Global Brain

Global Brain Corporation, founded in 1998 and based in Tokyo, Japan, is a venture capital firm that focuses on investing in seed, early, and later-stage startups. The firm has a diverse portfolio, having invested in over 300 companies across various sectors, including e-commerce, software, gaming, media, IoT, disruptive technology, education, entertainment, and fintech. Global Brain is recognized for its hands-on support approach, which has contributed to 25 initial public offerings and 61 mergers and acquisitions among its portfolio companies. In addition to managing traditional investment funds, Global Brain also provides Venture Capital as a Service (VCaaS) solutions and collaborates with leading public companies in sectors such as telecommunications, real estate, financial services, beverages, agriculture, logistics, and electronic devices.

Kaori Akiba

Director

Hidetaka Aoki

Investment Group Partner and Fellow Chief of Space Lab

Tatsunori Arai

Director

Megumi Asatsuma

Director

Anjani Bansal

Partner / India Office Representative

Brooke Beers

Partner

Takuji Chida

Director

Hogil Doh

General Partner

Thomas Duong

Principal

Brian Flucht

Partner / US Division Head

Hajime Furuya

Venture Partner

Kenji Hayashi

Principal

Shohei Hayashi

Partner

Harue Hayashi

Partner / Vice Chief Fund Management Officer

Jie He

Director China office Representative

Yosuke Hirai

Director

Joopyo Hong

Partner Investment Group

Naoki Horie

Principal

Jang Hyeokjin

Principal

Shohei Ichimiya

Partner / US Office

Nozomu Ikuta

Principal

Kotona Inaida

Director

Tomoaki Ishikure

Partner

Yoshinari Ito

Venture Partner

Yuki Ito

Director

Hiroyuki Izumi

Partner

Ken Kajii

General Partner

Naoki Kamimaeda

Partner and Europe Division Head

Daisuke Kashiro

General Partner

Kirin Kato

Principal

Takashi Kato

Partner, San Francisco Office Representative

Masaya Kawakami

Principal, Investment Group

Hiroyuki Kawamoto

Principal

Ko Kawaragi

Director

Maiko Kayata

Principal

ByeongJin Kim

Principal

Riichiro Kimura

Director / US NY Office

Kenta Kitsuka

General Partner

Issei Kokubu

Director

Yoshiomi Kubota

Principal

Jiro Kumakura

General Partner and Board Member

Jinya Kurita

Director

KyungHun Lee

Partner

YingQi Liang(Joy)

