June 17, 2021

KDDI Corporation

KDDI invested in GINKAN, Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative: Tomochika Kamiya; hereinafter, "GINKAN"), the provider of the "SynchroLife" food discovery social media app and CRM services for restaurants through KDDI Open Innovation Fund III (operated by Global Brain Corporation; hereinafter "KOIF III"), which aims to incubate new business co-creations with promising venture startups.

The "SynchroLife" app provided by GINKAN is a new food discovery social media service that allows users to uncover hidden gem restaurants. Through the use of AI technology to analyze restaurant reviews to recommend restaurants that suit the user's preferences, "SynchroLife" frees users from "doubts about reviews" and "the trouble of looking up restaurants".
Meanwhile, there are no initial or monthly costs on the restaurants' end, and an integrated suite of services utilizing big data, ranging from PR to CRM, is provided in a fully automated fashion on "SynchroLife" under a completely success fee-based model to address the marketing issues of the restaurant industry.

Through this investment, KDDI plans to utilize its assets to popularize the "SynchroLife" app and support GINKAN's implementation of digital transformation in restaurant marketing to solve the issues the restaurant industry is facing.

As "the company that customers feel closest to," KDDI will continue to promote business co-creation through investment in promising startup companies, and create new business models together with customers and partners.

(Reference)

• ■About GINKAN

  • (1)

    Company name: GINKAN, Inc.

  • (2)

    Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo

  • (3)

    Date founded: December 2015

  • (4)

    Business activities: Planning, development, and operation of smartphone apps

  • (5)

    Representative: CEO Tomochika Kamiya
    URL: https://ginkan.jp/

• ■About KDDI Open Innovation Fund

  KDDI Open Innovation Fund is a corporate venture fund that supports a broad range of venture companies. The currently active KDDI Open Innovation Fund III focuses on areas of entertainment, home, IoT, big data, and Fintech with a total operating fund of 20 billion yen.