore and Google Play, but a flat fee starting at 980 yen ($8) per month will be charged to watch the plays. The revenue will be split 70:30 between a theatrical company and Nextage, which will give theatrical companies an additional revenue stream even after a show closes, helping struggling actors and actresses make a better living in show business.

At the B Dash Camp event in Fukuoka on Thursday, Nextage was chosen as one of 54 nominees from more than 100 applicants in the pitch competition, where CEO Manabu Fukui gave a great pitch to a crowd of investors and entrepreneurs.

Edited by Kurt Hanson

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Manabu Fukui delivers a pitch at B Dash Camp 2015 Spring in Fukuoka, Pitch Arena competition.

Japan’s mobile commerce startup Origami raises $13.3 million

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Tokyo-based Origami, a Japanese startup providing mobile commerce platform under the same name, announced today that it has fundraised 1.6 billion yen ($13.3 million) from Japan’s leading mobile telco Softbank Group, major credit card company Credit Saison, and Japanese angel investor Makoto Takano. See also: Stealth m-commerce startup Origami raises $5M from KDDI and DAC Since its launch in April 2013, the mobile platform has attracted more than 800 merchants from various retailing industries because of serving both their online and offline storefronts leveraging social media-powered promoting functions. In partnership with Softbank Group, Origami plans to launch a new function that will allow merchants to distribute vouchers for product samples or discount coupons even offline via Softbank’s voucher issuing machine called CouponGate. In partnership with Credit Saison, Origami will drive traffic of their users to Credit Saison and vice versa, aiming to develop big data solutions and new payments solutions together. Makoto Takano launched Forbes Japan in July 2014 and is also famous as the former president of Pimco Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of US-based Pacific Investment Management Company. Edited by Kurt Hanson

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Tokyo-based Origami, a Japanese startup providing mobile commerce platform under the same name, announced today that it has fundraised 1.6 billion yen ($13.3 million) from Japan’s leading mobile telco Softbank Group, major credit card company Credit Saison, and Japanese angel investor Makoto Takano.

See also:

Since its launch in April 2013, the mobile platform has attracted more than 800 merchants from various retailing industries because of serving both their online and offline storefronts leveraging social media-powered promoting functions.

In partnership with Softbank Group, Origami plans to launch a new function that will allow merchants to distribute vouchers for product samples or discount coupons even offline via Softbank’s voucher issuing machine called CouponGate. In partnership with Credit Saison, Origami will drive traffic of their users to Credit Saison and vice versa, aiming to develop big data solutions and new payments solutions together.

Makoto Takano launched Forbes Japan in July 2014 and is also famous as the former president of Pimco Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of US-based Pacific Investment Management Company.

Edited by Kurt Hanson

Japan’s Fukurou Labo secures funds from B Dash Ventures to deep link mobile apps

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See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Fukurou Labo, a startup providing marketing solutions for smartphone apps, today officially launched a ‘deep link’ optimization platform called Circuit. Coinciding with this, the company announced that it has fundraised an undisclosed sum from Japanese investment firm B Dash Ventures. See also: Japan’s Fukurou Labo launches ‘deep linking’ solution for mobile developers Deep link lets users jump to a specific page on a mobile app rather than its top page. By using the Circuit platform and embedding its JavaScript tag on your website, it allows users to show your content via your mobile app rather than a web browser if users have installed your app on their handset. For instance, this solution can be adopted to a service that requests you to input your profile in the login process despite the fact that a native mobile app for the service has already acquired your profile through Facebook login, etc. So if you have an account for the service, a native mobile app rather than a web app allows you to skip several input processes, which improves the user experience. This is how Circuit can benefit users. Launching the solution in beta last year,…

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Fukurou Labo CEO Sho Shimizu

See the original story in Japanese.

Tokyo-based Fukurou Labo, a startup providing marketing solutions for smartphone apps, today officially launched a ‘deep link’ optimization platform called Circuit. Coinciding with this, the company announced that it has fundraised an undisclosed sum from Japanese investment firm B Dash Ventures.

