Japan-based part-time job listings platform Timee secured ¥5.3bn ($48.5m) in equity and debt financing on Wednesday in a series D round featuring diversified trading group Itochu Corporation and telecommunications firm KDDI.
The $36.6m equity portion of the round was filled out by Keyrock Capital Management, Kadensa Capital, Seiga Asset Management and Signifiant’s The Fund.
KDDI was represented by KDDI Open Innovation Fund, and its investment was first disclosed in August this year. Banks including Mizuho Bank supplied $11.9m in debt financing, and the round took Timee’s overall equity and debt financing to $82.3m.
Founded in 2017 as Taimee, Timee has built an online portal that helps part-time employment seekers and recruiters connect with each other.
Timee had closed a $12.7m round in September 2020 that included child and elderly care service Global Bridge, internet company Mixi and real estate developer Prologis, as well as Colopl Next and Kintetsu Venture Partners, on behalf of mobile game publisher Colopl and rail operator Kintetsu Group respectively.
Financial services firm Higo Bank’s Higin Capital and Higin Venture Fund units also took part in the equity portion of the September 2020 round, as did various individuals, and it included debt from unnamed institutions.
Mixi and Prologis had participated in Timee’s $18.5m series B round in late 2019, investing alongside internet company Nexyz Group, hospitality groups Kids Holdings, Gosso, Transit General Office and WDI Corporation, consultancy CFO Consulting, logistics services firm SBS Holdings, rail operator JR East and financial services groups SBI and Hida Shinkumi Bank.
JR East Japan Start Up, SBI Investment and Hidashin Innovation Partners represented the last three in the series B round, which included IMM Investment Group Japan, Jafco and private investors.
Timee had collected $2.8m earlier the same year, from internet company CyberAgent’s Fujita Fund, human resources portal operator En-Japan and financial services firms Orient Corporation, Seven Bank and Seibu Shinkin (through Seibu Shinkin Capital).
The company had raised $510,000 from Colopl Next, game testing service Gaiax, CyberAgent subsidiary CyberAgent Capital (also known as CyberAgent Ventures), F Ventures, Genesia Ventures and unnamed individuals the year before along with debt financing supplied by Japan Finance Corporation.
