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Startups spring into action to secure apex access

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This is a guest post authored by “Tex” Pomeroy. He is a Tokyo-based writer specializing in ICT and high technology. It was in 2015 that the city of Gotemba led by young Mayor Yohei Wakabayashi availed climbers scaling Mt. Fuji from the Shizuoka side with sturdy lavatory structures able to double as emergency shelters in the event of natural disasters (now, the sheds could be equipped with alarm-sensors to turn them into better sanctuaries…). But since April this year there has been a major push in Gotemba to harness technology emanating from a Japanese startup ー albeit via major telecommunications carrier KDDI, which has just announced the buyout of said startup. Soracom, established in 2014 by former Amazon Web Services (AWS) evangelist Ken Tamagawa, has been offering Internet of Things (IoT) service over circuits leased from the giant NTT group ー formerly the Japanese phone monopoly. The startup last year decided to help KDDI, which has a mobile telephony service called au, build its own IoT network. It is upon this technology that Mt. Fuji entryway Gotemba decided to collaborate in realizing a system to keep track of climbers using the pathway leading up to the mountaintop. Beginning on August…

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


Image credit: torsakarin / 123RF

It was in 2015 that the city of Gotemba led by young Mayor Yohei Wakabayashi availed climbers scaling Mt. Fuji from the Shizuoka side with sturdy lavatory structures able to double as emergency shelters in the event of natural disasters (now, the sheds could be equipped with alarm-sensors to turn them into better sanctuaries…). But since April this year there has been a major push in Gotemba to harness technology emanating from a Japanese startup ー albeit via major telecommunications carrier KDDI, which has just announced the buyout of said startup.

Soracom, established in 2014 by former Amazon Web Services (AWS) evangelist Ken Tamagawa, has been offering Internet of Things (IoT) service over circuits leased from the giant NTT group ー formerly the Japanese phone monopoly. The startup last year decided to help KDDI, which has a mobile telephony service called au, build its own IoT network. It is upon this technology that Mt. Fuji entryway Gotemba decided to collaborate in realizing a system to keep track of climbers using the pathway leading up to the mountaintop.

Screenshot of the website

Beginning on August 10, 2017 (a day before the newly-instituted Japanese Mountain Day holiday) an IoT-based tracking experiment is being conducted. IoT sensors have been placed along the hiking route, enabling a more accurate count by the municipal authorities as to those trekking up the Mt. Fuji pathway… search & rescue helicopters in particular being faced with hazards when flying near Japan’s highest mountain.

With technical support from KDDI’s research institute, a Low Power Wide Area (LPWA) network being run on the KDDI LoRa PoC Kit ー underpinned by Soracom tech prowess utilized to develop said kitー will be tried out until the end of this mountain-climbing season.

It is said KDDI had been eyeing a sizable corporate buyout within the information-communication sector after being beat to the punch by SoftBank in the attempt to acquire mobile carrier eAccess some years ago. Interestingly, KDDI until recently has been working with another startup Colopl, which is strong in games but in past few years have pushed drone use, aiming to utilize IoT and VR/AR for promotion of rural communities in Japan. Furthermore, KDDI has been working with another startup, Fukuoka-based SkyDisc, regarding tropical fruit cultivation as well. It remains to be seen how startups will handle their relations with KDDI.

Conceptual diagram

Japan’s KDDI to buy IoT-optimized mobile data startup Soracom for $180 million

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The Nikkei reported early this morning that Japan’s second largest telco KDDI will acquire a full stake in Tokyo-based Soracom, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) startup offering data service optimized for IoT (Internet of Things). The acquisition price is reportedly about 20 billion yen ($180 million US). Founded in 2014 by former Amazon Web Services engineer Ken Tamagawa, the mobile company has now become a 40-people team serving about 7,000 businesses in Japan as well as around 800 companies in the US and Europe. See also: Japan’s Soracom launches SIM cards and services for IoT service operators in US Japanese IoT-focused MVNO Soracom snags additional $5.8M funding for series B round Japan’s IoT-optimized cellular operator Soracom raises $22M series B for global expansion Japan’s Soracom launches cellular network service for Internet of Things developers KDDI started working on IoT-optimized services last year including several efforts like a massive partnership with Toyota for serving connected cars. In February of this year the Japanese telco acquired Iret, the Japanese startup behind cloud-based solution suite Cloudpack, while the former also announced in March that it would jointly set up a new company called ARISE Analytics with Accenture, aiming to promote data analytics…

The Nikkei reported early this morning that Japan’s second largest telco KDDI will acquire a full stake in Tokyo-based Soracom, a mobile virtual network operator (MVNO) startup offering data service optimized for IoT (Internet of Things). The acquisition price is reportedly about 20 billion yen ($180 million US). Founded in 2014 by former Amazon Web Services engineer Ken Tamagawa, the mobile company has now become a 40-people team serving about 7,000 businesses in Japan as well as around 800 companies in the US and Europe.

