Japan-based media and advertising company Every.TV raised ¥2.5bn ($23m) yesterday from diversified trading group Itochu’s liqueur and food wholesaler subsidiary Itochu-Shokuhin.
Founded in 2015, Every.TV operates Delish Kitchen, which provides more than 25,000 video recipes to more than 19 million users. Its other platforms Kalos, MamaDays and Timeline feature video clips across themes such as fashion, parenting, news and entertainment.
Every.TV has also entered into a strategic business alliance with Itochu-Shokuhin in order to support retailers, distributors and manufacturers in aspects including customer retention and sales.
The strategy in question combines Every.TV’s digital know-how and content offerings with Itochu-Shokuhin’s network of retailers and manufacturers to accelerate sales with innovative technologies, growing retail business revenues and delivering an integrated online and offline shopping experience to customers.
Every.TV raised $28.2m from telecommunications firm KDDI in March 2018, adding to a $18.4m round in late 2017 featuring Itochu, GMO Venture Partners and Ad Hack Ventures, corporate venturing arms of internet company GMO and advertising agency Tyo, in addition to VC firms World Innovation Lab and DCM Ventures.
The company also received $23.5m in March 2017 from undisclosed investors, having collected $5.7m in 2016 from Globis Capital Partners and DBJ Capital, respective subsidiaries of education business Globis and Japanese state-owned financial services firm Development Bank of Japan, along with VC firm Global Brain and multiple angel investors.