Persol Innovation Fund, the corporate venturing arm of human resources service provider Persol Holdings, has taken part in a ¥1.96bn ($17.9m) funding round for Japan-based calendar sharing application developer TimeTree.
Financial services firm Orient Corporation also invested in the round, along with venture capital firm Stonebridge Ventures.
Founded in 2014 as Jubilee Works, TimeTree operates a mobile and web application where publicly accessible events can be scheduled and shared for both business and personal use. The number of registered accounts on the platform exceeded 20 million this month, it said.
The company has secured approximately $33m in funding to date, and the latest cash will go to increasing brand awareness and expanding functionality in a bid to match users with information in their timetables more effectively.
The round comes after $8.1m from Kakao Ventures, SMBC Venture Capital and Mizuho Capital, on behalf of internet company Kakao and financial services firms Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank, and undisclosed individuals in 2018.
The company had received $4.8m from K Cube Ventures and Seibu Shinkin Capital, vehicles for Kakao and financial services firm Seibu Shinkin respectively, as well as animation studio Toei, Cognitive Investment and various private backers in August 2017.
K Cube Ventures, Seibu Shinkin Capital, Toei Animation and SMBC Venture Capital had already contributed to a $2m round the year before together with undisclosed angel investors.
