Japan-based Micoworks raised $24.5 M Series B funding from Vertex Holdings
Despite its widespread popularity, Line is by no means the most popular app in Southeast Asia. However, things are different in Japan, where it is still the most widely used messaging app.
Companies are now creating products on top of Line’s offerings due to its popularity. One such company is Micoworks, a Japanese martech startup that facilitates customer communication for companies via Line, among other channels.
In a series B funding round headed by Vertex Growth, a growth-stage venture capital fund supported by Temasek subsidiary Vertex Holdings, the company reported raising 3.5 billion yen, or roughly US $24.5 million.
Jafco Group, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, SMBC Venture Capital, and Mizuho Capital are among the other investors in the round. Eight Roads Ventures Japan and All Star SaaS Fund, two previous investors, also became involved.
Osamu Yamada founded Micoworks in 2017 and currently sells two primary products. The first, MicoCloud, provides tools like chatbots, CRMs, analytics, and loyalty schemes to help businesses engage with customers via Line. Restaurants can use Micomii to create Line Mini Apps, which are web applications that operate inside the Line app, for online ordering, payment processing, delivery, and reservations.
MicoCloud has been used by over 1,000 brands as of December 2023, and the company claims to maintain a monthly retention rate of over 99%.
Micoworks plans to use the additional funding to enhance its product features, strengthen its organizational capacities, and expand into nations like Taiwan and Thailand where Line has a sizable user base. Advanced generative AI and machine learning technologies are also planned by the company.
