Japan's VC Fund Akatsuki looking to Invest $500K Each in 5 Indian Startups in Vernacular Category

Tokyo, Japan-based Akatsuki Entertainment Technology (AET) Fund, a venture capital fund by Japan's highly regarded entertainment company, Akatsuki Inc., is looking to invest $500,000 each in five new early-stage startups in India that falls under vernacular category, reported LiveMint citing a top company executive.

The key focus areas of AET Fund in India will be consumer segments including vernacular video, vertical media, esports, mobile gaming, live streaming, among others, said the report citing statement of Yuki Kawamura, Principal Partner of EAT Fund.

According to AET’s Kawamura, India's vernacular content segment is largely unexplored with a tall demand-supply gap in the market.

Launched in India in March this year, AET has already made 10 early-stage investments in India with its Indi-dedicated $50 million fund. The portfolio companies of AET in India include Doubtnut, StayAbode, Planet Superheroes, LBB, Mech Mocha, and others.

Incorporated in 2010, AET fund actively invests in new forms of entertainment such as streaming services, voice assist, the gamification of existing industries and spreads beyond the bounds of conventional categories such as games, music, sports, beauty and fitness. We openly engage with all businesses that deliver emotional experiences.

AET typically do not leads the funding rounds but follows a co-investment model and contribute in fundraise having other VCs such as Accel Partners, Blume Ventures, Sequoia, Inventus, Chiratae, DSG, 3one4, Infoedge, and Shunwei.

Last December, Akatsuki contributed in $2 million funraise of ShoeKonnect, an Indore-headquartered B2B e-commerce startup. That round was led by Info Edge.

Supporting Akatsuki’s mission of creating a heart-driven world, AET Fund invests in startups that foster happiness and an overall positive well-being, with resources that optimize them for success.

Having operations in Los Angeles, Japan and India, AET Fund is focused on providing startups with seed funding, as well as collaborative insights, access to its vast network, human capital, corporate development, partnership opportunities, business discipline, developer resources and strategic insights for raising additional funds.

Indore-based ShopKirana Raises $2Mn from Info Edge, Japan's AET Fund and Others

Indore-headquartered B2B e-commerce startup ShopKirana has raised $2 million in funding from Info Edge, along with Japan's AET Fund, Akatsuki and Incubate Fund and Better Capital AngelList syndicate.

Post this investment, Info Edge has now acquired 15.5 percent stake in Shopkirana, on a fully converted & diluted basis.

The funds raised will be used by the startup to expand its business operations across India as the startup is aiming to launch in ten cities by next year, targeting one lakh retailers and connecting farmers with retailers.

Prior to this fundraise, ShopKirana had raised an undisclosed amount in December 2016, which was its pre-series A round led by Lead Angels, Incubate fund and senior executives from top FMCG Companies. To date, Shopkirana has raised a total of $2.1 million in funding over four rounds.

Founded in 2015 by Deepak Dhanotiya, Sumit Ghorawat, Tanutejas Saraswat, Shopkirana is connecting brands & traditional brick-and-mortar retailers with the help of technology & supply chain innovation. ShopKirana aims to build biggest & fastest Go-To-Market platform for 90% of India's retail market which is unorganised and need to get transformed quickly.

According to Sumit Ghorawat, co-founder, ShopKirana, the startup has entered the growth phase and now plans to aggressively expand pan India.

"Unlike a lot of startups, we took inspiration from the McDonalds and the 7-Elevens of the world, where they did not open 100 stores on day 1. They operated one store initially, made the order taking streamlined, recipe standardized and then scaling became easy. Now, not just the leadership but my entire team is confident in scaling the business," he said.

Speaking on the investment, Kitty Agarwal, Head-Corporate Development, Info Edge, said, "We believe that the next frontier for internet businesses will be Bharat and not India. Shopkirana is servicing small retailers and empowering them to compete with organized retail and online players. The team is outstanding and has focused well on delivering the proof of concept with promising economics. They are addressing a large problem and we look forward to working with them closely."

Tomoya Ogawa, Managing Director of AET Fund (Akatsuki Entertainment Technology Fund) and CFO of Akatsuki, said, "We're thrilled to partner up with ShopKirana. We aim to realize the delightful lifestyle change of retailers by transferring our global expertise on entertainment including gamification."

Tokyo-based AET Fund is a venture capital fund specializing in the intersection of entertainment and technology. The fund actively invests in new forms of entertainment such as streaming services, voice assist, the gamification of existing industries and spreads beyond the bounds of conventional categories such as games, music, sports, beauty and fitness.

Traditional retail is still the bigger part of the market in India, and Ghorawat said that the company was targeting a 5% market share over the next five years, which would translate into sales of $3-5 billion.

Source - Economic Times, MoneyControl