Dely, the Japan-based operator of video recipe platform Kurashiru, raised ¥3.35bn ($30.3m) yesterday from investors including telecommunications firm SoftBank, mobile game publisher Akatsuki and internet companies United and Yahoo Japan.
Kurashiru is an online and mobile platform in which users can access cooking videos, and its app has been downloaded more than 10 million times. The capital will support marketing, an increase in the size of Dely’s team and company growth, which could include acquisitions.
Dely, which began life in 2014 as a meal delivery service, raised the cash weeks after rival Delish Kitchen received just over $18m in funding from investors including corporates Itochu, GMO and Tyo Group
Yahoo Japan, which participated in the latest round through its YJ 2 Investment Partnership vehicle, had also invested in the company’s last round, a $27m round in March 2017 that included mobile game producer Gumi’s Gumi Ventures unit, Das Capital and various private investors.
E-commerce company Beenos joined East Ventures, Anri and Party Factory to invest an undisclosed sum in Dely in 2014, before YJ Capital, Gumi Ventures, United and angel investor Yusuke Sato added $4.5m in late 2016.