Ex-Line CEO Akira Morikawa nabs $4.1M for new video startup

A “clipper” gets ready to explain how to coordinate the perfect outfit

One of the biggest mysteries in Japan’s startup world – what will Akira Morikawa, the former Line CEO do next? – is finally solved. Morikawa unveiled his new project, a video media startup called C Channel. He also secured JPY 500 million (US$4.1 million) in funding from a banner list of investors. GMO VenturePartners, i-Style, Asobi System Holdings, Gree, Nexyz, B Dash Ventures, MAK Corporation, and Rakuten all joined the round.

C Channel is a lifestyle service, curating information on fashion, hair style, make up, food, and travel. Its key demographic is women from age 20-34. The Bridge notes that the service will have an app by the summer and is working towards releasing an English version by the end of the year.

C Channel takes the current information curation boom and adds video. The current beta version has a small army of young, fashionable women taking short videos – generally 90 seconds or less – and sharing their tips and experiences in fashion, food, and travel. For instance, one video is a short introduction to Blacows, a popular burger restaurant in Tokyo. Another one features a local hair stylist.

These living and breathing reviews are what sets C Channel apart from traditional text based curation platforms. The service is still quite young so useful functions like an instant purchase or reservation button are not yet available. For now, the biggest draw is an array of smart, fashionable ladies ready to show users how they too can be cool and have fun in Tokyo.

With C Channel, Morikawa officially sets forth on his post-Line career. He entered the company, then an unknown subsidiary of Korea’s Naver, in 2003 and built it up to a company with an anticipated US$10 billion market cap.

Line might be riding off into an IPO blaze of glory, but Morikawa will be hard at work on C Channel. He’s built a unicorn once, now it is time to begin again.