Startup Funding Wrap-up in Japan – Sept 23rd-28th

Here we are at #005 of our Weekly Startup Funding Wrap-up in Japan – Sept 23rd to 28th!

Once again, Japan had a conservative week with ¥1.82B (~A$18.2M / ~US$12.1M), across a range of fund raising activity.

Here’s what went down:

🇯🇵 Japan – Capital moves (past week):

• Zen Intelligence™ – ¥1.5B (~A$15.0M / ~US$10.0M) Series A – for AI unmanned construction site automation – The Bridge (Japanese only)
• bionto – ¥60M (~A$0.6M / ~US$0.4M) Seed – for home-use iontronics drug delivery device – The Bridge (Japanese only)
• Matilda Books – Undisclosed (round not stated) – for Matter SaaS – The Bridge (Japanese only)
• do.Sukasu – ¥60M (~A$0.6M / ~US$0.4M) Pre-Series A – for visual cognition / perception tech – The Bridge (Japanese only)
• FormX – Undisclosed Seed – for disclosure automation SaaS – The Bridge (Japanese only)
• CureCell – ¥50M (~A$0.5M / ~US$0.3M) Pre-A – for ferroptosis inhibitor development – The Bridge (Japanese only)
• xxxxnese （ニーズ）– ¥150M (~A$1.5M / ~US$1.0M) Series A ext + debt (¥490M cumulative) – for cross-border e-commerce DX platform – PR TIMES (Japanese only)

Total for Japan (Disclosed): ¥1.82B (~A$18.2M / ~US$12.1M) – Awesome work by all the founders who raised!

Headlines out of Japan:

• The Lost 30 Years and the Reality of 3% GDP Share: An Unexpected Opportunity for Japanese Startups – The Bridge (Japanese only)
• KDDI’s “Next Startup Ecosystem”: Unraveling the Concept with Two Keywords – The Bridge (Japanese only)
• Japan seeks to boost new geothermal power generation – Nikkei Japan
• Japan’s Olympus revamps R&D as it looks to embrace robotics and AI- Nikkei Japan
• Rents and investments soar across Japan- Nikkei Japan
• SoftBank’s Son sees AI in cars as ‘once-in-2-centuries revolution’- Nikkei Japan
• LDP leadership race fuels debate over Japan’s defense budget – Nikkei Japan
• Tokyo Game Show kicks off with record number of exhibitors – Nikkei Japan
• Japanese insurer Tokio Marine and OpenAI partner on AI agent – Nikkei Japan
• SoftBank slashes subsidiaries 23%, homing in on AI – Nikkei Japan
• Apple CEO Cook visits Japan as new smartphone law looms – Nikkei Japan
• Sony brings fans onto the pitch with new sports-viewing tech – Nikkei Japan
• Japan’s spaceports move to internationalize with Taiwan rocket launch – Nikkei Japan
• Casio seeks new homes for mood-changing AI pet in US and UK – Nikkei Japan
• IPOs plunge 70% on TSE’s Growth market as tighter standards loom – Nikkei Japan
• Microsoft takes on Nintendo’s Switch 2 at Tokyo Game Show – Nikkei Japan

Sector Spotlight – Pet-tech

Carelogy – developed the AI app CatsMe!, which uses facial recognition to detect pain or discomfort in cats with accuracy reported above 95%. Built in collaboration with Nihon University researchers, it reflects how AI-driven diagnostics can transform preventive pet healthcare.

Toletta Cats Inc. – offers a smart litter box that uses sensors to monitor a cat’s weight and urine patterns, alerting owners to possible health issues. By turning everyday routines into valuable health data, Toletta is part of a wave of IoT-enabled pet wellness solutions.

One by One Music Inc. – is experimenting with AI-generated music designed to calm dogs and reduce anxiety-driven behaviors. Delivered via subscription and developed with veterinary input, it represents a creative blend of technology, science, and lifestyle for pet owners.

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