Principal

Chukaku Lin

Director

Atsushi Matsuda

Venture Partner

Tatsuya Matsumoto

Partner / Singapore Office Representative

Akira Matsumoto

Principal

Yuki Matsuo

Director

Natsumi Matsuoka

Principal

Tomoko Minagawa

Director

Ai Minamizaki

Principal

Shigeru Mitarai

Director

Kazuhiko Miyama

General Partner

Shuhei Mori

Principal

Seiichiro Mukai

Director

Satoko Murata

Principal, Investment Group

Kohtaro Nagawa

Director

Mitsutaka Nakao

Principal, Investment Group

Shien Nakayama

Director

Yuya Namiki

Director

Ying Jian Ng

Director

Daisuke Nishida

General Partner

Yukari Nishiyama

Director, Investment Group

Akiko Noguchi

Director

Rina Obi

Investment Group Director, Berlin Office

Sho Ohtani

Principal

Tetsui Okada

Director

Mayu Okamoto

Director

Akane Okuyama

Director

Shingo Otaki

Partner

Rampalli Karthik

Principal

Naoki Sadakuni

Venture Partner

Enen Sai

Principal

Youichi Sakagawa

Director, Investment Group

Kazuki Sakuragawa

Partner / Editor in Chief

Masumi Sato

Principal

Naoki Sato

Principal, Investment Group

Tomoki Sekiguchi

Principal

Rie Shibata

Director

Takeru Shigemura

Director

Miku Shimamura

Principal

Masamune Shin

General Partner

Ayu Shinoyama

CFO and Board Member

Chisa Shinsakaue

Director

Divyansh Singh

Principal

Hiroto Sorita

Director

Sachiko Sugiura

Director

Yusuke Suzuki

Partner

Kazumo Tachibana

Director

Mana Takabayashi

Director

Hiroki Takai

Director

Toko Takao

Principal

Hideyuki Tanaka

Director

Marika Tazaki

Partner

Hirotaka Togashi

Director

Haruka Tsujii

Director

Atsushi Ueda Ph.D

Principal, Investment Group

Takuya Ukai

Principal, Investment Group

Tetsuya Urimoto

Director

Noriko Usui

Partner / Chief Fund Management Officer

Keita Washizu

Principal

Masao Yamada

Senior Partner

Kazunori Yamaguchi

Partner, Investment Group

Kazunor Yamaguchi

Partner

Ryozo Yamamoto

Partner

Michiko Yamazaki

Principal, Investment Group

Takuro Yoda

Principal, Investment Group

Sayaka Yoshino

Director

Miku Yoshio

Partner

Miyazawa Yusuke

Venture Partner

Lusheng Zou

Director

Takuya Hosomura

Partner

Sho Ikeda

Partner / Indonesia Office Representative

Past deals in Advertising

Lokal

Series B in 2023
Lokal provides users with hyperlocal information such as daily commodity prices, local jobs, real estate, matrimonial, local business advertorials, and classifieds that would otherwise be scattered across local newspapers. Lokal, which was founded in 2018, aims to strengthen hyperlocal communities by allowing its mostly non-English users to share, interact, and transact in their native language. The app has 10 million downloads and is available in 100+ districts across South India in Kannada, Telugu, Tamil, Malayalam, and Marathi.

iPrice Group

Corporate Round in 2022
iPrice Group operates as an online price comparison platform in Southeast Asia, aimed at enhancing the shopping experience by offering a wide selection of products and brands from numerous partners. The company allows consumers to compare prices, discover products, and secure the best deals from thousands of online retailers, catering to various categories including electronics, fashion, home improvements, and baby products. Founded with the goal of increasing transparency, convenience, and trust in the e-commerce market, iPrice has expanded its reach across seven markets, including Indonesia, Vietnam, Singapore, Hong Kong, Thailand, and the Philippines. Supported by investments from the Asia Venture Group, iPrice has developed expertise in technology, online marketing, and business operations, positioning itself as a key player in the region's online shopping landscape.

JX Press

Series C in 2021
JX PRESS Corporation operates as Japan's virtual news agency, specializing in delivering real-time news through its "FASTALERT" service. This service provides breaking news bulletins on urgent incidents, such as accidents and natural disasters, utilizing artificial intelligence to monitor and disseminate information. It serves all six major television broadcast stations in Japan, including NHK, as well as over 100 local stations. JX PRESS also offers "NewsDigest," a popular app with over 1 million downloads, designed for consumers to receive AI-generated news alerts. The platform is increasingly used by journalists as a standardized service for reporting. In addition to its news services, JX PRESS employs technology to filter misinformation, allowing companies to access reliable data for digital marketing. Key stakeholders include prominent entities like KYODO NEWS, TV Asahi, Fuji TV, and the Nikkei Group, highlighting its significant role in Japan's media landscape.

FIREBUG

Venture Round in 2020
FIREBUG Inc., established in 2016 and based in Tokyo, Japan, specializes in media content production and marketing services. The company supports a diverse range of talents, including comedians, actresses, models, and artists, by providing production plans and developing intellectual property and advertising items tailored to their social media presence. FIREBUG offers comprehensive marketing solutions that encompass both traditional and digital channels, including marketing planning, public relations support, TV commercial production, and media buying. Additionally, the firm organizes events and distributes video content for mobile platforms, catering to the evolving needs of its clients in the entertainment and advertising sectors.

Lanchester

Series A in 2020
Lanchester operates EAP, an Engagement Application Platform that offers one-stop marketing, customer relationship management, and e-commerce solutions. EAP charges its clients based on the number of users (MAU: Monthly Active Users) who used the app during a certain period, not the number of app downloads. Lanchester also provides a wide range of services from planning and development to operation of web and smartphone sites and iOS and Android apps.

One Media

Venture Round in 2019
One Media, Inc. specializes in visual storytelling through animated messages and video content production. Founded in 2014 and based in Tokyo, Japan, the company provides a range of services including YouTube channel production, social media video creation, live stream planning, and video distribution. One Media focuses on transforming clients' messages into engaging video content while conducting in-house analysis of viewing data to enhance the effectiveness of its productions. By integrating creative planning with comprehensive video distribution, the company aims to deliver unique value to its clients.

JX Press

Series C in 2019
JX PRESS Corporation operates as Japan's virtual news agency, specializing in delivering real-time news through its "FASTALERT" service. This service provides breaking news bulletins on urgent incidents, such as accidents and natural disasters, utilizing artificial intelligence to monitor and disseminate information. It serves all six major television broadcast stations in Japan, including NHK, as well as over 100 local stations. JX PRESS also offers "NewsDigest," a popular app with over 1 million downloads, designed for consumers to receive AI-generated news alerts. The platform is increasingly used by journalists as a standardized service for reporting. In addition to its news services, JX PRESS employs technology to filter misinformation, allowing companies to access reliable data for digital marketing. Key stakeholders include prominent entities like KYODO NEWS, TV Asahi, Fuji TV, and the Nikkei Group, highlighting its significant role in Japan's media landscape.

