Japan-based part-time job portal Timee secured ¥1.34bn ($12.7m) on Tuesday from investors including corporates Colopl, Global Bridge Holdings, Kintetsu Group, Mixi and Prologis.
Child and elderly care provider Global Bridge, internet company Mixi and property developer Prologis invested directly while mobile game publisher Colopl and rail operator Kintetsu Group did so through corporate venturing vehicles Colopl Next and Kintetsu Venture Partners.
Financial services firm Higo Bank’s Higin Capital and Higin Venture Fund subsidiaries also participated in the equity portion of the round along with unnamed individuals, while debt financing was provided by undisclosed financial institutions.
Timee was founded in 2017 as Taimee, and it provides a software platform that matches part-time employment applicants with recruitment managers. Registered workers do not have to undergo an interview to take on a project, and they are immediately paid through the app after the job is completed.
The company will use the money to cover sales, marketing, product expansion and human resources expenses.
Mixi and Prologis had already chipped into Timee’s $18.5m series B round in October 2019, which included internet company Nexyz Group and financial services firms SBI and Hida Shinkumi Bank, the latter two through SBI Investment and Hidashin Innovation Partners.
The round was filled out by JR East Japan Start Up, a subsidiary of rail operator JR East, as well as hospitality groups Kids Holdings, Gosso, Transit General Office and WDI Corporation, consultancy CFO Consulting, logistics services firm SBS Holdings, IMM Investment Group Japan, Jafco and several individuals.
The company had received $2.8m from internet company CyberAgent’s Fujita Fund, online human resources service En-Japan and financial services firms Orient Corporation, Seven Bank and Seibu Shinkin – the latter through Seibu Shinkin Capital – in January 2019.
The round came after $510,000 in 2018 from Colopl Next, game testing service Gaiax, CyberAgent subsidiary CyberAgent Capital (then CyberAgent Ventures), F Ventures, Genesia Ventures and unnamed angel investors in addition to debt financing from Japan Finance Corporation.
