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Gree, Atomico lead $35m Series B for Japan news app

  • Andrew Woodman
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Japanese internet gaming firm Gree, and tech-focused investor Atomico, have led a JPY3.6 billion ($35.4 million) Series B round investment in SmartNews, the Tokyo-based start-up behind the news curation app of the same name.

Other investors included existing backer Globis Capital Partners, social networking site Mixi, former Ziff Davis Publishing president William Lohse and DeNA co-founder Shogo Kawada. The company has now raised a total of $40.2 million, having received $4.2 million from Globis in April of last year.

Founded in 2012, SmartNews is similar to other popular mobile news apps like Flipboard in that it aggregates information from various sources - including social network sites like Twitter - and sorts them into categories in an easy-to-read format. The company's major domestic rival is Gunosy, which raised JPY1.2 billion from B Dash Venture, Jafco and KDDI in June. Currently, both start-ups have around 4 million users.

According to a release, SmartNews will use the extra funding to help strengthen its market position both at home and abroad by hiring more staff, setting up offices overseas and marketing.

Gree is said to have made the investment via a JPY10 billion non-gaming fund which operates separately from is venture investment arm, Gree Ventures. 

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