Japan-based e-commerce design platform Base has raised ¥1.5bn ($13.3m) in a funding round led by venture capital firm Global Brain that also featured accounting software provider Money Forward.
Founded in 2012, Base operates a web design platform for e-commerce vendors, allowing them to build their storefronts using Base’s templates or customised models made by the vendors themselves.
Online purchases on the platforms can be conducted via Base’s payment processing plug-ins, the company’s Pay.jp protocol for web browsers or its Pay ID mobile app. The cash is being used for a recruitment drive to strengthen Base’s organisational capabilities.
Additional capital will go toward developing Pay.jp and Pay ID, which have now been spun off into a wholly-owned subsidiary called Pay Corporation. Base has also formed a subsidiary called Base Bank but has not provided further details on its activities.
Base’s total funding now stands at approximately $38m, including $14.3m provided by financial services firms SBI Holdings and Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group in October 2016.
Mobile commerce company Mercari had already supplied $4.5m for Base in early 2016, following a $3m investment by Global Brain in 2014.
CyberAgent Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of internet company CyberAgent, put up $2m for a $2.7m round closed by Base in 2013. East Ventures, Suneight and PartyFactory also took part in that round.