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The web magazine that introduces and supports Japanese startups

[2/17-2/23] Featured startup news and funding information

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JP Startups presents a selection of startup news and funding information that has garnered significant interest, published between February 17, 2023 to February 23, 2023.

Editor's Comments

Procurement news from three companies, ZABoooN, Schoo, and VACAN, which have been covered in the past.

In the Seed class, we picked up WE UP, which generates service support tools with no code and Facilo, a real estate DX company. The former is a company that Techtouch and others are taking on, and we hope to promote productivity improvement in Japan. The latter was founded by the former CFO of Movoto and a founding member of the engineering team for the American edition of SmartNews and is expected to gain substantial traction. We are pleased to see seed procurement in a market where procurement is challenging.

Funding Information

[Seed] WE UP, a programming-free service guide, raises 59 million yen (Announced on Feb 22, 2023)

Credit:Company Press Release

WE UP, Inc., raises 59 million yen in funding from DCM Ventures, Mr. Takuya Ishiguro (Executive Officer of LayerX Inc.), Mr. Ryo Ishizuka (Co-Founder of Mercari Inc.), Mr. Kenta Kurahashi (CEO of Plaid Inc.), and Mr. Masaki Tabe. (Representative Director and President of Novacel Inc.) and two other individuals.

WE UP was established in April 2021 with the mission of "closing the digital divide and raising the human potential", solving all the issues faced by system users and raising the level of everyone involved in using the system. Aiming for this, in January 2023, WE UP released the official version of its digital enablement platform, "WE UP", which solves issues of digital tools used for business in real-time. The platform provides real-time support for issues such as "employees are at a loss about how to use tools" and "manuals have been created, but inquiries from employees are becoming increasingly urgent" by providing guide display and data input control functions on its self-developed systems and web services. Through this procurement, WE UP will try to develop new functions, strengthen the development system and strive to provide value that turns employees' "impossible" into "possible". Click here for the original press release.

[Seed] Facilo, a domestic startup from Silicon Valley, raises 200 million yen. The official release of the real estate communication cloud (Announced on February 22, 2023)

Credit:Company Press Release

Facilo Co., Ltd has raised 200 million yen in funding with Coral Capital and DNX Ventures as underwriters. At the same time, the official release of the real estate communication cloud "Facilo" was announced.

Facilo was established in October 2021. Two people from Silicon Valley, Mr. Ichikawa, who led the exit through M&A as the former CFO of Movoto, a major US real estate portal site, and Mr. Umebayashi, a founding member of the engineering team for the American edition of SmartNews, launched Facilo in Japan. With the vision of realizing "a world where people can easily change their homes according to their lifestyles," they have independently developed a communication cloud for real estate brokerage firms in Japan. Now officially released, "Facillo" is a platform for communication between sales representatives of real estate brokerage firms and their clients (prospective buyers) and improves customer experience and business productivity through DX that centralizes and visualizes important information exchanged between the two parties, such as property proposals, viewing schedule coordination, and document arrangements. The funds raised will be used to expand the product's functionality and strengthen the sales and support structure for companies that have adopted it. Click here for the original press release.

[Pre-Series A] ZABoooN, Inc., operator of maritime-focused SaaS "MARITIME 7", raises 160 million yen (Announced on February 22, 2023)

Credit:Company Press Release

ZABoooN, Inc raised 160 million yen with DIMENSION as the lead investor and DIMENSION, Incubate Fund, SMBC Venture Capital, Yamaguchi Capital, and individual investors as the underwriters.

ZABoooN was established in October 2018. In June 2022, ZABoooN released"MARITIME 7", a seafarer labor management function that uses digital technology to solve problems such as a shortage of seafarers and overwork due to complicated regulations. It covers the Seafarer's Act, which was revised in April 2022, and in six months of its release, the number of sailors using the service has exceeded 1,000, and the number of ships has increased 13-fold. With the vision of "Making the maritime industry more attractive", ZABoooN aims to create a Japan where the young generation finds the maritime industry attractive. The funds raised will be used for product enhancement and marketing activities for overseas expansion, further business expansion and new business promotion. ZABoooN will strengthen recruitment in various positions, including engineers, sales, customer success, and corporate. They also plan to release a movement management function for everyone in the industry this spring. Click here for the original press release.

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[Series E] Schoo, an online learning service for working adults, raises a total of approximately 2.15 billion yen (Announced on February 22, 2023)

Credit:Company Press Release

Schoo Inc raised 2.15 billion yen in funding from Dai-ichi Life Insurance Company, Chugoku Electric Power Company, SBI Shinsei Bank, The Shoko Chukin Bank, and others, with Incubate Fund, as the lead investor.

Schoo was established in October 2011 with the mission of "eliminating graduation from the world" and has promoted social change starting from learning and education on the Internet. "Schoo", an online learning service for working adults launched in 2012, has over 840,000 registered members. The government's policy of investing 1 trillion yen over 5 years in support of individual reskilling by 2022 has brought reskilling into focus like never before. With the spread of human capital management initiatives worldwide, Schoo believes that "investment in people", including promoting individual learning and human resources development, is the driving force that creates social vitality and a sustainable society. The funds raised will be used to strengthen the system to enhance various services, including "Schoo", invest in new development, and create innovation. Click here for the original press release.

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[Round unknown] VACAN, a service provider that "eliminates waiting" worldwide, raises approximately 800 million yen. (Announced on February 21, 2023)

Credit:Company Press Release

VACAN Inc. raises approximately 800 million yen through third-party allotment of new shares and loans with several underwriters, including Resona Capital No. 6 Investment Partnership, Shijo, Egg Forward, Unison Systems, GlobalCast, ENEOS Innovation Partners LLC, TVQ Kyushu Broadcasting, Hamagin DG Innovation Fund, and Toda Corporation. The cumulative amount raised so far is approximately 2.8 billion yen.

Vacan was established in June 2016 and uses IoT and AI to detect the vacancy status of all kinds of places, including restaurants, cafes, restrooms, tourist attractions, evacuation centers, and polling stations; and distributes the information to digital signage and smartphones. In addition to visualizing vacancy status, it controls and manages congestion and provides a wide range of DX services based on vacancy/congestion information. The toilet signage “Unveil”, which started full-scale commercial deployment at the end of 2020 and delivers advertisements inside private rooms, has been deployed in approximately 7,000 locations, including offices and commercial facilities, mainly in central Tokyo. The cumulative number of installations has more than doubled in one year. With this funding, Vacan intends to strengthen investment to further accelerate the introduction of the system and improve customer experience. In addition, Vacan also plans to accelerate business development to build a platform that "eliminates waiting" to solve congestion and waiting in various urban spaces. Click here for the original press release.

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