Japan news app raises another $10m from VCs
SmartNews, the Tokyo-based start-up behind the news curation app of the same name, has raised $10 million in another round of funding led by Japanese internet gaming firm Gree.
Existing investors Atomico, Globis Capital Partners, and social network Mixi also took part alongside new backers Social Venture Partners.
The Series C round comes eight months after Gree led a JPY3.6 billion ($35.4 million) Series B round that also included Globis and Mixi. Together with a $4.2 million investment by Globis in early 2013, the start-up has now raised just under $50 million.
Founded in 2012, SmartNews is news and social media aggregator which automatically categorizes content in an easy-to-read format. The app initially catered just to Japanese users but since launching its US edition in October, and an international edition in February, it now claims to be available in over 150 countries with 10 million downloads to date.
The start-up claims to have an edge over competitors thanks to its proprietary machine learning technology. The app's news discovery algorithm is said to be able to evaluate more than 10 million articles daily to bring the most interesting stories to users based on their location and their preferences.
In a statement, the company said it will use the new funding to further invest in its machine learning technology. It also plans to open an office in San Francisco where it will base its team of engineers.
"The news is international, but not all news apps truly are. SmartNews algorithms pick what's trending and culturally relevant in different countries and regions," said Niklas Zennström, Atomico's founder and the co-founder of Skype. "This is the breakthrough needed to scale news delivery to billions of mobile devices."
The company's major domestic rival is Gunosy, which raised JPY1.2 billion from B Dash Venture, Jafco and KDDI in June last year. The company recently filed for a Tokyo IPO and is looking to raise as much as JPY 5.32 billion.
More on North Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.