LocationMind Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Naoki Kiritani), a geospatial AI company originating from the University of Tokyo, has completed its Series B funding, raising a total of ¥4.96 billion. This brings the company's total cumulative funding since its founding to approximately ¥6.7 billion.

This Series B Extension raised a total of ¥1.79 billion, comprising approximately ¥850 million in equity and ¥940 million in debt.

Background and Purpose of the Funding

LocationMind is a startup that operates two businesses—a geospatial AI business and a space business—with the goal of becoming the world's largest location data bank. Our AI business handles a wide range of global location big data, including human, vehicle, vessel, and satellite imagery data, providing advanced, global-scale analysis. Following the acquisition of U.S.-based Irys, Inc. and the establishment of AdvertisementMind Inc. through the acquisition of the "pinable" business, we have expanded to handle location data from over 150 countries. We plan to continue accelerating our business expansion both in Japan and internationally.

This Series B Extension round was carried out to capitalize on new growth opportunities that have emerged since the Series B 2nd round, including M&A, and to further accelerate our investment in future growth.

Through the acquisition of Irys, we have entered the U.S. market and gained a highly competitive product. Previously, LocationMind sourced GPS data externally. However, the acquisition of Irys, which holds GPS data from over 150 countries, has enabled vertical integration within the LocationMind Group to own its big GPS data, creating tangible global synergies. Furthermore, a clear roadmap has been established for the global development of our geospatial generative AI. This AI will enable advanced spatial analysis of big data—including location data for people, vehicles, ships, and real estate—across the globe with a single chat command. We plan to accelerate this development with the new funding.

About Irys
Regarding the global GPS data from Irys, which was mentioned earlier, we are seeing an increase in inquiries related to the growing domestic inbound tourism market. We have already received requests from local governments for data on visitors from the U.S. and Europe, where Irys has a strong presence, and there are high expectations for our future service development. We will continue to conduct further data verification and prepare products specifically for the inbound tourism market.

About pinable
pinable's Beacon and SDK (Software Development Kit for smartphone apps) enable precise indoor location detection, which is difficult to achieve with GPS data alone, and include push advertisement functionality. We will provide a platform that facilitates detailed communication between smartphone app users and advertisers to encourage behavioural change.

Comment from Naoki Kiritani, CEO of LocationMind Inc.

I am delighted to announce the release of our Series B Extension. Our industry is advancing day by day with fierce global competition. This funding allows us to be agile in responding to M&A and business opportunities that have emerged since our last funding round. For Japan to compete globally in data and technology, we need a global foundation. We will continue to seek out growth opportunities through aggressive investment in our business and R&D, including further M&A.

Comment from Ryuma Ogawa, CFO of LocationMind Inc.

I am pleased to report that we have successfully completed our latest funding round. This financing was absolutely critical for us to execute two M&A deals and seize a major business opportunity. I am deeply grateful to everyone who has so strongly supported our growth. Moving forward, we will continue to pursue discontinuous growth opportunities and accelerate the new business initiatives already underway, aiming for even faster growth.