See also:

Deep link lets users jump to a specific page on a mobile app rather than its top page. By using the Circuit platform and embedding its JavaScript tag on your website, it allows users to show your content via your mobile app rather than a web browser if users have installed your app on their handset.

For instance, this solution can be adopted to a service that requests you to input your profile in the login process despite the fact that a native mobile app for the service has already acquired your profile through Facebook login, etc. So if you have an account for the service, a native mobile app rather than a web app allows you to skip several input processes, which improves the user experience. This is how Circuit can benefit users.

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Image credit: Facebook Developers

Launching the solution in beta last year, Fukurou Labo is offering the official version with a twist in distribution tactics since they learned there are very few deep link-enabled apps in Japan.

Fukurou Labo CEO Sho Shimizu explained:

After analyzing the top 200 sites by access traffic in the US and Japan, we learned that only 3% of mobile apps support deep linking in Japan, in contrast to 28% in the US.

That’s why the company provides SDK (software development kit) from the official version instead of offering a Java Script tag in the beta version, allowing third-party developers to integrate the solution with their mobile apps. Only a freemium plan is available now, which supports up to 1 billion requests through the SDK.

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Translated by Masaru Ikeda
Edited by Kurt Hanson

Asia’s mobile flea market app Duriana raises $2.5 million from Beenos, others

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See the original story in Japanese. Duriana Internet, a Malaysia- and the Philippines-based startup that provides mobile flea market app Duriana, has secured $2.5 million from Japanese internet company Beenos (TSE:3328) and existing investors, as well as Austria-/Singapore-based VC firm Alps Ventures. Beenos takes an over 10% stake in Duriana upon this round. In view of Beenos’ investment in this sector, the company invested in Fablic, the Japanese startup behind flea market app Fril, back in August of 2012. Duriana has listed over 600,000 items to date, providing an escrow system called Duriana Safe Payments, which assures safety for peer-to-peer transactions between users. Translated by Masaru Ikeda Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

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See the original story in Japanese.

Duriana Internet, a Malaysia- and the Philippines-based startup that provides mobile flea market app Duriana, has secured $2.5 million from Japanese internet company Beenos (TSE:3328) and existing investors, as well as Austria-/Singapore-based VC firm Alps Ventures.

Beenos takes an over 10% stake in Duriana upon this round. In view of Beenos’ investment in this sector, the company invested in Fablic, the Japanese startup behind flea market app Fril, back in August of 2012.

Duriana has listed over 600,000 items to date, providing an escrow system called Duriana Safe Payments, which assures safety for peer-to-peer transactions between users.

Translated by Masaru Ikeda
Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

Japan Self Defense Forces introduces its first mobile game app

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Japan Self Defense Forces (JSDF) introduced its first mobile game app earlier this week, aiming to increase public awareness of the importance of their presence and defending Japan. It is available for Android on Google Play but an iOS version will follow soon. The game is named J-Collection after the Japanese name of the forces, which lets one defend one’s home from enemies using figures of officers in the app. Starting with a title called “Defend your kitchen garden!”  JSDF will publish a new mission in the app every month, so one may enjoy playing any of 21 different roles in the forces as if an officer. Each of three different self-defense forces – Ground, Maritime, and Air – has published their video promoting the app, featuring real officers, tanks and jet fighters, so these are also a must watch for army geeks. In view of mobile role-playing game apps by military or defense forces in the world, we’ve seen Make It Fly by the US Air Forces, Pier Pressure (Android/iOS) by the US Navy, and Golden Helmet by the People’s Liberation Army of China. Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

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Japan Self Defense Forces (JSDF) introduced its first mobile game app earlier this week, aiming to increase public awareness of the importance of their presence and defending Japan. It is available for Android on Google Play but an iOS version will follow soon.

The game is named J-Collection after the Japanese name of the forces, which lets one defend one’s home from enemies using figures of officers in the app. Starting with a title called “Defend your kitchen garden!”  JSDF will publish a new mission in the app every month, so one may enjoy playing any of 21 different roles in the forces as if an officer.

