KDDI Open Innovation Fund III Makes Additional Investment in mov inc., Operator of "Kutikomi Com" AI Store Support SaaS

May 21, 2024

KDDI CORPORATION

KDDI made an additional investment in mov inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Makoto Watanabe; hereinafter "mov"), operator of the "Kutikomi Com" AI store support SaaS and "Honichi Lab," one of the industry's largest inbound tourism business media platforms, 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. Furthermore, this represents KDDI's second investment in mov, following the Series A round.

Through coordination with 19 websites in Japan and overseas, mov's "Kutikomi Com" service provides a wide range of support to meet the needs of store operators by enabling multifaceted management of store information and implementation of MEO measures, and by offering advantages in bolstering analysis and improving operational efficiency with the use of AI through the adoption of Google's "AI Startup Program."

Through this additional investment, KDDI will collaborate with mov to support the further adoption of "Kutikomi Com."

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 mov

  • (1)

    • Company name

      : mov inc.

  • (2)

    • Headquarters

      : Yamaguchi Building 4F, 3-17-4 Shibuya, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo

  • (3)

    • Date founded

      : September 2015

  • (4)

    • Business activities

      : - Operation of "Kutikomi Com" AI store support SaaS
      - Operation of "Honichi Lab," one of Japan's largest inbound tourism business media platforms

  • (5)

    • Representative

      : Makoto Watanabe

  • (6)

    • URL

      : https://mov.am/ (in Japanese only)

• ■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 30 billion yen.