Dimension leads $48m round for Japan's Nyle

SBI Group, Nippon Venture Capital, Gree Ventures, JIC Venture Growth Investments, Energy & Environment Investment, Hakuhodo DY Media Partners, and local digital advertising company DA Consortium also participated. SBI, Aoki Holdings, and Sparx Group provided a JPY1.5 billion round in 2019.

Founded in 2007 and previously known as Volare, Nyle operates across a range of search engine optimization services, including user interface and user experience consulting. It claims its app discovery and recommendation service, Appliv, is the number-one site of its kind in Japan. There are also Appliv-branded sites for games, manga, and dating.

In 2018, the company launched an automotive platform called Carmo that facilitates new car leasing on an entirely virtual basis. Rates start as low as JPY10,000 a month, according to a release. The fresh capital will be used to expand Carmo’s service network with maintenance shops, dealers, and service stations, as well as pursue relevant mobility sector M&A opportunities.

Dimension was set up in 2000 as an investment arm of business development advisory Dream Incubator and invests across internet, digital transformation, and deep tech from the seed to pre-IPO stages in Japan. In 2016, the firm gained exposure to India through a partnership with Blume Ventures.

It has backed more than 150 companies to date and has facilitated around 30 IPOs. Its flagship fund closed at JPY5 billion in 2019.

• Tweet  
• Facebook  
• LinkedIn  
• Google plus  
• Save this article  
• Send to  

• Topics
• North Asia
• Media
• Support services
• Expansion
• Japan
• SBI Holdings
• Nippon Venture Capital
• Gree Ventures
• TMT
• automobiles