Japan-based e-commerce company Origami has attracted ¥1.6bn ($13.3m) for a series B round co-led by telecommunications company SoftBank, financial services provider Credit Saison, and individual investor Makoto Takano, Tech in Asia reported yesterday.
Founded in 2013, Origami received $5m in a series A round the same year from telecommunications company KDDI’s Open Innovation Fund and advertising agency Digital Advertising Consortium.
Origami has developed a mobile shopping app featuring products from some 800 high-end and boutique brands. Customers can follow brands and receive updates and promotional coupons before making a purchase either in the app or in-store.
While the cash injection will be used to hire more staff and continue product development, SoftBank and Credit Saison will also assist the startup in boosting online-to-offline sales.
To that end, Origami is set to make its app compatible with SoftBank’s CouponGate terminals, which are currently installed at some 40,000 stores across Japan, so that coupons obtained through the app can be scanned in store.
Data gathered by CouponGate can be used by stores to provide increasingly personalised promotions to customers.