news

AI medical startup Ubie gets estimated $2.7M from Osaka power company’s VC arm

Ubie

SCORE 1,277

The Bridge 2018.05.22

See the original story in Japanese. Japan’s Ubie, providing AI (Artificial Intelligence)-driven medical services such as AI Monshin Ubie and Dr. Ubie, announced this month that it had raised funds from Kanden Venture Management (KVM) which is a corporate venture capital of The Kansai Electric Power Company headquartered in Osaka. The amount raised and the investment round have not been disclosed but are estimated to be about 300 million yen (about $2.7 million) in its series A round judging from the disclosed information and the previous round, the 60 million yen (about $550,000)-fundraising from D4V in its seed round conducted last September. The Japan version of KISS…Keep-It-Simple-Security method in vogue among overseas startups today… is said to have been utilized. Ubie was founded in May of 2015 by Dr. Yoshinori Abe, a medical practitioner who formerly worked at The University of Tokyo Hospital, and engineer Kouta Kubo formerly serving at the Japanese medical information service major M3. So far, Ubie has launched two products: AI Monshin Ubie and Dr. Ubie. AI Monshin Ubie is the AI-driven medical inquiry SaaS (Software as a Service) targeting users at medical institutions, in order to support document creation of clinical records under supervision from…

Yoshinori Abe (center right), Kouta Kubo (center left) and the team member of Ubie.
Image credit: Ubie

See the original story in Japanese.

Japan’s Ubie, providing AI (Artificial Intelligence)-driven medical services such as AI Monshin Ubie and Dr. Ubie, announced this month that it had raised funds from Kanden Venture Management (KVM) which is a corporate venture capital of The Kansai Electric Power Company headquartered in Osaka. The amount raised and the investment round have not been disclosed but are estimated to be about 300 million yen (about $2.7 million) in its series A round judging from the disclosed information and the previous round, the 60 million yen (about $550,000)-fundraising from D4V in its seed round conducted last September. The Japan version of KISS…Keep-It-Simple-Security method in vogue among overseas startups today… is said to have been utilized.

Ubie was founded in May of 2015 by Dr. Yoshinori Abe, a medical practitioner who formerly worked at The University of Tokyo Hospital, and engineer Kouta Kubo formerly serving at the Japanese medical information service major M3. So far, Ubie has launched two products: AI Monshin Ubie and Dr. Ubie.

AI Monshin Ubie is the AI-driven medical inquiry SaaS (Software as a Service) targeting users at medical institutions, in order to support document creation of clinical records under supervision from specialists. The firm launched the beta version last year and has been providing the product version to 50 institutions as of last December. Using natural language processing and question-setting algorithm, it automatically creates clinical document templates using AI-driven inquiry according to each patient’s answer type. It will contribute to time reduction in doctors’ desk work and patients’ wait time. From this month, it starts up operation at Hitachi General Hospital, and also planned for joint multi-center research with Miyazaki University commencing this summer.

Dr. Ubie is a disease prediction app for general users. This app was developed based on AI technology to detect future risk for diseases. It leverages Abe’s experience in latest medical treatment technology as well as knowledge of medical care for the elderly; it also adopted the disease name prediction algorithm based on probability / statistical model and machine learning technology.

Ubie was born out of the life science accelerator program Zentech Dojo Nihonbashi 4th batch, managed by the hardcore startup accelerator Indee Japan. With this fundraising, Ubie announced that it will enhance the function of AI Monshin Ubie for business expansion while carrying out overseas market development for Dr. Ubie.

Translated by Taijiro Takeda
Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

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Japanese smart lock Akerun secures $9M to foray into entrance/exit logging business

Takeshi Hirano 2018.05.22

See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based startup Photosynth, developing and offering smart lock Akerun as well as SaaS to manage entrances and exits, announced earlier this month that it raised funds from Globis Capital Partners, Daiwa Corporate Investment, and YJ Capital. The funds raised this time around total about 1 billion yen (about $9.1M US) when added to loans procured from the Japan Finance Corporation and Orix, and brings the cumulative amount of funding to 1.5 billion yen (roughly $13.7M US). Details such as the payment date, investment round, and share ratios were not disclosed, and Globis Capital Partners’ Emre Hidekazu Yuasa was appointed as Outside Director. In addition, the company also revealed that Akerun Pro, a smart lock for businesses, has been introduced by 2,500 companies since its launch in July 2016. In particular, industries which handle personal information such as recruiting, finance, and social work, in addition to companies with multiple offices, and coworking spaces have adopted it. The company will use the funds raised to double the current team of 50 members (this number is based on full-time employees) within two years. Specifically, it plans to strengthen its sales and support systems in order to respond…

See the original story in Japanese.

