Japan crowdfunding player raises $20m Series C

The investors participated via their third jointly established VC vehicle, KDDI Open Innovation Fund, which was launched last year with a view to investing JPY20 billion in start-ups related to 5G technology within five years. Global Brain also contributed through its GB-VII Growth Fund. Other investors include Itochu Corporation and Ogaki Kyoritsu Bank.

Campfire claims to be the largest rewards-based crowdfunding player in Japan. The business model is similar to Kickstarter, allowing individuals and small organizations to raise money for projects through lending-based crowdfunding and donations using PayPal for a 5% fee. The service had supported 21,000 projects for about 1.2 million users as of April.

Previous investors reportedly include East Ventures, JAFCO, SBI Group, SMBC Venture Capital, marketing technology provider FreakOut, mobile gaming giant DeNA, and D4V, a fund that brings together Japanese venture investor Genuine Startups with US design company Ideo. According to a statement, Campfire has raised more than JPY11.2 billion to date.

Founded in 1998, Global Brain invests in seed to middle-stage IT start-ups with a focus on leveraging pan-Asian and US-connected networks. The firm also manages several VC funds on behalf of Japanese corporate clients.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Financials
• Expansion
• Japan
• Global Brain Corporation
• TMT
• Financial Services
• Crowdfunding