banking
SMBC Group flooded us with announcements to modernize and diversify its global business operations last week. These include: * The launch of SMBC Connect, a specialized brand designed to provide seamless, high-tech transaction banking services on a global scale. * The establishment of the Next-Generation Agribusiness Council to address food security and
venture capital
MeetsMore Inc., a Tokyo-based startup providing cloud-based platforms for the field service and social infrastructure sectors, has secured approximately 3 billion yen in an extended Series B funding round. The transaction, executed via a third-party allotment of new shares, brings the company’s total Series B funding to roughly 7
SaaS
Money Forward (TSE: 3994), a leading Japanese provider of back-office SaaS and financial management solutions, has delivered a surprisingly positive first-quarter performance for the fiscal year ending November 2026. The company achieved a positive operating profit of JPY 170 million, defying initial expectations of a loss. The results, underpinned by
venture capital
Plug and Play Japan, the regional arm of the global innovation platform and venture capital firm, has successfully completed the final closing of its debut investment vehicle, "Plug and Play Japan Fund I." Total capital commitments for the fund surpassed its initial targets, reaching over 6 billion yen
payments
Digital Garage (TSE Prime: 4819), a leading Japanese payment and marketing group, has launched “FT MediaString,” an AI-driven advertising business designed to integrate proprietary FinTech data with premium media inventory. The initiative, spearheaded by subsidiary BI.Garage, enters the market as the digital advertising industry faces mounting challenges in the
real estate
estie, a leading provider of commercial real estate data and industry-specific AI, has entered into a capital and business alliance agreement with The Norinchukin Bank, with a view to modernize the real estate finance sector. The partnership aims to accelerate digital transformation (DX) within Norinchukin’s real estate investment and
venture capital
SIGQ Inc., a developer of specialized "Agentic AI" for incident management, has raised additional capital through a Pre-Series A extension round. The investment, led by Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, brings the company’s total cumulative funding to 153 million yen, consisting of a 123 million JPY equity portion—issued
insurtech
Tokyo-based InsurTech pioneer justInCaseTechnologies has launched its "joinsure AI Insurance Sales Enablement Series." The new generative AI-powered suite is designed specifically to tackle the industry's most persistent challenge: high customer drop-off rates during the digital application process. The new solution has already delivered a significant impact
banking
Sumitomo Mitsui Financial Group (SMBC Group) has signaled a bold acceleration in its trajectory, unveiling a new corporate vision and a high-stakes three-year management plan aimed at catapulting the Japanese megabank into the top tier of global financial institutions. Effective April 1, 2026, the Group will operate under the new
venture capital
Tokyo-based venture capital firm DG Daiwa Ventures (DGDV) has participated in a Series A investment for Project Pluto, a New York-based startup developing an advanced artificial intelligence agent tailored specifically for institutional investors. Project Pluto is the creator of "Terminal X," an AI Financial Agent designed to help
artificial intelligence
Mizuho Financial Group has launched its "Agent Factory," a strategic initiative designed to transition the bank from the experimental phase of AI creation to a high-speed, industrial-scale production model. By standardizing the development and deployment of autonomous AI agents, Mizuho aims to reduce development cycles from weeks to
venture capital
Micronity, a Tokyo-based startup specializing in an AI-driven "business succession platform," has raised 2.2 billion JPY (approximately $14.5 million USD) in a seed funding round. The capital injection, led by domestic venture capital firms including Mitsubishi UFJ Innovation Partners (MUIP) and various individual investors, aims to