Tokyo-based startup Photosynth, developing and offering smart lock Akerun as well as SaaS to manage entrances and exits, announced earlier this month that it raised funds from Globis Capital Partners, Daiwa Corporate Investment, and YJ Capital. The funds raised this time around total about 1 billion yen (about $9.1M US) when added to loans procured from the Japan Finance Corporation and Orix, and brings the cumulative amount of funding to 1.5 billion yen (roughly $13.7M US).

Details such as the payment date, investment round, and share ratios were not disclosed, and Globis Capital Partners’ Emre Hidekazu Yuasa was appointed as Outside Director.

In addition, the company also revealed that Akerun Pro, a smart lock for businesses, has been introduced by 2,500 companies since its launch in July 2016. In particular, industries which handle personal information such as recruiting, finance, and social work, in addition to companies with multiple offices, and coworking spaces have adopted it.

The company will use the funds raised to double the current team of 50 members (this number is based on full-time employees) within two years. Specifically, it plans to strengthen its sales and support systems in order to respond to the increase in inquiries, and its goal is to be introduced in 10,000 companies by 2020.

Amendments to the Personal Information Protection Law Prove Helpful

Demo of the door installation (Akerun Pro)

Since its inception in September of 2014, Photosynth, which has often been featured on The Bridge, succeeded in raising a large-scale sum. By attaching Akerun Pro to a door handle, it is possible to lock or unlock the door using a smartphone or IC card. It is also linked to the cloud and can issue keys and manage a log of who enters and leaves through the door. There are no introductory costs as the company uses a monthly subscription model for renting the equipment and using web services. It is set at 15,000 yen (around $137 US) per month.

If we take a rough look at the domestic market for this smart lock, there are many uncertainties due to regulations with regards to Airbnb and the like, which the business model favors, and we get the impression that the company is working towards more reliable business development, evident in its partnerships with real estate and other companies.

As mentioned above, Photosynth is using a monthly subscription model, as opposed to selling the product until there is no more. On the business side, if the company does not have a revenue model that can anticipate new business, as the vacation rentals business does, it would definitely run into the problem of the product selling out.

However, right now, the business couldn’t be better. When I asked the company’s CEO Kodai Kawase the reason, it seems that the revision last year of the Personal Information Protection Law had a surprising effect.

According to the amendment of the Personal Information Protection Law in May 2017, roughly speaking, those who do business through memberships are supposed to take entrance and exit logs, but the introduction costs of existing entry and exit systems cost around 1 million yen (about $9.1KUS), including security services.

There are a multitude of small and medium sized businesses that take the personal information of their members. According to Kawase, it is necessary that the companies maintain “entrance/exit logs”, and with the advantage of no introductory cost, inquiries into Akerun keep coming one after another.

Users can get a key by registering through the smartphone app or with an IC card, like those used for public transit.

And there’s more.

Because of the entrance/exit log, it is possible to keep track of who is entering and exiting, so who is working or not working. Yes, that is one way to respond to the problem of overwork. Solutions for overwork, which has become a social problem in recent years, have garnered much attention, and there are many requests for ways to link them to attendance.

Naturally, if such solutions become a part of the service, the argument for monthly subscriptions is strengthened.

On the day of the interview, Kawase gave a demo of how to attach Akerun to a door, but it was easy to complete from installation to registering the key by smartphone in a few minutes. It may take time to set up the cloud service and various onboarding, but this hurdle is low compared to services that require actual alterations to a door.

I feel that Photosynth’s transformation from selling smart locks to taking on the challenge of the “entrance/exit log” is the reason behind its large-scale fundraising.

