Japan-based employee assessment technology developer HRBrain secured ¥1.3bn ($12.5m) yesterday in a round led by financial services and investment group Fidelity’s Eight Roads Ventures Japan unit.
Consumer finance provider Aiful Corporation, insurer Dai-ichi Life, financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) and IT services firm SCSK filled out the round, which included $2.9m in debt financing supplied by undisclosed entities.
AG Capital and SMBC Venture Capital invested on behalf of Aiful and SMBC respectively. The round increased the company’s overall equity funding to more than $20m.
Founded in 2016, HRBrain has developed a cloud-based tool that helps managers evaluate employees’ productivity. The software also provides a corporate communication feature that streamlines the reporting structure.
HRBrain closed its series B round at $9.1m having raised an initial $3.7m in October 2019 from conglomerate Mitani Sangyo, internet company CyberAgent’s Fujita Fund, leasing service JA Mitsui Leasing and financial services group Mizuho Bank’s Mizuho Capital unit,
The company added $5.4m from asset manager Sparx Group three months later. Mizuho Capital had joined KSK Angel Fund, Beenext and Genesia Ventures in an $1.8m round in December 2017, the last two having provided an undisclosed amount of funding for the company 11 months earlier.