See also:

KDDI started working on IoT-optimized services last year including several efforts like a massive partnership with Toyota for serving connected cars. In February of this year the Japanese telco acquired Iret, the Japanese startup behind cloud-based solution suite Cloudpack, while the former also announced in March that it would jointly set up a new company called ARISE Analytics with Accenture, aiming to promote data analytics businesses.

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KDDI buys Japanese mobile game marketing startup AppBroadCast

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Tokyo-based Mediba, an ad business-centric subsidiary of Japan’s leading telco KDDI, announced on Friday that it has gained a major stake in AppBroadCast, the company behind a mobile game media called GameGift. Details of the deal have not been disclosed but it seems like the valuation of the startup upon this acquisition is some one billion yen, or tens of million US dollars, according to several information sources. Since launch back in January 2013, AppBroadCast started the GameGift service in form of an Android app, which has surpassed 4.1 million downloads to date, offering users complimentary virtual items, news updates and strategic know-how for trending game apps. The company currently offers other services like Sakipre, which allows users to participate in beta testing of new game apps, as well as Hayatoku, a pre-registration platform for early downloads of new game apps with rewards. Prior to acquisition, AppBroadCast secured an undisclosed sum of funding in January 2014 from several sources including KDDI Open Innovation Fund, the startup investment fund jointly managed by KDDI and Japanese investment firm Global Brain. In addition, the company has also been participating in Syn. portal partnership, the mobile company alliance run by KDDI group company Supership….

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Tokyo-based Mediba, an ad business-centric subsidiary of Japan’s leading telco KDDI, announced on Friday that it has gained a major stake in AppBroadCast, the company behind a mobile game media called GameGift. Details of the deal have not been disclosed but it seems like the valuation of the startup upon this acquisition is some one billion yen, or tens of million US dollars, according to several information sources.

Since launch back in January 2013, AppBroadCast started the GameGift service in form of an Android app, which has surpassed 4.1 million downloads to date, offering users complimentary virtual items, news updates and strategic know-how for trending game apps. The company currently offers other services like Sakipre, which allows users to participate in beta testing of new game apps, as well as Hayatoku, a pre-registration platform for early downloads of new game apps with rewards.

Prior to acquisition, AppBroadCast secured an undisclosed sum of funding in January 2014 from several sources including KDDI Open Innovation Fund, the startup investment fund jointly managed by KDDI and Japanese investment firm Global Brain. In addition, the company has also been participating in Syn. portal partnership, the mobile company alliance run by KDDI group company Supership. The company says that it may expand the Gamegift business globally, focusing on the Asian market.

Via TechCrunch Japan

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The AppBroadCast management team: CEO Masashige Ohara (middle), Director Keijiro Nakamura (right)
Image credit: AppBroadCast

Japan’s KDDI buys members-only premium outlet site Luxa

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See the original story in Japanese. Japan’s leading telco, KDDI, will take a majority stake in Tokyo-based Luxa, the company behind a premium outlet e-commerce site under the same name. Luxa’s shareholders are Japanese VC firm Jafco, Tokyo-based startup BizReach, and KDDI. Upon this agreement, Luxa is expected to become a consolidated subsidiary of KDDI. The e-commerce site provides a variety of time-limited or quantity-limited items, including designer-branded fashion items, consumer electronics, cosmetics, and apparel that are carefully selected by the company’s buyers. Luxa was initially launched as a business of BizReach in August 2010 but was spun off in October 2010 because BizReach shifted its focus to an online premium job hunting and talent search site under the same name. Subsequently Luxa secured 500 million yen funding from Jafco in November 2010, followed by closing series B round worth 500 million yen ($5.3 million) from JAFCO Super V3 Fund in March 2013.

luxa-home

See the original story in Japanese.

Japan’s leading telco, KDDI, will take a majority stake in Tokyo-based Luxa, the company behind a premium outlet e-commerce site under the same name.

Luxa’s shareholders are Japanese VC firm Jafco, Tokyo-based startup BizReach, and KDDI. Upon this agreement, Luxa is expected to become a consolidated subsidiary of KDDI.

The e-commerce site provides a variety of time-limited or quantity-limited items, including designer-branded fashion items, consumer electronics, cosmetics, and apparel that are carefully selected by the company’s buyers.

