[NEWS] Hashport raises over 1.2 billion yen in Series C funding from Yusaku Maezawa and others

HashPort, which promotes the Web 3.0 business, announced on the 18th that it has completed the second close of its Series C round and raised a total of 1.2 billion yen in this round.

This brings the company's total cumulative procurement of stock to approximately 2 billion yen.

In the second close, the company raised funds through a third-party allotment of new shares, with underwriters including businessman Yusaku Maezawa, Shizuoka Capital No. 9 Investment Limited Partnership (Shizuoka Capital Management Fund), MS Startup Support Investment Limited Partnership (Venturebo Investment Management Fund), and TSVF1 Investment Limited Partnership (CVC fund invested in by Tokyu Fudosan Holdings).

Maezawa also invested approximately 480 million yen in 2021, making this his second time participating.

In addition to funds managed by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and UTEC No. 4 Investment Limited Partnership (a fund managed by The University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners), which participated in the first close that raised 900 million yen, the number of underwriters in the Series C round has increased to a total of six companies.

Hashport has listed three objectives for this round of funding. One of them is "investment in strengthening the consulting business for enterprises."

Hashport Group provides solutions that utilize blockchain, such as SBT and NFT. This investment will be used to strengthen the development of system solutions for companies entering the SBT and Web 3.0 fields, and to recruit personnel to expand the consulting team.

The company will provide stronger support to companies aiming to enter the Web 3.0 field or utilize SBT, and will play a role in connecting Web 3.0 with the real economy.

Next, it lists "investment in strengthening the IP x NFT business." Hashport's subsidiary, HashPalette, is developing NFT products such as the blockchain network "Palette" optimized for NFT distribution, the NFT marketplace "PLT Place," and blockchain games using Japanese IP.

The funds raised this time will be used to acquire large IP from Japan, develop products on Palette using IP, and expand the products globally.

Finally, it lists "investment in strengthening the internal management system of the entire group." Hashport Group says it is building a management department that includes multiple in-house lawyers to operate its business in strict compliance with regulations.

After this round of funding, the company plans to step up hiring of compliance and corporate governance personnel in preparation for the company's IPO and the need to comply with regulations as its business expands.

Reference: Press release
Image: Hashport press release