Translated by Amanda Imasaka
Edited by Masaru Ikeda

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Japan’s low-carb food delivery service Nosh gets $2.7M seed round from Nissay Capital

Miraie
NOSH

SCORE 3,959

Masaru Ikeda 2018.05.21

See the original story in Japanese. Osaka-based Miraie, which develops and provides the low carb delivery food service Nosh, revealed last week that it successfully raised around 300 million yen (about $2.7M US) from Nissay Capital and its own founding members in the seed round. The company simultaneously officially launched Nosh’s service. Miraie was founded by Japanese serial entrepreneur Tomoya Tanaka back in 2016. He previously founded Uniquest Online, offering the optimal service for finding a funeral home. After concentrating on businesses that solve social problems that cause information irregularities this time around Tanaka chose the big themes of “Health” and “Food”. We have been hearing of carbohydrate diets for awhile now, but whether at home or eating outside, it is difficult to actually avoid carbs when choosing foods. If you choose foods low in calories, you end up with the majority of foods containing a lot of carbs. A diet that consists of excessive carbohydrates not only leads to an increase in triglycerides, but can also lead an increased likelihood of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure. Miraie developed its own lunch plates, risotto, and snack menu which are offered at low prices despite being low…

Food samples by Nosh
Image credit: Miraie

See the original story in Japanese.

Osaka-based Miraie, which develops and provides the low carb delivery food service Nosh, revealed last week that it successfully raised around 300 million yen (about $2.7M US) from Nissay Capital and its own founding members in the seed round. The company simultaneously officially launched Nosh’s service.

Miraie was founded by Japanese serial entrepreneur Tomoya Tanaka back in 2016. He previously founded Uniquest Online, offering the optimal service for finding a funeral home. After concentrating on businesses that solve social problems that cause information irregularities this time around Tanaka chose the big themes of “Health” and “Food”.

We have been hearing of carbohydrate diets for awhile now, but whether at home or eating outside, it is difficult to actually avoid carbs when choosing foods. If you choose foods low in calories, you end up with the majority of foods containing a lot of carbs. A diet that consists of excessive carbohydrates not only leads to an increase in triglycerides, but can also lead an increased likelihood of lifestyle diseases such as diabetes and high blood pressure.

Miraie developed its own lunch plates, risotto, and snack menu which are offered at low prices despite being low carb, high protein, and low salt. Users can order online or offline and have the food delivered to their house or office via a refrigerated courier. It is easy to prepare the delicious and well balanced meals by simply heating them in a microwave or in boiling water.

Frozen Nosh food plates as they are delivered
Image credit: Miraie

Since the preliminary launch last October, Nosh has continued beta testing as a subscription service that allows users to select from set menus which arrive all together, but there were a surprising amount of user requests with regards to their food likes and dislikes, such as “I want to avoid dishes with fish”. As a result, the company recently renewed the service to offer a menu that allows users to choose freely. In April the company acquired a food factory that can produce many dishes in small amounts, and in preparation for full-scale operation of the service it established a system that can produce up to 200,000 meals per month with four chefs and a few dozen part-timers.

Miraie has joined with a number of big name gyms and fitness clubs throughout Japan, making it simple for members to receive the food delivery at home. Developing a sales channel among people who are well-informed about their health appears to be effective. One example of this approach from food to health and diet that readers may remember is the partnership of Office De Yasai with leading fitness gym chain Rizap.

While lifestyle diseases are said to account for about 60% of deaths and about 30% of medical expenses, becoming healthy through a change in eating habits also leads to a reduction in the financial pressures of the country and health associations. By conducting business in this field, the company can probably expect not only the interest of private companies and individuals, but also backing from public organizations.

See also:

Japanese on-demand vege delivery startup raises $423,000 from mayo giant Kewpie

Translated by Amanda Imasaka
Edited by Masaru Ikeda

news

Japanese C2C marketplace app unicorn Mercari files for IPO

Mercari

The Bridge 2018.05.20

See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-headquartered Mercari announced on Monday that its IPO application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has been approved. The company will be listed on the TSE Mothers Market on 19 June. Daiwa Securities will lead the underwriting. Mercari was founded in 2013 by Shintaro Yamada who previously founded social game developer Unoh (subsequently acquired by Zynga). The company is well known for offering a mobile-focused C2C (consumer-to-consumer) marketplace but recently launched a bike-sharing service called Merchari as well as Mercari Fund to invest in other startups while developing a financial service called Merpay. According to the consolidated statement as of June of 2017, they posted a revenue of 22 billion yen (about $200 million, about 180% increase from last fiscal year) with an ordinary loss of 4.2 billion yen ($38 million, 1,200% increase). Led by the company’s founder/CEO Shintaro Yamada (28.83%), United (10.59%), co-founder Hiroshi Tomishima (7.20%) and Global Brain (5.60%) head up the top investors’ roster. See our past coverage of Mercari here. Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

See the original story in Japanese.

