Taizo Son’s investment fund Mistletoe will invest 2 million euros (about US$2.15 million) in Funderbeam, announced CEO Kaidi Ruusalep when she took the stage at Slush Tokyo 2017 on Wednesday.
Mistletoe will work with the Estonian startup to take its offering of a blockchain-based stock exchange platform solution to Japan and elsewhere in Asia-Pacific.
Funderbeam has launched the platform last April opening the world’s first primary and secondary market for early-stage startup investments. This brings liquidity to a market where investors previously have had to wait for years to exit.
“Kaidi is constructing a revolutionary startup support system. These days, startups struggle with fundraising. Thanks to Funderbeam’s blockchain-based stock marketplace, startups can overcome that,” Taizo Son said on stage at Slush Tokyo.
“Mistletoe engages in various activities to support and grow a startup ecosystem in which entrepreneurs and startups can grow freely. And for the healthy development of this ecosystem, a transparent and open fundraising process, is one of its critical components,” Taizo Son said.
He also further adds that it is through supporting Funderbeam’s Asia Pacific expansion, that Mistletoe hopes to contribute to the democratization of startup fundraising in Asia Pacific.
On Funderbeam, investors can pool their money across borders to raise capital for startups. And for the first time ever, startup investors can trade their investments on an online aftermarket secured by the blockchain technology.
For startups, this marketplace provides a new alternative to raise capital globally which solves the challenge of having to deal with many small investors in the early days of building the company, something quite common for equity crowdfunding companies.
Since the launch of the platform, the company said that investors have put in more than 2 million euros through the Funderbeam platform, and a number of transactions total 100,000 euros in more than 80 countries.
Even Funderbeam themselves has used their own funding platform to raise 424K euros.
The cumulative funding for Funderbeam to date is US$4.8 million with early investors including Skype co-founder Janne Tallinn, Thomson Reuters, and 3TS Capital Partners.
By Vivian Foo, VCNewsNetwork