Luxa was initially launched as a business of BizReach in August 2010 but was spun off in October 2010 because BizReach shifted its focus to an online premium job hunting and talent search site under the same name. Subsequently Luxa secured 500 million yen funding from Jafco in November 2010, followed by closing series B round worth 500 million yen ($5.3 million) from JAFCO Super V3 Fund in March 2013.

In September 2013, the company raised 330 million yen ($3.3 million) from KDDI Open Innovation Fund, the fund operated by Japanese telco KDDI and Global Brain, and started providing limited-offer discounts to mobile subscribers via au SmartPass, the telco’s flat-rate app subscription program.

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

KDDI invests $113M, partners with 11 internet companies to better engage smartphone users

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Japan’s Nikkei reported earlier this morning that Japanese telco KDDI will partner with 11 internet companies to provide the former company’s subscribers with an integrated portal menu. By integrating a user base of 40 million monthly visitors in total using services provided by these companies, KDDI wants to compete against Yahoo Japan which has one of the largest user bases in the Japanese internet industry. The article says that partnering companies include Weathernews, iStyle (a company behind cosmetics buzz site @Cosme), and Navitime Japan (transit navigation and updates), AppBroadcast (a company behind game media site GameGift, Natasha (a company behind j-pop culture site Natalie, acquired by KDDI in August), Hatena (social bookmark service), and Luxa (funraised from KDDI in October last year). These companies will share an integrated common menu and user profiles, where one can hop around web services by these companies without entering personal information even when required. Integrated services will be provided for KDDI subscribers in addition to smartphone users subscribing to other companies like NTT Docomo and Softbank. Through this integration and partnership, for instance, once a business trip using a calendar app is arranged, it will provide seamless access for finding the best transit route…

Japan’s Nikkei reported earlier this morning that Japanese telco KDDI will partner with 11 internet companies to provide the former company’s subscribers with an integrated portal menu. By integrating a user base of 40 million monthly visitors in total using services provided by these companies, KDDI wants to compete against Yahoo Japan which has one of the largest user bases in the Japanese internet industry.

The article says that partnering companies include Weathernews, iStyle (a company behind cosmetics buzz site @Cosme), and Navitime Japan (transit navigation and updates), AppBroadcast (a company behind game media site GameGift, Natasha (a company behind j-pop culture site Natalie, acquired by KDDI in August), Hatena (social bookmark service), and Luxa (funraised from KDDI in October last year).

These companies will share an integrated common menu and user profiles, where one can hop around web services by these companies without entering personal information even when required. Integrated services will be provided for KDDI subscribers in addition to smartphone users subscribing to other companies like NTT Docomo and Softbank.

Through this integration and partnership, for instance, once a business trip using a calendar app is arranged, it will provide seamless access for finding the best transit route or checking weather update for the destination using third-party services, similarly to what Google makes possible alone in a seamless single interface.

In a series of these partnering efforts, KDDI also announced that it has acquired Nanapi (lifehack site operator, we learned that it has been acquired for about $72.6 million through our recent interview.) and BitSeller (mobile app developer). Furthermore, KDDI said it has invested in internet startups like Jorte (calendar app developer) and Vasily (a company behind fashion coordination app iQON)The total amount of these investments is worth 12 billion yen (about $113 million).

Via Nikkei (paywalled) / TechCrunch Japan

KDDI and Global Brain form $50M second fund, strengthening investments in US startups

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Japanese telco KDDI and investment firm Global Brain announced earlier this week that they have jointly formed KDDI Open Innovation Fund II, valued at 5 billion yen ($49.4 million). This follows their previous investment initiative KDDI Open Innovation Fund I which was valued at the same amount and formed back in February 2012. Our readers may recall the telecom company announced that it had partnered with 13 top Japanese companies in their incubation program to strengthen their support in nourishing tech startups and entrepreneurs. We understand that they will use the new fund to invest in prominent startups born out of the program. In addition, the both companies also announced that they have invested 800 million yen ($7.9 million) in four tech companies in the US: Edmondo (social network platform for the educational industry), Issuu (digital publishing and sharing service), Pogoseat (seat upgrade service for live events), and VentureBeat (tech news media). Global Brain recently set up an office in San Francisco and is now closely working with US-based incubators to strengthen their efforts in exploring high-profile startups that they can invest in.

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Japanese telco KDDI and investment firm Global Brain announced earlier this week that they have jointly formed KDDI Open Innovation Fund II, valued at 5 billion yen ($49.4 million). This follows their previous investment initiative KDDI Open Innovation Fund I which was valued at the same amount and formed back in February 2012.