Tokyo-headquartered Mercari announced on Monday that its IPO application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has been approved. The company will be listed on the TSE Mothers Market on 19 June. Daiwa Securities will lead the underwriting.

Mercari was founded in 2013 by Shintaro Yamada who previously founded social game developer Unoh (subsequently acquired by Zynga). The company is well known for offering a mobile-focused C2C (consumer-to-consumer) marketplace but recently launched a bike-sharing service called Merchari as well as Mercari Fund to invest in other startups while developing a financial service called Merpay.

According to the consolidated statement as of June of 2017, they posted a revenue of 22 billion yen (about $200 million, about 180% increase from last fiscal year) with an ordinary loss of 4.2 billion yen ($38 million, 1,200% increase). Led by the company’s founder/CEO Shintaro Yamada (28.83%), United (10.59%), co-founder Hiroshi Tomishima (7.20%) and Global Brain (5.60%) head up the top investors’ roster.

See our past coverage of Mercari here.

Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

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Japanese native ad platform startup Logly files for IPO

Logly

The Bridge 2018.05.20

See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Logly, a startup running an internet ad platform and recommendation service, announced on Thursday that its IPO application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has been approved. The company will be listed on the TSE Mothers Market on 20 June. SMBC Nikko Securities will lead the underwriting. Since its launch back in 2006, the company has been offering Logly (demand-side platform), Logly Lift (enabling the placement of text-based ads on their partner media sites), Newzia Connect (context matching recommendation engine) and other services. In addition to Logly Lift, their primary revenue streams include Loyalfarm which was launched in November of 2016 to help media sites better engage their users. As to disclosure, Logly raised 120 million yen (approximately $1.15 million at the exchange rate then) from CA Mobile, Voyage Ventures, Mizuho Capital and SMBC Venture Capital in December of 2013, then subsequently 300 million yen ($2.86 million) in June of 2015. The funds in 2015 made the startup a Voyage Group subsidiary when accounting through use of the equity method. According to the consolidated statement as of March of 2017, they posted a revenue of 911.8 million yen (about $8.3 million) with an…

See the original story in Japanese.

Tokyo-based Logly, a startup running an internet ad platform and recommendation service, announced on Thursday that its IPO application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has been approved. The company will be listed on the TSE Mothers Market on 20 June. SMBC Nikko Securities will lead the underwriting.

Since its launch back in 2006, the company has been offering Logly (demand-side platform), Logly Lift (enabling the placement of text-based ads on their partner media sites), Newzia Connect (context matching recommendation engine) and other services. In addition to Logly Lift, their primary revenue streams include Loyalfarm which was launched in November of 2016 to help media sites better engage their users.

As to disclosure, Logly raised 120 million yen (approximately $1.15 million at the exchange rate then) from CA Mobile, Voyage Ventures, Mizuho Capital and SMBC Venture Capital in December of 2013, then subsequently 300 million yen ($2.86 million) in June of 2015. The funds in 2015 made the startup a Voyage Group subsidiary when accounting through use of the equity method.

According to the consolidated statement as of March of 2017, they posted a revenue of 911.8 million yen (about $8.3 million) with an ordinary profit of 49.9 million yen ($454,000) and a net profit of 63.5 million yen ($577,000). Led by the company’s CEO Hirokazu Yoshinaga (30.79%), its major shareholders include the company’s director Masahisa Kishimoto (17.98%), Voyage Group (15.24%), IT Media (5.36%), Voyage Ventures (5.24%) and CA Mobile (5.18%).

Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

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Bangkok’s ad-wrapping startup Flare secures seed round from Japan’s KLab and Framgia

Flare

The Bridge 2018.05.15

See the original story in Japanese. Bangkok-based Flare, offering an ad-wrapping service for car owners under the same name, announced today that it has secured seed round funding from KLab Venture Partners and Framgia Holdings. Framgia Holdings is an Asia-focused investment arm of Japanese system integrator Framgia. Financial terms have not been disclosed but Flare said it will use the funds to strengthen system engineering and international expansion efforts. The Flare users owning automobiles log onto the service via a mobile app available, and selects a desired one from among campaigns offered by advertisers. After applying for the campaign through uploading photos of the auto and driver license, a wrapper will come and wrap the auto in the ad. The GPS information of driving record while putting the ad will be sent to Flare via the app. Each campaign budget is set by advertisers in advance and when an auto with the ad drives on a busy main street on a weekend, the budget will be greatly spent. Conversely, the budget will be spent less in local areas having minimal traffic under Flare’s charge system. Advertisers can confirm the spending pace of the budget or the progress of the campaign…

See the original story in Japanese.

Bangkok-based Flare, offering an ad-wrapping service for car owners under the same name, announced today that it has secured seed round funding from KLab Venture Partners and Framgia Holdings. Framgia Holdings is an Asia-focused investment arm of Japanese system integrator Framgia. Financial terms have not been disclosed but Flare said it will use the funds to strengthen system engineering and international expansion efforts.

The Flare users owning automobiles log onto the service via a mobile app available, and selects a desired one from among campaigns offered by advertisers. After applying for the campaign through uploading photos of the auto and driver license, a wrapper will come and wrap the auto in the ad. The GPS information of driving record while putting the ad will be sent to Flare via the app.

A car wrapped with an Flare ad
Image credit: Flare

Each campaign budget is set by advertisers in advance and when an auto with the ad drives on a busy main street on a weekend, the budget will be greatly spent. Conversely, the budget will be spent less in local areas having minimal traffic under Flare’s charge system. Advertisers can confirm the spending pace of the budget or the progress of the campaign via the dashboard.

Since its launch back in August of 2017, the service has seen continuous growth and acquired more than 6,000 cars as registrants while temporary registration restrictions were imposed due to the rush of car registrations. In addition, the number of advertisers using Flare is also increasing.

See also:

Bangkok-based Flare pays drivers in the heavy traffic city to wrap their car in ads

Translated by Masaru Ikeda
Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

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Meet top 4 startups with decentralized apps from d10e blockchain conference in Tokyo

d10e

The Bridge 2018.05.03

This is a guest post authored by “Tex” Pomeroy. He is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology. d10e — dubbed “The Leading Conference On Decentralization” — held the 21st Global Edition from April 28 to May 1, 2018. The venue, Hilton Tokyo Bay Hotel located near Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea, gathered numerous participants who foresee far-reaching changes being brought on by adoption of blockchain technology, especially by localities and businesses. The first and second days were spent by Blockchain Investors Consortium (BIC), one of the main event sponsors, familiarizing d10e-goers with Tokyo. Keynote speeches were presented on the third day. On the final day, 22 teams gathered to present their revolutionary wares during the 1st Edition in Japan Startup Pitch (MC: Ms. Naomi Brockwell). Leonardo Render Chief Strategy Officer Delon de Metz, the energetic (enough to jump off the stage and safely too) young man with the winning message at this year’s inaugural Japan pitch competition, got First Prize. The visual rendering services company headquartered on Madison Avenue in New York convinced all that their business is ready to roll. The runner-up was Ms. Liina Laas-Billson, Chief Business Development Officer for Black Insurance, the digital insurance company on blockchain….

This is a guest post authored by “Tex” Pomeroy. He is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology.

Randy Hencken, Co-founder of floating seasteading company Blue Frontiers, delivered his keynote speech.
Image credit: Kurt Hanson / The Bridge

d10e — dubbed “The Leading Conference On Decentralization” — held the 21st Global Edition from April 28 to May 1, 2018. The venue, Hilton Tokyo Bay Hotel located near Tokyo Disneyland/DisneySea, gathered numerous participants who foresee far-reaching changes being brought on by adoption of blockchain technology, especially by localities and businesses.

