Japan-based smart lock system provider Photosynth raised ¥3.5bn ($33m) on Tuesday from investors including corporates Business Strategic Partners (BSP), Globis, Line, Mitsui Fudosan, NTT Docomo and Toppan.
Norinchukin Bank led the round, which featured fellow financial services firm Mebuki Financial Group’s Joyo Industrial Research subsidiary.
Family office-focused consulting firm BSP Group and printing service Toppan invested directly while education services provider Globis, messaging app Line, property developer Mitsui Fudosan and mobile network operator NTT Docomo took part through Globis Capital Partners, Line Ventures, 31Ventures and NTT Docomo Ventures respectively.
Venture capital firm Scrum Ventures filled out the equity portion of the round, which included debt financing supplied by Shinsei Bank, Japan Finance Corporation, Mizuho Bank and Joyo Bank. The company has now raised more than $47m since it was founded in 2014.
Photosynth has developed internet-of-things products including Akerun, a smart lock that enables users to unlock doors using a mobile app. Enterprise customers can also access cloud-based key management systems Akerun Remote and Akerun Manager.
Globis Capital Partners had already backed a $9.1m round for the company in mid-2018, investing alongside internet company Yahoo Japan’s YJ Capital unit and brokerage firm Daiwa Securities’ Daiwa Corporate Investment subsidiary, as well as debt from Japan Finance Corporation and Orix.
YJ Capital had previously joined game testing service provider Gaiax, Beta Catalyst and Jafco to provide $3.7m in funding for Photosynth in 2015.