Mirrativ

Venture Round in 2019
Mirrativ Inc. is a Tokyo-based company founded in 2015 that specializes in mobile game streaming services. Its application allows users to live-stream content directly from their smartphones and tablets, enabling real-time sharing of gameplay experiences. The platform incorporates user interaction features similar to those of established live-streaming services, allowing viewers to comment and show appreciation for streams. Although current broadcasts are not saved for later viewing, the application facilitates seamless communication among users through texting and sharing of videos during streams. In addition to gaming, Mirrativ is also focused on developing a game distribution platform and exploring innovative advertising solutions within the live gaming space.

YouAppi

Series B in 2016
YouAppi Inc. specializes in mobile advertising technology aimed at acquiring and retaining mobile customers. Founded in 2011 and headquartered in San Francisco, the company offers a range of solutions including OneRun, a platform that incorporates video advertisements into user acquisition campaigns, and ReAppi, a managed programmatic retargeting service that enhances app retention for marketers and app developers. Additionally, YouAppi provides a Re-Engagement solution that facilitates real-time bidding and enables multiple interactions between brands and users. Its Software Development Kit extends the OneRun platform to support rewarded videos and video interstitials for publishers and app developers. The company operates not only in the United States but also has a presence in China and several countries across Asia, Europe, and beyond, helping clients effectively grow app revenue through targeted advertising strategies.

Wing Style

Series A in 2016
Wing Style is a marketing & advertising company.

Logly

Corporate Round in 2015
Logly, Inc. is a technology company based in Tokyo, Japan, that specializes in media technology, advertising technology, and data marketing. It operates several key platforms, including Logly Lift, an advertising service that delivers corporate content by leveraging media and brand recognition; Loyalfarm, a tool for analyzing user engagement and actions to foster repeat visits; and Zenback, a widget designed to gather information from various online sources about articles. Logly primarily caters to the needs of advertisers and distributors, providing innovative solutions to enhance audience interaction and content delivery. Founded in 2006, the company continues to play a significant role in the evolving landscape of digital marketing in Japan.

Logly

Venture Round in 2015
Logly, Inc. is a technology company based in Tokyo, Japan, that specializes in media technology, advertising technology, and data marketing. It operates several key platforms, including Logly Lift, an advertising service that delivers corporate content by leveraging media and brand recognition; Loyalfarm, a tool for analyzing user engagement and actions to foster repeat visits; and Zenback, a widget designed to gather information from various online sources about articles. Logly primarily caters to the needs of advertisers and distributors, providing innovative solutions to enhance audience interaction and content delivery. Founded in 2006, the company continues to play a significant role in the evolving landscape of digital marketing in Japan.

q CORPORATION

Venture Round in 2015
q CORPORATION is a soup and curry shop with advertising. Chicken vegetables, Shimeji chicken, shimeji chicken vegetables, sausage, cheese hamburger, Shimeji vegetables, minced meat natto, seafood, Chai, grain coffee, plain lassi, mango lassi, ice tea, iced grain coffee, apple juice, mango juice, and other beverages are on the menu.

Q

Venture Round in 2015
Q co. offers advertising, promotional planning, web design and web development services.

Live Aid

Venture Round in 2015
Live Aid is a provider of web and application services for smartphones, headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. The company specializes in developing applications for devices such as iPhones and Androids, as well as web applications and system contract development. Live Aid enhances advertisement delivery services on smartphones through its product, AID, which focuses on delivering the latest information and engaging content across various genres, including virtual reality. Additionally, the company offers services that include verifying guest identities and managing check-in tasks.

Tapjoy

Seed Round in 2014
Tapjoy is a mobile app monetization and marketing platform that provides engagement and monetization services for advertisers and app developers. Founded in 2007 and headquartered in San Francisco, the company offers a range of rewarded advertising solutions, including video and rich media ads, through its Maximum Impact Platform™. The Tapjoy SDK is integrated into over 15,000 mobile applications, enabling access to a monthly active user base of 520 million. Tapjoy's innovative Interplay™ ads have been shown to significantly enhance brand performance, as evidenced by a 2016 comScore™ study that reported a threefold increase in brand metrics. The company collaborates with Fortune 500 brands and top-grossing app developers, leveraging its mobile expertise to help clients acquire and monetize users effectively. With a global presence that includes more than a dozen offices, Tapjoy is positioned as a leader in the mobile advertising landscape.

Supership

Funding Round in 2013
Supership continuously develops optimized ad platform products and provides them to advertisers and publishers because they demand only the best advertising solutions. The most important thing for advertisers is a platform that can analyze data and achieve results through optimized promotions. Our platform offers a number of demand side solutions, such as, 「AppVador's Video Ad Network」 and 「ScaleOut DSP」 that targets users with precision based on advertiser goals, a DMP that contains a wealth of data which makes data-driven marketing a reality, a SSP(「Ad Generation」) that is highly valued for generating revenue, especially in the app business. The combination of these products provides our customers with a total advertising solution that can meet a wide range of digital marketing needs.

