October 25, 2023

KDDI Corporation

KDDI invested in BitStar, Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Taku Watanabe; hereinafter: "BitStar"), a provider of social media marketing and direct-to-consumer (D2C) solutions, 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.

BitStar utilizes a proprietary social media database of 1.6 million accounts together with its own technology to provide social media marketing solutions. In addition, BitStar has expanded into the D2C business in the beauty and fashion fields, and has supported 6,000 creators and more than 1,800 clients to date, making it one of the largest creator economy companies in Japan.
KDDI and BitStar have previously worked together in planning and promoting the "BitStar Academy Cup" and "povo Dream Ambassador" programs, which support the dreams of creators while expanding povo2.0.

Through this investment, KDDI will support the expansion of BitStar's business operations while also aiming to create business through the use of influencer marketing that leverages BitStar's knowledge.

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)

• ■Overview of BitStar

  • (1)

    • Company name

      : BitStar, Inc.

  • (2)

    • Headquarters

      : Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

  • (3)

    • Date founded

      : July 2014

  • (4)

    • Business activities

      : Provision of social media marketing and D2C solutions using proprietary data and technology

  • (5)

    • Representative

      : Taku Watanabe

  • (6)

    • URL

      : https://bitstar.tokyo/corp/en/

• ■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 the areas of AI, IoT, data marketing, fintech, B2B SaaS, and entertainment with a total operating fund of 20 billion yen.