The first and second days were spent by Blockchain Investors Consortium (BIC), one of the main event sponsors, familiarizing d10e-goers with Tokyo. Keynote speeches were presented on the third day. On the final day, 22 teams gathered to present their revolutionary wares during the 1st Edition in Japan Startup Pitch (MC: Ms. Naomi Brockwell).

Delon de Metz, Chief Strategy Offier of Leonardo Render
Image credit: “Tex” Pomeroy / The Bridge

Leonardo Render Chief Strategy Officer Delon de Metz, the energetic (enough to jump off the stage and safely too) young man with the winning message at this year’s inaugural Japan pitch competition, got First Prize. The visual rendering services company headquartered on Madison Avenue in New York convinced all that their business is ready to roll.

Liina Laas-Billson, Chief Business Development Officer of Black Insurance
Image credit: d10e

The runner-up was Ms. Liina Laas-Billson, Chief Business Development Officer for Black Insurance, the digital insurance company on blockchain. The demure pitch for the Estonian outfit gained Second Prize as it explained elegantly how its platform connects insurance brokers directly with capital, enabling them to launch their own virtual insurance agencies.

Cereal Finance CEO Sergey Vart (left) and a pitch judge
Image credit: “Tex” Pomeroy / The Bridge

Third Prize was garnered by Cereal Finance Co-founder & CEO Sergey Vart, who heads the St. Petersburg-based provider of blockchain ecosystem for asset-based loans. Finally, the Audience Award went to ZPER (according to Marketing Manager DK Yoon, pronounced ‘Zee-per’) of Singapore, offering a decentralized ecosystem for P2P finance.

George Hahn, co-founder and CGO of ZPER
Image credit: d10e

news

Good Luck 3 to launch Ethereum game app Crypto-Oink, Japan’s answer to CryptoKitties

Masaru Ikeda 2018.05.01

See the original story in Japanese. Fukuoka, Japan-based Good Luck 3, jointly with Tokyo-based internet marketing company Ceres (TSE:3696), held a press conference on Friday in Tokyo, where they will be soon releasing Ethereum-based game DApp called Crypto-Oink. The app will be available on the web and via mobile app but the exact launch date is not yet confirmed. The app allows users to collect pig characters to breed and create new species, or buy and sell them with other users. With the crypto-wallet function, the app can prove these transactions and store them on a blockchain so that users can buy/sell cryptos at Ethereum exchanges or trade pigs with other users. Good Luck 3 plans to monetize by selling characters and auction commissions. With the Crypto-Oink app, the company wants to help even non-blockchain savvy people get familiar with DApps by leveraging a familiar topic like games to lower the hurdles. Ceres has recently invested in crypto exchanges such as Bitbank and Coincheck in addition to blockchain startups like Orb (Distributed Ledger Technology developer) and Sivira (blockchain app developer). Kazuhisa Inoue, CEO of Good Luck 3, said in the conference that his company wants to make the DApp successful…

From left: Kazuhisa Inoue (CEO of Good Luck 3), Satoshi Takagi (CEO of Ceres)
Image credit: Masaru Ikeda

See the original story in Japanese.

Fukuoka, Japan-based Good Luck 3, jointly with Tokyo-based internet marketing company Ceres (TSE:3696), held a press conference on Friday in Tokyo, where they will be soon releasing Ethereum-based game DApp called Crypto-Oink. The app will be available on the web and via mobile app but the exact launch date is not yet confirmed.

The app allows users to collect pig characters to breed and create new species, or buy and sell them with other users. With the crypto-wallet function, the app can prove these transactions and store them on a blockchain so that users can buy/sell cryptos at Ethereum exchanges or trade pigs with other users.

Good Luck 3 CEO Inoue introduces Crypto-Oink
Image credit: Masaru Ikeda

Good Luck 3 plans to monetize by selling characters and auction commissions. With the Crypto-Oink app, the company wants to help even non-blockchain savvy people get familiar with DApps by leveraging a familiar topic like games to lower the hurdles.

Ceres has recently invested in crypto exchanges such as Bitbank and Coincheck in addition to blockchain startups like Orb (Distributed Ledger Technology developer) and Sivira (blockchain app developer). Kazuhisa Inoue, CEO of Good Luck 3, said in the conference that his company wants to make the DApp successful by joining the forces of their capability of an entertainment content developer with those of Ceres owning multiple blockchain startups.