Jimoty

Venture Round in 2012
Jimothy is a free advertisement bulletin board for 9 million people a month! You can post information such as buying and selling second-hand goods, announcement of the event, recruitment information, recruitment of members, real estate information etc.

Geniee

Seed Round in 2011
Geniee Inc. is a prominent player in the AdTech and MarTech sectors, founded in 2010 by Tomoaki Kudo. Headquartered in Japan, the company operates internationally with offices in Singapore, Thailand, Indonesia, and Vietnam, while previously having a presence in the USA, China, and India. Geniee specializes in providing software-as-a-service solutions that enhance client success in digital advertising. Its offerings include the Geniee Supply-Side Platform (SSP), which facilitates comparisons of various advertising deals; the Geniee Trading Desk for integrated display ad operations; a Data Management Platform (DMP) that analyzes marketing and user data; and a Data Exchange service for delivering online and email ads using audience data. Through these services, Geniee helps clients optimize their advertising strategies and maximize revenue.

RETAILIGENCE

Series A in 2011
Retailigence Corporation operates an online-to-offline marketing platform that enhances in-store product sales through innovative technology. The company offers a software-as-a-service (SAAS) solution that utilizes machine learning for various applications, including store clustering, assortment optimization, in-store monitoring, and customer segmentation. Its adPOP Engine provides a seamless application programming interface that integrates data into programmatic advertising, enabling location-based user experiences across mobile and digital advertising channels. Additionally, Retailigence delivers a mobile application that displays local store-level product availability and serves as a central data distribution point for retailers, brands, and marketing solutions. The company caters to various clients, including advertising solutions providers, application developers, agencies, and brick-and-mortar stores in the United States. Founded in 2009 and based in Redwood City, California, Retailigence operates as a subsidiary of ShopAdvisor, Inc. after a strategic partnership with Gimbal, Inc.

Stipple

Seed Round in 2010
Stipple is the future of the visual web where the web's biggest asset, digital images, transform into experiences that drive discovery, engagement, purchase, and loyalty in-image. Stipple’s image-based marketing technology stack detects, recognizes, and identifies the content inside images at scale and enables Advertisers and Publishers to apply interactive curated content, accurate native advertising solutions, and connects organically to commerce. Only Stipple's marketing technology offers image analytics, advertising & messaging inside images web-wide and without widgets or embed code at scale. Stipple is based in San Francisco and funded by Floodgate, Kleiner Perkins, Relevance Capital and a syndicate of prominent early-stage investors.

RETAILIGENCE

Seed Round in 2010
Retailigence Corporation operates an online-to-offline marketing platform that enhances in-store product sales through innovative technology. The company offers a software-as-a-service (SAAS) solution that utilizes machine learning for various applications, including store clustering, assortment optimization, in-store monitoring, and customer segmentation. Its adPOP Engine provides a seamless application programming interface that integrates data into programmatic advertising, enabling location-based user experiences across mobile and digital advertising channels. Additionally, Retailigence delivers a mobile application that displays local store-level product availability and serves as a central data distribution point for retailers, brands, and marketing solutions. The company caters to various clients, including advertising solutions providers, application developers, agencies, and brick-and-mortar stores in the United States. Founded in 2009 and based in Redwood City, California, Retailigence operates as a subsidiary of ShopAdvisor, Inc. after a strategic partnership with Gimbal, Inc.

Tri-Stage

Seed Round in 2007
Tri-Stage is a leading provider of direct marketing support services in Japan, specializing in assisting marketing companies. The company leverages its extensive experience to offer high-quality solutions aimed at enhancing client mail-order sales. Tri-Stage utilizes various media channels, including television and the Internet, to support product and service marketing, customer acquisition, and overall sales processes. By focusing on comprehensive customer management, Tri-Stage aims to maximize the effectiveness of its clients' marketing efforts.

Tri-Stage

Angel Round in 2006
Tri-Stage is a leading provider of direct marketing support services in Japan, specializing in assisting marketing companies. The company leverages its extensive experience to offer high-quality solutions aimed at enhancing client mail-order sales. Tri-Stage utilizes various media channels, including television and the Internet, to support product and service marketing, customer acquisition, and overall sales processes. By focusing on comprehensive customer management, Tri-Stage aims to maximize the effectiveness of its clients' marketing efforts.

Tri-Stage

Angel Round in 2006
Tri-Stage is a leading provider of direct marketing support services in Japan, specializing in assisting marketing companies. The company leverages its extensive experience to offer high-quality solutions aimed at enhancing client mail-order sales. Tri-Stage utilizes various media channels, including television and the Internet, to support product and service marketing, customer acquisition, and overall sales processes. By focusing on comprehensive customer management, Tri-Stage aims to maximize the effectiveness of its clients' marketing efforts.
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