Our readers may recall the telecom company announced that it had partnered with 13 top Japanese companies in their incubation program to strengthen their support in nourishing tech startups and entrepreneurs. We understand that they will use the new fund to invest in prominent startups born out of the program.

In addition, the both companies also announced that they have invested 800 million yen ($7.9 million) in four tech companies in the US: Edmondo (social network platform for the educational industry), Issuu (digital publishing and sharing service), Pogoseat (seat upgrade service for live events), and VentureBeat (tech news media). Global Brain recently set up an office in San Francisco and is now closely working with US-based incubators to strengthen their efforts in exploring high-profile startups that they can invest in.

KDDI joining forces with 13 top Japanese companies to launch incubation initiative

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Japan’s Nikkei reported today that Japan’s second largest telco KDDI will join forces with 13 Japanese established companies to launch a startup incubation initiative. The initiative will choose five candidates for the next batch of KDDI’s entrepreneurship program Mugen Labo. Participating companies include Seven & i Holding (parent company of Seven Eleven convenience store chain and Ito Yokado supermarkets), Mitsui & Co. (trading), Kokuyo (stationery manufacturing), Dai Nippon Printing, Bandai Namco Holdings (game), Tokyu Corporation (railway), Mitsui Fudosan (real estate), Plus (stationery manufacturing), Kintetsu International (travel agency), Softfront, Parco (department store), TV Asahi, and Toppan Printing. They will give qualified startups not only funds but also intangible resources through the program, such as sales marketing data (Seven & i) or design knowledge to develop products (Kokuyo). Because this is in addition to Open Innovation Fund, the company plans to form a new fund to invest in high-profile startups born out of the new initiative.

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Japan’s Nikkei reported today that Japan’s second largest telco KDDI will join forces with 13 Japanese established companies to launch a startup incubation initiative. The initiative will choose five candidates for the next batch of KDDI’s entrepreneurship program Mugen Labo.

Participating companies include Seven & i Holding (parent company of Seven Eleven convenience store chain and Ito Yokado supermarkets), Mitsui & Co. (trading), Kokuyo (stationery manufacturing), Dai Nippon Printing, Bandai Namco Holdings (game), Tokyu Corporation (railway), Mitsui Fudosan (real estate), Plus (stationery manufacturing), Kintetsu International (travel agency), Softfront, Parco (department store), TV Asahi, and Toppan Printing. They will give qualified startups not only funds but also intangible resources through the program, such as sales marketing data (Seven & i) or design knowledge to develop products (Kokuyo).

Because this is in addition to Open Innovation Fund, the company plans to form a new fund to invest in high-profile startups born out of the new initiative.

kddi-mugen-labo-partners

News curation startup Gunosy secures $12M funding from three Japanese companies

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Bloomberg reported earlier today that Tokyo-based Gunosy, the company behind the curation news app under the same name, has secured funds worth 1.2 billion yen ($12 million) from Japanese telco KDDI (TSE:9433), investment firm Jafco, and B Dash Ventures. This follows their previous funds worth $12 million from KDDI back in March. Regarding the money raised back in March, the company used over 80% of it to broadcast a TV commercial to increase penetration of their news app among Japanese consumers. They recently launched the app in the US and UK markets over the last few months, and it is told that they plan to use the funds raised at this time to intensify their global promotion efforts. In this sector of the Japanese market, we’ve seen a number of competitors like SmartNews, NewsPick, Antenna, and Kamelio. In the US market, we’ve also seen that Flipboard surpassed 85 million users last year and acquired news reader app Zite from CNN back in March. In our recent interview with the company’s co-CEO Shinji Kimura, he told us that they are targeting 80 million installs outside of Japan, and 100 million worldwide in three years.

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Bloomberg reported earlier today that Tokyo-based Gunosy, the company behind the curation news app under the same name, has secured funds worth 1.2 billion yen ($12 million) from Japanese telco KDDI (TSE:9433), investment firm Jafco, and B Dash Ventures. This follows their previous funds worth $12 million from KDDI back in March.

Regarding the money raised back in March, the company used over 80% of it to broadcast a TV commercial to increase penetration of their news app among Japanese consumers. They recently launched the app in the US and UK markets over the last few months, and it is told that they plan to use the funds raised at this time to intensify their global promotion efforts.

In this sector of the Japanese market, we’ve seen a number of competitors like SmartNews, NewsPick, Antenna, and Kamelio. In the US market, we’ve also seen that Flipboard surpassed 85 million users last year and acquired news reader app Zite from CNN back in March.

In our recent interview with the company’s co-CEO Shinji Kimura, he told us that they are targeting 80 million installs outside of Japan, and 100 million worldwide in three years.

