Japan CRM start-up raises $16.9m Series C

Nissay Capital also participated in the round, along with Salesforce Ventures, the investment arm of US-based CRM developer Salesforce. Sansan will use the new capital to improve its product offerings and to expand its operations in Singapore. The company also plans to open its platform to enable large businesses to use it, in addition to its current customer base of small and medium-sized enterprises (SMEs).

Founded in 2007, Sansan specializes in services to help companies manage business contacts. It produces optical character recognition (OCR) software to help employees digitize business card information, along with a database in which the information can be stored in the cloud for sharing among employees. Human transcribers, recruited through crowdsourcing, also supplement the OCR software.

"In Singapore, we pin our hopes on tapping a large pool of SMEs that are rapidly going digital and adopting cloud-based solutions to enhance productivity, better manage costs, and most importantly to effectively engage their customers, build loyalty, and ultimately, grow the business," Chika Terada, founder and CEO of Sansan, said in a statement.

DCM led a previous round for Sansan, joining Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, Nikkei Digital Media, Energy & Environment Investment and GMO Venture Partners to commit JPY1.46 billion (then $14.6 million) in 2014. The firm has contributed to several Japanese tech start-ups, including accounting software developer Freee and social retail app developer Tab.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Support services
• Technology
• Expansion
• Venture
• Japan
• DCM-Doll Capital Management
• Nissay Capital
• professional services
• Technology
• Growth capital
• Venture