Japan social network company Mixi (TYO ticker: 2121) in recent weeks has named a new chief executive officer and backed two Japan-based start-ups with plans to set up an investment arm as a subsidiary in July.
Mixi co-founder Kenji Kasahara will be stepping down with Yusuke Asakura to take over his place effective 25 June, when the company’s next shareholder meeting is scheduled.The recent Mixi investments are a sign that the social network business is following in the footsteps of other media and telecommunications companies, such as CyberAgent Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of the eponymous Japan-based games group, and Gree Ventures, the corporate venturing unit of Japanese global mobile social company Gree; both of which have established corporate venturing arms to gain access to greater market share in new technologies and markets.
The latest Mixi investments include Cloud Study, a social learning management platform that has developed a product called called StudyPlus, which allows users the choice to log their study hours and content and to share their progress with other users; and Reventive, a social media application developer for iOS and Android that has created an app called Close, which only allows up to nine people to interact, offering a more secure and intimate social media platform.
CloudStudy attracted YEN72m (~ $720,000) in a series B round, which will account for 20% of its total funding to date. StudyPlus was released back in March of 2012. It hit the 100,000 user milestone after almost a year later in April of 2013.
The funding details for Reventive were not disclosed, however, reports by Japanese venture capital news sources indicate that the deal was in the region of tens of millions of Yen. Reventive has previously raised capital from SunBridge Global Ventures, the corporate venturing unit that was spun off of Japan investment and professional services firm, SunBridge, in January 2012. Prior to the latest funding series B round, Reventive had reportedly raised a total of YEN70m (~$700,000).