News curation startup Gunosy fundraises $12 million from KDDI

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See the original story in Japanese. Japanese telco KDDI announced today that it has invested in Gunosy, the creator of a popular news curation app of the same name. Details of the investment were not disclosed but it’s likely worth somewhere from $12 million to $14 million according to certain sources. Coinciding with this funding, the startup is set to begin broadcast of a TV commercial in Japan tomorrow. Gunosy previously raised 31.6 million yen (about $300,000) back in February of 2013, and an undisclosed amount back in July of 2013. We have also confirmed they secured a seed round funding from several investors including B Dash Ventures. Gunosy was launched back in October of 2011 by three graduate students (Yoshinori Fukushima, Yoshifumi Seki, and Koji Yoshida) at the University of Tokyo. They incorporated their company in November, and co-CEO Shinji Kimura came on to help manage the company last October. Their main revenue stream has been Gunosy Ads, which have performanced well since launching last November. That feature was instrumental in helping them raise so much funds this time around.

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Gunosy CEO Yoshinori Fukushima

See the original story in Japanese.

Japanese telco KDDI announced today that it has invested in Gunosy, the creator of a popular news curation app of the same name. Details of the investment were not disclosed but it’s likely worth somewhere from $12 million to $14 million according to certain sources. Coinciding with this funding, the startup is set to begin broadcast of a TV commercial in Japan tomorrow.

Gunosy previously raised 31.6 million yen (about $300,000) back in February of 2013, and an undisclosed amount back in July of 2013. We have also confirmed they secured a seed round funding from several investors including B Dash Ventures.

Gunosy was launched back in October of 2011 by three graduate students (Yoshinori Fukushima, Yoshifumi Seki, and Koji Yoshida) at the University of Tokyo. They incorporated their company in November, and co-CEO Shinji Kimura came on to help manage the company last October.

Their main revenue stream has been Gunosy Ads, which have performanced well since launching last November. That feature was instrumental in helping them raise so much funds this time around.

fukushima-kimura-taketani
From the left: Co-CEO Yoshinori Fukushima, Co-CEO Shinji Kimura, COO Yuya Taketani

Japanese premium outlet site Luxa raises $3.3 million from KDDI

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Tokyo-based Luxa, the startup running a members-only discount e-commerce platform, has announced today that it has raised 330 million yen ($3.3 million) from KDDI Open Innovation Fund, the fund operated by Japanese telco KDDI. Prior to this funding, the company raised a total of investment worth over $10 million from Japanese investment company Jafco. Coinciding with these new funds, Luxa plans to provide limited-offer discounts to mobile subscribers via au SmartPass, the telco’s flat-rate app subscription program. Since its initial launch back in August of 2010, the website has acquired over 450,000 members, mostly people in their 30s and 40s. Their products are wide-ranging, with a heavy slant towards cosmetics and appliances. The company claims that its smartphone access ratio has risen from 8% to 35%, which indicates a rapid transition of users from desktop to mobile both in revenue and traffic [1]. With this new partnership with KDDI, the startup expects to boost its user base to 4.5 million by the end of 2016. KDDI also revealed that it has invested in iRidge, the startup behind an O2O (online-to-offline) solution using mobile geolocation and notification features. The investment sum was undisclosed. This year, the telco has invested in several…

luxa-home

Tokyo-based Luxa, the startup running a members-only discount e-commerce platform, has announced today that it has raised 330 million yen ($3.3 million) from KDDI Open Innovation Fund, the fund operated by Japanese telco KDDI. Prior to this funding, the company raised a total of investment worth over $10 million from Japanese investment company Jafco. Coinciding with these new funds, Luxa plans to provide limited-offer discounts to mobile subscribers via au SmartPass, the telco’s flat-rate app subscription program.

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Luxa’s storefront for KDDI mobile subscribers only

Since its initial launch back in August of 2010, the website has acquired over 450,000 members, mostly people in their 30s and 40s. Their products are wide-ranging, with a heavy slant towards cosmetics and appliances.

The company claims that its smartphone access ratio has risen from 8% to 35%, which indicates a rapid transition of users from desktop to mobile both in revenue and traffic [1]. With this new partnership with KDDI, the startup expects to boost its user base to 4.5 million by the end of 2016.

KDDI also revealed that it has invested in iRidge, the startup behind an O2O (online-to-offline) solution using mobile geolocation and notification features. The investment sum was undisclosed.

This year, the telco has invested in several other e-commerce startups, including Origami and Monoco. This indicates how the company plans to leverage its huge user base, developing an entirely new revenue stream, making it more than a conventional dumb pipe business.


  1. From January of 2012 to September of 2013.