Each of three different self-defense forces – Ground, Maritime, and Air – has published their video promoting the app, featuring real officers, tanks and jet fighters, so these are also a must watch for army geeks.

In view of mobile role-playing game apps by military or defense forces in the world, we’ve seen Make It Fly by the US Air Forces, Pier Pressure (Android/iOS) by the US Navy, and Golden Helmet by the People’s Liberation Army of China.

Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

Japan’s mobile app analytics startup Fuller raises $1.9 million for global expansion

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This is the abridged version from our original article in Japanese. Fuller, a Japanese startup that provides market survey and analytics focused on mobile apps, announced today that it has fundraised 230 million yen ($1.9 million) from Global Catalyst Partners (vc firm), Colopl (gaming company), Opt (digital ad agency), The Asahi Shimbun (newspaper publishing), Nihon Kotsu (cab operator), Infoteria (system integrator), and unnamed individual investors. This follows their previous round funding 100 million yen from UK-based m8 capital and Tokyo-based internet service provider Asahi Net in 2012. See also: Amazing gesture control Ring wins Tokyo pitch event, moves on to SF Japan Night Fuller is based out of KOIL (Kashiwa-no-ha Open Innovation Lab), a startup hub in Tokyo’s suburb, has developed Mr. Mobile, the battery saver (previously known as I’m Joe, the battery saver) and a mobile app-focused audience rating and analytics service called App Ape. App Ape allows app developers to conduct a market survey and a competitive research, and has acquired over 2,000 app developers as users since its launch in November 2014. App Ape uses a methodology similar to an audience rating for TV programs like Nielsen does to measure viewership, acquiring data from randomly-selected mobile users…

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This is the abridged version from our original article in Japanese.

Fuller, a Japanese startup that provides market survey and analytics focused on mobile apps, announced today that it has fundraised 230 million yen ($1.9 million) from Global Catalyst Partners (vc firm), Colopl (gaming company), Opt (digital ad agency), The Asahi Shimbun (newspaper publishing), Nihon Kotsu (cab operator), Infoteria (system integrator), and unnamed individual investors. This follows their previous round funding 100 million yen from UK-based m8 capital and Tokyo-based internet service provider Asahi Net in 2012.

See also:

Fuller is based out of KOIL (Kashiwa-no-ha Open Innovation Lab), a startup hub in Tokyo’s suburb, has developed Mr. Mobile, the battery saver (previously known as I’m Joe, the battery saver) and a mobile app-focused audience rating and analytics service called App Ape. App Ape allows app developers to conduct a market survey and a competitive research, and has acquired over 2,000 app developers as users since its launch in November 2014.

App Ape uses a methodology similar to an audience rating for TV programs like Nielsen does to measure viewership, acquiring data from randomly-selected mobile users who have acknowledged to provide information like what apps they have installed on their mobile or how often these apps are used, using App Ape’s monitoring app installed on their device.

According to Fuller CEO Shuta Shibuya, the App Ape service has been adopted by notable Japanese internet companies such as Gunosy, Eureka, and Adways. They plan to expand to mainland China, Taiwan, and Hong Kong, as well as launching the survey service in Korea and three US cities by the end of this year. Also they will introduce a usage optimization app for global smartphone users and the next generation version of the Mr. Mobile, the battery saver app.

Fuller CEO Shuta Shibuya
Fuller CEO Shuta Shibuya

Translated by Masaru Ikeda
Edited by Kurt Hanson
Proofread by “Tex” Pomeroy

Yoyo launches rewards platform in Indonesia, offers free internet access to Android users

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Manila-based Yoyo Holdings [1], the Japanese-led startup known for its mobile rewards platform Candy, announced last week that it has launched a lock screen-based rewards platform for Android users in Indonesia, called PopSlide. The app is available on Google Play in Indonesia. The platform distributes news, weather forecasts, other updates, and ads to your smartphone lock screen. In return for viewing such information, users receive rewards for free Internet access on their smartphone. See also: Mobile rewards startup Yoyo Holdings raises $1.3 million From Infinity Ventures Summit in Kyoto: 13 startups pitch at Launch Pad competition Prior to Indonesia, Yoyo Holdings launched PopSlide in the Philippines in August last year, where the app surpassed 100,000 downloads in only 10 days after launch and stayed on top of the free Lifestyle Category of the Google Play store for 30 days. Their advertisers include major global brands such as McDonald’s, Nestle, Unilever, Intel, and CNN. Yoyo Holdings will launch the service in India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, aiming to serve over 400 million Android users in Southeast Asia. Edited by Kurt Hanson Incorporated in Singapore. ↩

