VCs invest $33m in Japan's Dely

According to a release, Dely will use the new capital to expand its online video platform Kurashiru, through which users post and share video recipes to various social networks. The company plans to bring more users into the core platform while adding peripheral and related services through organic growth and acquisitions.

Dely launched in 2014 as a food delivery service, but switched to video curation last year due to concerns about the viability of the delivery model. The company says that Kurashiru has seen strong growth, gaining more downloads than any other video recipe app from Japan’s App Store. It targets both beginning home cooks and those who are more experienced and looking for a challenge.

Dely’s biggest competitor is Cookpad, a recipe sharing site founded in 1997 and listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange in 2009. Cookpad claims more than 85 million monthly users on its Japanese and English-language sites, which host two million recipes. Unlike Kurashiru, Cookpad mainly offers text and picture recipes, with little focus on video content.

Jafco made its investment from its fifth global fund, which closed last year at the target of JPY65 billion. The vehicle invests primarily in Japanese companies through minority and buyout deals, but a significant portion will focus on deals in Asia and the US. Investments from the fund so far include stock-trading app developer Folio, for which Jafco participated in a JPY1.8 billion Series A round earlier this year.

Gumi Ventures is the corporate venture arm of Japanese mobile gaming company Gumi. The firm launched its second fund in 2015 and closed it at JPY2 billion the same year. It focuses on seed-stage investments in mobile-related start-ups in Japan.

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• Topics
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