Japan-based pharmacological software-as-a-service technology developer Kakehashi has raised a ¥2.6bn ($24m) series B round from investors including trading firm Itochu and Strive, the investment arm of media company Gree.
Itochu took part through its corporate venturing unit Itochu Technology Ventures, and was joined by Aflac Ventures, Dentsu Ventures, Globis Capital Partners, Mizuho Capital and SMBC Venture Capital – respective investment subsidiaries of supplemental insurance provider Aflac, marketing firm Dentsu, education provider Globis, and financial services firms Mizuho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation.
DNX Ventures and Coral Capital filled out the round together with the multicorporate-backed Chiba Dojo Fund, boosting the company’s overall funding to more than $30m.
Founded in 2016, Kakehashi provides a dispensing pharmacy-targeted tool called Musubi, whose electronic medication history system allows pharmacists to give patients on-screen dosage instructions while prescriptions are recorded automatically.
The company will utilise the funding to hire staff and grow its business, increasing Musubi’s presence outside the Tokyo metropolitan area.
Kakehashi received $8.2m from Globis Capital Partners, Itochu Technology Ventures and SMBC Venture Capital, as well as Salesforce Ventures, cloud computing firm Salesforce’s investment arm, in a May 2018 series A round.
Strive, DNX Ventures and Coral Capital, known respectively at the time as Gree Ventures, Draper Nexus Ventures and 500 Startups Japan, also contributed to the series A round.
DNX Ventures, Strive and Office Chiba provided $632,000 of convertible notes in a May 2016 seed round.
