Stationery and furniture maker Kokuyo has agreed to buy Clear, the Japan-based class notes-sharing platform that counts corporates Asahi Shimbun, Dentsu and Zoshinkai (Z-Kai) as investors, for an undisclosed amount.
Founded in 2010 as Arcterus, Clear runs an app and web-based notebook community that allows users to share notes and solve academic questions. In addition to its home country, the company operates the portal in Taiwan and Thailand.
Kokuyo and Clear will share each other’s user bases and networks after the transaction, which is set to complete in the coming days. Clear’s founding team and employees will however continue to operate the business independently.
Clear had most recently closed a series D round of undisclosed size last year, according to The Bridge. Correspondence education provider Z-Kai and financial services firm Shinsei Bank and its Shinsei Corporate Investment subsidiary backed an $890,000 series C round in 2018.
Z-Kai had already taken part in a $1m series B round in 2016, investing alongside media group Asahi Shimbun. The company received $1m in seed funding the year before from Dentsu Digital Holdings, a subsidiary of marketing firm Dentsu, as well as Startia and Bon Angels, after a $567,000 injection from company founder Goichiro Arai.
