Announcement: Completion of Raising 190 Million Yen Via Seed Funding

FUKAIKA Inc. (Setagaya-ku, Tokyo; hereinafter FUKAIKA) announces that it has raised a total of 190 million yen through seed funding from Thirdwave Corp. as well as individual investors.

■Background of the Fundraising Campaign
-From establishing the company to the present-

FUKAIKA, founded by PIEDPIPER, the executive producer of the creative label KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO, is home to many virtual singers and artists from the internet, and comprises a diverse group of talented members. FUKAIKA is a story-based web3 startup that weaves individual R&D into one massive phenomenon aiming for the social implementation of various new businesses with high R&D potential, like original IP development, DAOs, NFTs, digital figures, metaverses, virtual live shows, MR experiences, and distinct ecosystems.

We at FUKAIKA launched the KAMITSUBAKI VERSE PROJECT, a joint project to expand the world of the virtual city of KAMITSUBAKI City by deepening stories made up of decentralized technology, which we’ve been researching and developing, and music, videos, and live shows cultivated by KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO.

In March 2023, we sold out 4,000 limited-edition KAMITSUBAKI Resident Genesis, a generative NFT art that acts as an ID for the residents of KAMITSUBAKI City inKAMITSUBAKI CITY UNDER CONSTRUCTION, an original IP project by KAMITSUBAKI STUDIO. We’ve been involved in community activities by developing game services for these NFT holders and allowing them to watch live show clips.

Most recently, as part of the development of the metaverse, the SINKA LIVE SERIES was conceived to maximize the possibilities of virtual live shows by artists, and a series of virtual live performances were held in KAMITSUBAKI City.

Further, we released 8,293 NFTs of the same virtual live performances, the first of its kind in the world. As such, we’re working daily to create live shows with a unique world that merges connected stories and artists’ performances, and to develop technologies that can be deployed in myriad fields.

Reference (only available in Japanese):https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000017.000106737.html

■Purpose of the Fundraising and What the Future Holds
We’ve raised funds to accelerate the further growth of our organization.
As the next phase of FUKAIKA, we’ll put our focus on the construction and expansion of the world of KAMITSUBAKI City, metaverse development, new IPs, product development, and more. We’ll strengthen the co-creation community with our fans, including KAMITSUBAKI Resident Genesis holders.

Additionally, we plan to invest in the hiring of human resources necessary to tighten our product infrastructure to manifest a web3-type ecosystem.
At FUKAIKA, we believe projects that render the process of content creation itself entertaining will have an undeniable presence in the future.

With a future in which the process economy has developed in mind, we’ll work with a plethora of creators to produce the next generation of original IPs that fans could support. We’ll work to build a self-sustaining entertainment industry where more extensive and active communication can take place.

■Thirdwave Corp.
Message from Kensuke Ozaki, President and Chief Operating Officer
I’d like to congratulate you on your successful fundraising. We’ve collaborated with FUKAIKA on various content such as music, videos, and XR live shows. With this investment, we’ll continue to actively collaborate with FUKAIKA toward the manifestation of a web3 ecosystem, the next stage of FUKAIKA.

■FUKAIKA Inc.
Founder PIEDPIPER Message
We’d like to express our deep gratitude to Thirdwave and our private investors for sharing our passion for entertainment and their investment in our seed fundraising.
We want to weave small individual projects into one massive phenomenon using KAMITSUBAKI’s stories as a base for the social implementation of the many R&D-oriented projects by FUKAIKA. We’ll continue to take on more challenges by firmly believing in the possibilities of creating new stories, experiences, and music.

■Recruitment
We are currently looking for new team members to further our organizational development. If interested, please check the recruitment details on the following website.
https://fukaika.com/en/joinus/

We have a wide range of talented members and are always looking for the best team members fit for the zeitgeist.
Member list:https://fukaika.com/en/member/