Mercari, a Japanese peer-to-peer marketplace, has raised around $75 million at a reported valuation of more than $1 billion. The company’s Series D investment round includes Mitsui & Co, Development Bank of Japan and Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank’s Japan Co-Invest, Globis Capital Partners, World Innovation Lab and Global Brain. Mercari has now raised a total of about $111 million and is being hailed as the first pre-IPO startup unicorn in Japan.
Blippar, an augmented reality, artificial intelligence and computer vision company, closed a $54 million Series D funding round led by Khazanah Nasional Berhad, the investment fund of the Government of Malaysia. “2016 is poised to be the biggest year in Blippar’s history as we not only expand our breadth and depth as a business — across our team, technology capabilities and product offerings — but also reach new heights with our vision to become a true visual discovery engine for the physical world,” said Ambarish Mitra, Blippar Co-Founder and CEO. “This latest funding round will allow us to continue to capture top engineering talent, further grow our leading global install base, create one-of-a-kind campaigns for our brand partners, and achieve our vision for an era in which everyone has access to unlimited knowledge of the world around them, regardless of language or education.”
Influitive, an advocate marketing company, has raised $8.2 million in a Series B extension. The additional funding comes from new investors Leaders Fund and Expor Development Canada, returning investors Georgian Partners, Relay Ventures, BDC Capital IT Venture Fund and OurCrowd, and several angel investors. The total amount raised in the Series B round now comes to $38 million, and the company has raised an overall total of around $50 million since its inception in 2010. “The momentum behind Influitive and the advocate marketing category they have created is impressive,” said David Stein, Managing Partner of the Leaders Fund. “With their strong execution in a growing market with huge potential, we are delighted to help Influitive accelerate past the $20 million annual recurring revenue level that we define for new category leaders. As an evergreen investment fund, we are committed to Influitive’s long-term vision, and believe this financing and acquisition will further enable it.”
YourMechanic, an on-demand auto mechanic service, has raised $24 million from SoftBank Capital, Lerer Hippeau Ventures, Data Point Capital, Andreessen Horowitz, SAIC, Verizon Ventures, American Family Insurance, PG Ventures, Promus Ventures, and Silicon Valley Bank. The company has now raised a total of $32 million. “I founded YourMechanic in 2012 to bring transparency and convenience to car owners at a fair price. Since then we have serviced tens of thousands of happy customers and equally happy cars, resulting in triple-digit annual growth,” said co-founder and CEO Art Agrawal. “This commitment from leading investors is a reflection of our tremendous success to date and validation of our unique on-demand auto services brand that is redefining the way in which maintenance and repair services are delivered, discovered, and booked.”