Inside the land of the rising funds

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Hello reader,

I find it highly amusing that toilets are one of the first things that people talk about when they visit Japan for the first time.

“It’s like sitting on a robot throne!” or “They have automatic bidets – it’s like science fiction!” seem to be common expressions around the internet. It’s almost as if advanced toilet gizmos have become synonymous with the idea of “Japanese tech.”

However, I’m sure Japan’s tech industry doesn’t want to be only known for being at the forefront of “toilet tech,” so here’s a list of the most well-funded startups and tech companies from every sector in the country.

While there are entries in common industries like AI or software as a service, we’ve also got some that are a little more surprising. Read on to find out.

Today we look at:

• The who’s who of Japan’s tech scene that’s pulling in the most capital.
• A Malaysian fintech firm’s series B bid
• Other newsy highlights such as new investors in Elon Musk’s Twitter takeover bid and Carsome’s recently launched subsidiary.

Premium summary

It’s not a money-measuring contest … or is it?

Image credit: Timmy Loen

Ah, Japan, I miss you so. It’s been years since my last visit, and I, like many others, am just waiting for you to open your borders again so I can go back.

I could spend my entire trip just eating and sightseeing. Nothing really hits the spot as much as a fresh plate of sashimi from the fish market does, and nothing compares to seeing the silhouette of Mount Fuji off in the distance.

Anyway, enough distractions – let’s get down to the business of startup funding in Japan.

• You can say they got … Paidy: Paidy landed on our top spot, having raised US$2.9 billion in funds to date. Provided by Exchange Corporation, the service aggregates the most popular non-credit card payments into a single network.
  The bulk of its funds came from the US$2.7 billion M&A deal it made with PayPal last year, putting it clearly ahead of the second-placer on our list, Kakao Japan, which has raised a total of US$530 million.

A match made in heaven

Quick bytes