Japan
Japan’s SmartHR raises $140M Series E as strong demand for HR tech boosts its ARR to $100M
The round was led by KKR and Teachers’ Ventures Growth, an investment arm of Ontario Teachers’ Pension Plan.
OpenAI is expanding to Japan, with the opening of a new Tokyo office and plans for a GPT-4 model optimized specifically for the Japanese language. The move is significant for…
Mark Zuckerberg woos Big Tech in Asia to double down on AI chips
Meta CEO Mark Zuckerberg, who is touring Asian countries this week, said in a meeting with South Korean President Yoon Suk Yeol on Thursday that Meta wants to beef up…
Stock trading API developer Alpaca raises $15M convertible note from SBI Group
Investing apps help anyone access the stock market to make trades. Alpaca, a San Mateo-based startup, offers stock and crypto brokerage trading services via API that enables investing fintech companies…
Japanese VC Beyond Next Ventures raises $67.7M in a first close of its deep tech fund
A Japanese fund focused on early-stage, Asian deep tech startups is doubling down on the opportunity, despite a wider slowdown investing in moonshots globally. Tokyo-based Beyond Next Ventures is targeting…
Josys, a startup offering a software-as-a-service (SaaS) platform to automate corporate IT software application management, has raised a $93 million Series B round led by existing backer Global Brain and…
An increasing number of companies are looking to automate as a shortage of skilled workers is expected to take a toll on manufacturers through 2030. Tokyo- and Atlanta-based startup Mujin, which develops…
Google is bringing its generative AI search experience to the first countries outside the U.S., the company announced today, starting with expansions in India and Japan. The new AI-powered search…
SoftBank backs Japanese robotics startup Telexistence in $170M funding round
SoftBank is backing Japanese robotics startup Telexistence, making good on the tech giant’s recent pledge to go back on the investment offensive in light of the current AI hype. Tokyo-based Telexistence…
CADDi raises $89M Series C to scale its B2B supply chain marketplace for manufacturing parts
The pandemic has damaged the entire manufacturing supply chain, which is not likely to return to normal until at least 2024 due to a few challenges, including the ongoing U.S.-China…
6 investors explain why they are bullish about Japan’s startup scene despite an uncertain economy
Thinking of Japan often evokes notions of bleeding-edge tech mixed with deep tradition and culture. The country’s startups, however, haven’t seen the sort of growth that upstart tech companies in…
Micron Technology said it will invest up to 500 billion yen ($3.6 billion) in Japan for the next few years with support from the Japanese government to up its game in…
Japanese construction tech Aldagram nails down backing from Panasonic
Aldagram, a startup out of Japan developing project management software for construction companies, has picked up a new strategic backer to help it build out its footprint across Asia and…
Luup raises $30M ahead of Japan’s new micromobility rules
Japanese shared micromobility startup Luup has raised $30 million (4.5 billion yen) in a Series D financing round, which consists of 3.8 billion yen in equity and 700 million yen…
As tech slumps, SoftBank sells VC unit to Singapore-based firm led by Masayoshi Son’s brother
SoftBank is selling one of its venture capital arms, South Korea-based SoftBank Ventures Asia (SBVA), to The Edgeof, a Singaporean investment firm, according to the two companies. The deal’s financial…
China probes Micron for cybersecurity risks, urges Japan to stay out of US chip export curbs
The U.S. and China chip battle continues to escalate. In China, the country’s cybersecurity watchdog has initiated a probe into U.S. memory chip maker Micron Technology, according to a statement…
When Masaya Aso worked on autonomous driving technology at Bosch in Japan and Germany, he realized that “many tasks were still manual as over 85% of warehouses have almost no…
Japan’s Geniee acquires AdPushup-operator Zelto for $70 million
Japanese marketing tech firm Geniee, part of the SoftBank Group, has paid about $70 million in cash to acquire the revenue optimization platform Zelto (formerly known as AdPushup), a person…
Japan’s central bank to pilot digital currency starting in April
Japan is joining a growing list of countries exploring the possibility of adopting a digital currency, with the country’s central bank, the Bank of Japan (BoJ), announcing that it would…
As many observers question what real value blockchain can bring to video games, a conglomerate is vouching for the space. SoftBank Corp., the telecom operator arm of SoftBank Group, has…
Binance acquires majority stake in Korean crypto exchange GOPAX
Binance Holdings plans to return to South Korea after pulling out of the market in 2021. The world’s largest cryptocurrency trading platform by volume said it had acquired a majority stake…
Nissan finally shows off the Max-Out EV convertible concept in IRL
Way back in November 2021, Nissan shared renderings of four electric vehicle concepts with intriguing names like Chill-Out, Surf-Out, Hang-Out and Max-Out as part of its announcement to invest $17.6…
Energy X secures $20M at $120M valuation to slash building sector emissions
Countries worldwide have pledged to reduce their energy usage and reach net-zero energy targets by 2050. To get there, they will need to find clever ways to decarbonize especially dirty…
Southeast Asia farm-to-table startup Secai Marche raises Series A
Secai Marche, a farm-to-table fulfillment platform serving farmers in Japan and Southeast Asia, announced today it has raised 210 million Japanese yen (about $1.6 million USD) in Series A funding.…
Japan’s Terra Drone gets $14M lift from Saudi investors
Terra Drone said today it has raised $14 million in Series C funding from Wa’ed Ventures, the venture capital arm of Saudi Aramco, marking the VC firm’s first investment in…
After launching Elon Musk’s version of the Twitter Blue subscription service last month in five countries, the company has expanded the paid plan to users in Japan. Both the old…
Japan’s health tech Ubie wants to fuel its US expansion with $19M Series C extension
Ubie, a Tokyo-based startup providing an AI-powered symptom checker app and hospital SaaS products, has closed a $19 million extension to its previous Series C round. This brings the health…
Binance poised for Japan expansion after buying local exchange Sakura
Binance’s sprawling empire is about to get bigger as it eyes expansion in Japan. The world’s largest crypto trading platform has acquired 100% of Sakura Exchange BitCoin for an undisclosed…
Elephantech wants to create circuit boards that are kinder to the environment
Printed circuit boards (PCB), which perform essential functions in electronic devices, including displays and sensors, need a lot of energy to create. Moreover, traditional PCB manufacturing processes generate large amounts…
SoftBank, NEC, Sony, Toyota + more team up for Rapidus, Japan’s bid for next-gen chip domination
As the tech war between the U.S. and China intensifies, Japan has spotted an opening to build a viable alternative for semiconductors — not least so that its own consumer…
