Globis backs two Japan marketing services companies

Globis joined a JPY5.2 billion ($46.4 million) round for BellFace alongside Mizuho Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, YJ Capital, Incubate Fund, and Canal Capital. The Flywheel investment totaled JPY1.2 billion with support from Jafco and US-Japan investor World Innovation Lab.

BellFace facilitates B2B transactions through a Skype-style web conferencing system that operates over telephone lines but allows face-to-face meetings with rapid connection times and no internet-related signal disruptions. No log-in or installation is required. The service, which is also positioned as a customer engagement tool, has been used by some 1,200 corporate clients since 2015, according to a release.

Flywheel aims to optimize customer acquisition and loyalty through artificial intelligence-enabled data analysis. Much of the focus is around gleaning advertising insights from categories of data not always associated with marketing, such as logistical records. Clients include telecoms giant NTT Docomo and SmartNews, a news app that received $92 million in November from a group including Globis.

Globis’ sixth VC fund closed at FPY36 billion last year in a first close that fell only slightly short of the overall target of JPY37.5 billion. The fund invests Japanese companies from seed to later-stage rounds with individual deployments ranging up to JPY5 billion. Standout investments include online flea market Mercari, which raised a $1.2 billion IPO in 2018. It currently has a market capitalization of around JPY376 billion.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Support services
• Early-stage
• Japan
• Globis Capital Partners
• Mizuho Capital
• SMBC Venture Capital
• YJ Capital
• Incubate Fund
• World Innovation Lab (WiL)
• JAFCO