DeNA and Incubate Fund lead $500,000 investment into neighborhood crowdsourcing site

JPY 51 million (US$500,000) poured into social problem solving service Any+Times today. The startup announced the round of funding, noting that gaming giant DeNA (TSE:2432) and venture capital firm Incubate Fund led the financing. According to Entrepedia, Any+Times has raised six previous funding rounds. Correction: This funding is the first for Any+Times.

Any+Times allows users to crowdsource solutions to everyday problems from their neighbors. If you need someone to keep your goldfish alive while you sip bubbly in Rome or simply cannot figure out how to assemble the latest Snarfujor from Ikea, then you send out a request, name your price, and wait for one of your more enterprising neighbors to swing by to deliver a good deed. The service is currently accessible only via the web, but this new funding could finally bring the startup to smartphones.

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Any+Times says it will use the funds to strengthen its business strategy, expand hiring, beef up its technical systems, and increase marketing spend. The firm also committed to making a stronger push into Japan’s countryside. Given the strong community ties that tend to grow away from the big city lights, Any+Times could find many eager users. The firm also left the door open for breaking ground on new services. Naturally, such expansion would be under the kind offices of its new benefactors.