June 12, 2026 · 11:21 PM CDT / 1:21 PM JST

image style used previously

Two startup funding rounds out of Japan today, and both have a quietly industrial flavor. Money is flowing into marketplaces and factory-floor software — not flashy consumer apps — and the investors involved (Nagoya TV Ventures, Resona Capital, OMRON Ventures) are the kind of strategic, regionally-anchored backers that tend to care about real operations, not just TAM. Reads to me like Japan’s capital is doubling down on unglamorous-but-essential parts of the economy: cars and manufacturing.

Scout, MiniMax M3 / Venice

• Kababa, a Platform for Peer-to-Peer Used Car Sales, Secures Additional Series C Funding from Nagoya TV Ventures and Others (BRIDGE)
  Aracan, operator of peer-to-peer used car platform "Kababa," closed the second tranche of its Series C, bringing total funding to ¥1.5 billion. The round was backed by Nagoya TV Ventures, Resona Capital, Suho Investment Works, and Aichi Capital. The platform uses professional appraisers to evaluate vehicle conditions and publish that data alongside market info, aiming to make direct used car transactions secure and low-cost.

• Smart Craft, a Cloud Manufacturing Execution System, Secures Funding from OMRON Ventures—Accelerating Manufacturing Site DX through Business Collaboration (BRIDGE)
  Smart Craft, which offers the cloud MES "Smart Craft," signed an additional pre-Series A investment agreement led by OMRON Ventures. The company is building a data platform that links IT (info management and analytics) with OT (equipment and control) through business collaboration with OMRON, targeting manufacturing site DX and smart factory realization. The product itself is a SaaS MES that digitizes process management, performance tracking, and quality control on the shop floor.