Japan-based printing services provider Raksul secured ¥2.05bn ($20.3m) in funding yesterday from investors including marketing company Opt and GMO Venture Partners, the corporate venturing arm of internet company GMO Internet Group.
The round also included Fidelity Investments, the state-owned Development Bank of Japan, Global Brain and Global Catalyst Partners, and took Raksul’s overall funding to about ¥7.9bn since it was founded in 2009, the company said.
Raksul runs an online platform where users can place orders for printing and flyering that are fulfilled by local printer partners who do the work during slow periods. The new funding will go to expanding its e-commerce, advertising support and on-demand delivery services.
Opt, GMO Venture Partners and Global Catalyst also took part in Raksul’s last round, a $33.7m series C round closed in February 2015.
The series C round included consulting firm Link and Motivation, and Dentsu Digital Holdings, Gree Ventures and Itochu Technology Ventures, respective subsidiaries of marketing company Dentsu, digital media company Gree and conglomerate Itochu, as well as Anri and World Innovation Lab.
Itochu Technology Ventures, Global Brain, GMO, office stationery producer Plus and social media company Mixi invested $14.3m in Raksul in early 2014, following earlier funding from Anri, and YJ Capital and Nissay Capital, subsidiaries of Yahoo Japan and Nippon Life Insurance Company.