Japan-based retail technology provider Abeja has secured ¥4.25bn ($38.3m) in series C funding from investors including a range of corporates, The Bridge has reported.
Graphics processing technology provider Nvidia, optical equipment maker Topcon, air conditioner producer Daikin, auto parts supplier Musashi Seimitsu Industry and postal service Japan Post, which invested through Japan Post Capital, were the corporates that took part in the round.
SBI Investment, a venture capital subsidiary of financial services provider SBI, also participated, as did PNB Inspire Partners, TBS Innovation Partners and the state-backed Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ).
Founded in 2012, Abeja has developed image analysis and machine learning-equipped data analysis software that helps retailers improve the layout of their stores and understand their customers in more detail.
The funding will be used for research and development, and product and intellectual property improvement, as the company looks to expand its deep learning team and open artificial intelligence management centres in several countries.
NTT Docomo Ventures and Salesforce Ventures, subsidiaries of mobile network NTT Docomo and enterprise software provider Salesforce, each invested undisclosed sums in Abeja in 2014, after it had graduated from Orange Fab Asia, an accelerator run by telecommunications firm Orange.
The company raised a six-figure dollar amount from IT services provider Sakura Internet, investment firm Inspire and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital and Mizuho Capital, subsidiaries of financial services firms Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group and Mizuho Bank, the same year.
INCJ, PNB Inspire Partners and Archetype Ventures, the venture capital arm of startup network Archetype, supplied an additional $7m through a series B round that closed in 2016.