Japan-based mobile battery sharing service operator Inforich has raised ¥3bn ($27.3m) from backers including talent agency Horipro and Japan Post Capital, postal service Japan Post’s corporate venturing unit.
Investment banking firm Goldman Sachs also took part in the round, along with GMCM Venture Capital Partners and Chartwell Capital.
Inforich operates a network of stations where users can rent mobile device chargers by scanning a QR code. The company runs more than 10,000 of its ChargePoint terminals located at commercial facilities such as railway stations, restaurants and convenience stores.
The money will be used to expand Inforich’s ChargeSpot business, which is already present in 47 Japanese prefectures, to other locations such as Hong Kong, Taiwan and Thailand.
The company had formed a lease agreement with leasing services provider Sumitomo Mitsui Finance & Leasing Company in September 2019, having also secured a revolving facility from Goldman Sachs five months earlier.
