SmartHR, a Japan-based human resources software developer backed by marketing agency Nissen Group, insurer Tokio Marine & Nichido and internet company Digital Garage, raised ¥6.15bn ($56.8m) in series C funding yesterday.
The round consists of approximately $50.8m of equity funding and $6m of warrant bonds. It represents the first deal for investment firm Signifiant’s The Fund and the software-as-a-service (SaaS)-focused All Star SaaS Fund.
Hedge fund manager Light Street Capital also took part in the round, along with Coral Capital, which invested through a vehicle known as SmartHR SPV, as well as World Innovation Lab, Beenext and two unnamed entities.
Founded in 2015 as Kufu, SmartHR has built a cloud-based platform that allows human resources departments to manage employee benefits and services. It will utilise the series C capital for further business development, personnel recruitment and marketing in order to expand its customer base.
SmartHR has accumulated approximately $75.5m of funding to date, having most recently raised $13.8m in a January 2018 series B round featuring Tokio Marine & Nichido, Nissen and Coral Capital’s SmartHR SPV fund.
The company had collected $4.9m from World Innovation Lab, 500 Startups Japan and Beenext in 2016, following a six-figure dollar amount received six months earlier from DG Incubation, internet company Digital Garage’s corporate venturing arm, as well as Beenext and East Ventures.