See also:

Rare Bits raises $6 million for site where you can buy and sell CryptoKitties (VentureBeat)
CryptoKitties: Blockchain-based collectible hit debuts in China (VentureBeat)

Since its launch back in February of 2013 in Japan’s western city of Fukuoka, Good Luck 3 has released outstanding game apps like Touch Gudetama! and Aerial Legends, and also recently been developing a blockchain-focused social platform called LuckyMe (to be launched this summer).

While blockchain transactions generally take some time to confirm, Good Luck 3 has also developed a private blockchain network called LuckyMe Reward System, expecting to reduce user churn with a smooth in-app purchase process for blockchain-based game apps. Going forward, they try to form an ecosystem involving third-party developers of DApps.

With an aim to promote Crypto-Oink and LuckyMe globally, Good Luck 3 plans to exhibit at Latitude 59, a global startup conference in Tallinn, Estonia on May 24 and 25th.

Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

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Raksul, Japanese online printing and on-demand logistics startup, files for IPO

Raksul

SCORE 1,377

Masaru Ikeda 2018.04.27

Tokyo-based Raksul, an online printing and delivery startup, announced today that its IPO application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has been approved. The company will be listed on the TSE Mothers Market on 31 May with plans to offer 2,500,000 shares for public subscription and to sell up to 1,642,100 shares in over-allotment options, for a total of 8,449,900 shares. Daiwa Securities will lead the underwriting. Led by the company’s CEO Yasukane Matsumoto (21.55%), its major shareholders include OPT Holding (17.78%, TSE:2389) and Development Bank of Japan (8.91%). According to the consolidated statement as of July of 2017, they posted a revenue of 7.68 billion yen (about 70.2 million) with an ordinary loss of 1.16 billion ($10.6 million) and a net loss of 1.18 million yen ($10.8 million). Founded in 2009, Raksul is a Japanese company which provides printing services in partnership with printing facilities across its home country as a fabless operator. Users can place printing orders at affordable rates because the company takes advantage of downtime at participating printers to complete those orders. Additionally, the company provides the Hacobell on-demand delivery service as well as a flyer delivery service for small and medium-sized enterprises. See also: Japanese…

Raksul and Hacobell
Image credit: Raksul

Tokyo-based Raksul, an online printing and delivery startup, announced today that its IPO application to the Tokyo Stock Exchange (TSE) has been approved. The company will be listed on the TSE Mothers Market on 31 May with plans to offer 2,500,000 shares for public subscription and to sell up to 1,642,100 shares in over-allotment options, for a total of 8,449,900 shares. Daiwa Securities will lead the underwriting.

Led by the company’s CEO Yasukane Matsumoto (21.55%), its major shareholders include OPT Holding (17.78%, TSE:2389) and Development Bank of Japan (8.91%).

According to the consolidated statement as of July of 2017, they posted a revenue of 7.68 billion yen (about 70.2 million) with an ordinary loss of 1.16 billion ($10.6 million) and a net loss of 1.18 million yen ($10.8 million).

Founded in 2009, Raksul is a Japanese company which provides printing services in partnership with printing facilities across its home country as a fabless operator. Users can place printing orders at affordable rates because the company takes advantage of downtime at participating printers to complete those orders. Additionally, the company provides the Hacobell on-demand delivery service as well as a flyer delivery service for small and medium-sized enterprises.

See also:

Edited by “Tex” Pomeroy

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Japan’s analytics startup Plaid snags $25M to help companies refine customer experience

Karte
Plaid

SCORE 1,801

Takeshi Hirano 2018.04.26

See the original story in Japanese. Tokyo-based Plaid, the Japanese startup offering a real-time data analysis of website visitors called Karte, announced last week that it has secured funding from Femto Partners, Eight Roads Ventures Japan, Mitsui & Co., Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, Mizuho Capital, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and others. Combining funds through the investment aforementioned with loans from Mizuho Bank and other financial institutions, the company secured about 2.7 billion yen (around $25M US) at this time. Details including stock holding ratios were not disclosed. The latest announcement means that the company has thus far raised 3.4 billion yen (about $32M) in total, including previous funds from Femto Growth Capital and Eight Roads Ventures Japan. Plaid employs 90 people when all contract forms are included. Since its launch back in March of 2015, Karte had been introduced to 1,430 companies by March of 2017. The number of user companies has been undisclosed since the third year after the launch; instead, the company released the cumulative number of users analyzed by the service, which is 2.2 billion. Also, since around half of the companies introducing Karte are commerce enterprises, the company revealed that the total transactions…

See the original story in Japanese.