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Manila-based Yoyo Holdings [1], the Japanese-led startup known for its mobile rewards platform Candy, announced last week that it has launched a lock screen-based rewards platform for Android users in Indonesia, called PopSlide. The app is available on Google Play in Indonesia.

The platform distributes news, weather forecasts, other updates, and ads to your smartphone lock screen. In return for viewing such information, users receive rewards for free Internet access on their smartphone.

See also:

Prior to Indonesia, Yoyo Holdings launched PopSlide in the Philippines in August last year, where the app surpassed 100,000 downloads in only 10 days after launch and stayed on top of the free Lifestyle Category of the Google Play store for 30 days. Their advertisers include major global brands such as McDonald’s, Nestle, Unilever, Intel, and CNN.

Yoyo Holdings will launch the service in India, Vietnam, Thailand, and Malaysia, aiming to serve over 400 million Android users in Southeast Asia.

Edited by Kurt Hanson


  1. Incorporated in Singapore.

Japan’s Fringe81 secures $3.5M, strengthening ad server solutions for mobile media sites

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Tokyo-based ad tech startup Fringe81 announced on Friday that it has fundraised 420 million yen (about $3.53 million) from iStyle Capital, NTT Docomo Ventures, Gree, Dentsu Digital Holdings, and TBS Innovation Partners [1]. The company will use the funds to strengthen human resources for further  development of ad server solutions for mobile media sites. Fringe81 was launched in 2005 under the former name of RSS Kokokusha (literally meaning RSS ad agency) where they had been focused on advertising in RSS feeds. Rebranded to Fringe81 in 2010, the company has added several new ad tech solutions including Digitalice, a cloud-based ad server platform that allows advertisers and media companies to analyze ad performance as well as user behavior and how these users crawl the websites after viewing ads. Coinciding with the funding, Fringe81 announced that Kazuhiro Obara, former executive director at Rakuten and former senior manager at Google Japan, has joined the management board in order to accelerate business development. Via TechCrunch Japan Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy iStyle Capital is the investment arm of iStyle, the company behind Japan’s leading cosmetics review portal @Cosme. TBS Innovation Partners is the investment arm of Tokyo-based private broadcaster Tokyo Broadcasting System, or TBS for short.  ↩

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Fringe81 CEO Yuzuru Tanaka speaks at Movida School in 2013. Photo by Shintaro Eguchi

Tokyo-based ad tech startup Fringe81 announced on Friday that it has fundraised 420 million yen (about $3.53 million) from iStyle Capital, NTT Docomo Ventures, Gree, Dentsu Digital Holdings, and TBS Innovation Partners [1]. The company will use the funds to strengthen human resources for further  development of ad server solutions for mobile media sites.

Fringe81 was launched in 2005 under the former name of RSS Kokokusha (literally meaning RSS ad agency) where they had been focused on advertising in RSS feeds. Rebranded to Fringe81 in 2010, the company has added several new ad tech solutions including Digitalice, a cloud-based ad server platform that allows advertisers and media companies to analyze ad performance as well as user behavior and how these users crawl the websites after viewing ads.

Coinciding with the funding, Fringe81 announced that Kazuhiro Obara, former executive director at Rakuten and former senior manager at Google Japan, has joined the management board in order to accelerate business development.

Via TechCrunch Japan

Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy


  1. iStyle Capital is the investment arm of iStyle, the company behind Japan’s leading cosmetics review portal @Cosme. TBS Innovation Partners is the investment arm of Tokyo-based private broadcaster Tokyo Broadcasting System, or TBS for short.