Country for PR: Japan
Contributor: Kyodo News JBN
Monday, February 27 2023 - 19:00
AsiaNet
Zeroboard, Cloud-based Carbon Accounting Service Provider, Raises 2.44 Bil. Yen (USD18.4 Mil.) in Series A Financing
TOKYO, Feb. 27, 2023 /Kyodo JBN-AsiaNet/ --

Zeroboard Inc. (hereinafter "the Company"), a Tokyo-based developer and 
provider of "zeroboard," a cloud-based service to calculate and visualize 
greenhouse gas (GHG) emissions, is pleased to announce that the Company has 
completed raising funds through a third-party allotment of new shares as part 
of the Series A round, bringing the total amount from the first and second 
closings to 2.44 billion yen (USD18.4 million) (*).

(*) Calculated at JPY132.97/USD as of Feb. 15, 2023

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In the Series A round, Keyrock Capital Management Limited was the lead 
investor. In the first closing, in addition to Keyrock Capital Management, 
existing investors, including DNX Ventures and Inclusion Japan, Inc., some new 
investors, namely JAFCO Group Co., Ltd., DBJ Capital Co., Ltd., and Coral 
Capital, Inc., have joined, closing with the total of six undertakers, 
resulting in funding totaling 1.98 billion yen. During the second closing, a 
total of 12 partners/CVCs have signed a 460 million yen investment agreement. 
They are NAGASE & CO., LTD., Kansai Electric Power Co., Inc., MUFG Bank, Ltd., 
Iwatani Corporation, Toyota Tsusho Corporation, Sumitomo Corporation, FFG 
Venture Business Partners Co., Ltd., ORIX Corporation, Mizuho Capital Co., 
Ltd., SMBC Venture Capital Co., Ltd., Delight Ventures, Inc., and U3 
Innovations LLC.

Latest News on Company's Business
In March 2021, the Company announced the launch of zeroboard, Japan's first 
cloud-based service for calculation and visualization of GHG emissions, whose 
beta version and product version were released in July 2021 and January 2022, 
respectively. In July of the same year, the Company took the lead in the 
industry to release the calculation function of carbon footprint (emissions by 
product and service) and, in August, decided to start the support for 
decarbonization management in Asia with five partners who have various business 
transactions with overseas manufacturing sites and supply chains and those who 
aim to decarbonize their operations. The number of companies that had adopted 
zeroboard reached 2,000 by October. In order to further promote the calculation 
of supply chain emissions, including international emissions, the Company has 
also added multi-language (Japanese, English, Thai, Chinese, and Spanish) 
versions of the platform.

Understanding emissions is only a starting point for decarbonization management 
for businesses, and it must bring about concrete initiatives for reduction. In 
addition to providing its clients with advanced technology-enabled calculation, 
the Company has actively joined alliances with partners who provide GHG 
reduction solutions, and the number of partners reached 100 in January this 
year. Together with its partners, the Company is building an ecosystem to 
provide a variety of solutions tailored to the needs of its clients, including 
energy conservation, renewable energy, and other decarbonization solutions, as 
well as sustainable finance to support these solutions, thereby supporting 
corporate decarbonization management.

Purpose of Fundraising and Future Development
The funds raised will be used to accelerate the development of "zeroboard" 
product functions, to hire more professional resources such as customer success 
specialists to support clients, and to expand internationally with the aim of 
becoming a global platform.

The Company is also actively involved in formulating rules and regulations in 
areas related to decarbonization and the environment, which are changing 
rapidly on a global scale, while constantly monitoring market trends. In 
September 2022, the Company's CEO Michitaka Tokeiji has been selected as a 
member of the Ministry of Economy, Trade and Industry's Study Group on Product 
Carbon Footprint Calculations and Verification for Supply Chain-Wide Carbon 
Neutrality. As a front-runner in decarbonization management, the Company will 
continue to share its accumulated knowledge with clients and society, aiming to 
become a global decarbonization management partner.

About zeroboard
The platform, zeroboard, is a one-stop solution developed to calculate, 
disclose, and reduce GHG emissions as a decarbonization management partner. It 
supports corporate decarbonization management by calculating and visualizing 
GHG emissions from corporate activities and supply chains on the cloud and 
providing GHG reduction solutions tailored to the challenges.

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Official website: https://zeroboard.jp

*The Company is looking for local partners to promote decarbonization 
management in Asia together.


Source: Zeroboard Inc.