Tokyo-based Plaid, the Japanese startup offering a real-time data analysis of website visitors called Karte, announced last week that it has secured funding from Femto Partners, Eight Roads Ventures Japan, Mitsui & Co., Mitsui Sumitomo Insurance Venture Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, Mizuho Capital, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and others.

Combining funds through the investment aforementioned with loans from Mizuho Bank and other financial institutions, the company secured about 2.7 billion yen (around $25M US) at this time. Details including stock holding ratios were not disclosed. The latest announcement means that the company has thus far raised 3.4 billion yen (about $32M) in total, including previous funds from Femto Growth Capital and Eight Roads Ventures Japan.

Plaid employs 90 people when all contract forms are included. Since its launch back in March of 2015, Karte had been introduced to 1,430 companies by March of 2017. The number of user companies has been undisclosed since the third year after the launch; instead, the company released the cumulative number of users analyzed by the service, which is 2.2 billion. Also, since around half of the companies introducing Karte are commerce enterprises, the company revealed that the total transactions dealt with through the platform was 548 billion yen (nearly $5.1B US). Furthermore, as confirmed by CEO Kenta Kurahashi, this total reflects the total value of products actually purchased after users visit the websites of companies using Karte.

According to the press release, the company also achieved a monthly surplus in March of 2017, and the funds raised this time will be used mainly for marketing, strengthening recruitment for all positions, and overseas service expansion.

Turning into customer experience platform

In the past, Karte used access analysis and marketing-related tools to create simple figures expressed as “1 PV (page views)” and “1 UU (unique users)” and use them as actual visiting opportunities, and opened up the category of “better taking care of online customers” to respond to this while analyzing finer actions.

In its third year the company will now use these existing concepts to provide a new “CX Platform (customer experience platform)” that is a more customer-centered marketing analytics service. Kurahashi explains the difference between Karte and other marketing tools by relating that the total use distribution among companies using Karte becomes larger.

(When talking about companies using Karte) Karte makes people visible, so it can take on the customer’s perspective, what they want, who they want to buy it, and why they want it. Many of the conventional tools (for raising sales and setting indicators) are corporate-oriented, and there is nothing to prompt action by understanding the user’s voice.

Every year since 2011 the Chief Marketing Technologist Blog has been creating and publishing a marketing chaos map (see below), and as the map shows, the number of available tools continues to increase every year. While many claim to automate, there are times when companies must pay high-cost consulting fees to actually introduce the tools. Kurahashi also said, “It’s strange that you have to give it all you’ve got to master them,” but that is the exact world-view.

From Chief Marketing Technologist Blog. Click to enlarge.

Karte is based on the idea of returning marketing to the customer’s viewpoint, which must first be realized by thoroughly visualizing the customers who are hard to see on the web. The company takes what is natural for customer service in spaces with physical stores and brings it to the web. The increase in companies using Karte and the total amount of distribution, as well as the number of users analyzed, demonstrates that this idea is accepted.

Karte has undergone a great renewal in April, and in particular the visualization of user behavior in real time has become more useful. The company introduced a score function this time which measures users’ experiences as satisfactory and unsatisfactory, and adds visibility that allows them to bring forward the users who need support.

Additionally, up to now the company has visualized each user who visited a site as 1 UU on a timeline, and with the renewal it has strengthened this function by introducing mirroring capabilities that allow administrators to see which site flow lines the user actually traced. With this, it has become possible to judge at a glance when, where, and in which situation the user took action.

Kurahashi creates a customer-centered analysis culture through these renewals and aims to acquire and expand Plaid’s own positioning.

Translated by Amanda Imasaka
Edited by Masaru Ikeda

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