Kakao Japan Valuation, Funding & Investors
Kakao Japan is valued at $7.3B as of May 2021.
Last Kakao Japan valuation
$7.3B
Undisclosed stage · May 2021
Last Kakao Japan funding round
$550M
Undisclosed stage · May 2021
Cumulative funding Kakao Japan raised
$624M
across 2 funding rounds
Key investors in Kakao Japan
Kakao
Anchor Equity Partners
Podotree
About Kakao Japan
Kakao Japan is a Tokyo-based subsidiary of Kakao Corp that promotes KakaoTalk messaging app and related services in the Japanese market. It develops localized features for voice calls, stickers, and group chats, competing with Line through integrations with Kakao Pay for remittances and Kakao Music for J-pop streaming. Kakao Japan collaborates with local telecoms like NTT Docomo, expanding user base via manga partnerships and event promotions since its establishment in 2011.
Founded
2011
HQ
TokyoWebsite
Status
Privately held
Customer focus
B2C
Revenue model
Advertising
Valuation
$7.3B (May 2021)
Kakao Japan Valuation
Kakao Japan is currently valued at $7.3B, based on its undisclosed-stage round in May 2021.
The $550M round was led by Anchor Equity Partners.
Kakao Japan valuation by funding round
| Date | Stage | Valuation |
|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | Undisclosed stage | $7.3B |
Kakao Japan Funding History
Kakao Japan has raised a total of $624M across 2 funding rounds.
Kakao Japan's first fundraising round was a $74M strategic investment round in May 2018. The most recent completed round was a $550M undisclosed-stage round in May 2021.
Kakao Japan funding rounds
| Date | Stage | Investors | Raised | Valuation | Deal Summary |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| May 2021 | Undisclosed stage | Anchor Equity Partners (lead) | $550M | $7.3B | Kakao Japan, the Japanese subsidiary of Kakao Corp. specializing in webtoon services through its Piccoma platform, secured a 600 billion KRW investment led by Anchor Equity Partners via the Ryan & Friends Fund in May 2021. The deal involved issuing 67,930 new shares at 8.28 million KRW per share for 560 billion KRW, plus 40 billion KRW for secondary shares, resulting in Ryan & Friends acquiring a 7.8% stake. Post-investment ownership stood at Kakao with 72.9%, Kakao Entertainment with 18.2%, and Ryan & Friends with 7.8%. The transaction valued Kakao Japan at 8.8 trillion KRW (approximately $7.8 billion USD), marking the largest external investment in a Japanese content company that year and the first such funding for a Kakao overseas subsidiary. This valuation exceeded earlier internal projections of 6 trillion KRW and positioned it closer to rival Naver Webtoon's 10 trillion KRW estimate. The funding served as strategic preparation for a planned 2022 IPO, enabling expansion of the Piccoma platform, creator nurturing, and global webtoon content development. Proceeds were earmarked for investing in Piccoma, fostering creators, securing competitive intellectual properties, and entering new business areas to solidify market leadership in Japan's webtoon sector, described as a cartoon sanctuary. Kakao Japan had recently launched studios like Studio1Pic in Seoul and Sherpa Studio with Daewon Media to boost original webtoon production. Kakao Entertainment's acquisitions of US platforms Radish Fiction and Tapas Media complemented these efforts in the growing global webtoon market. Anchor Equity Partners, a global investment group, led the round with participation from overseas sovereign wealth funds, highlighting Kakao Japan's dominance in Japan's webtoon market. Industry observers anticipated the capital would enhance collaborations, strengthen operations, and drive higher valuations ahead of the IPO, while positioning Kakao to expand its global influence. |
| May 2018 | Strategic investment | Kakao (lead); Podotree (lead) | $74M | - | - |
Who has invested in Kakao Japan?
3 investors have backed Kakao Japan across its funding rounds, including Kakao, Anchor Equity Partners and Podotree.
Lead investors include Anchor Equity Partners, Kakao and Podotree.
Kakao Japan Investors
| Investor | HQ | Rounds | Role | First check |
|---|---|---|---|---|
 Seoul | 1 | Lead | May 2021 | |
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Start Free TrialKakao Japan Competitors
Kakao Japan competitors include listed companies like Match Group, Kakao, Life360 and Strive, and private ones like Miaopai and Telegram.
| Company | HQ | Status | Revenue | EBITDA | Valuation | Revenue Multiple |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 United States | Publicly listed | $3.5B | $939M | $10B | 3.7x | |
| South Korea | Publicly listed | $5.9B | $1.1B | $11B | 0.9x | |
| United States | Publicly listed | $489M | $32M | $3.3B | 5.0x | |
 Beijing | Private | - | - | $3B | - | |
| United States | Publicly listed | $4M | ($21M) | $2.7B | 316.5x | |
 Dubai | Private | - | - | $30B | - |
Kakao Japan Public Comps
Kakao Japan is still privately-owned, but its public comps include Duolingo, Kunlun, Snap, Doximity, Match Group, Pinterest, Kakao, JOYY, RUM Group and Life360.
| Last FY | EV/Revenue | EV/EBITDA | ||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Revenue | EBITDA | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | Last FY | LTM | 2027E | |
| $1B | $152M | 5.4x | 4.9x | 37.3x | 17.9x | |||
| $1.2B | ($230M) | 6.8x | 5.7x | (36.1x) | (111.2x) | |||
| $5.9B | ($300M) | 1.9x | 1.7x | (37.1x) | 9.8x | |||
| $645M | $229M | 6.3x | 6.2x | 17.7x | 11.9x | |||
| $3.5B | $939M | 3.7x | 3.7x | 13.9x | 10.0x | |||
| $4.2B | $361M | 2.4x | 2.2x | 28.5x | 7.3x | |||
| $5.9B | $1.1B | 0.9x | 0.9x | 4.8x | 4.1x | |||
| $2.1B | $160M | 1.2x | 1.1x | 16.3x | 11.2x | |||
This data is available for Pro users. Sign up to see all Kakao Japan competitors and their valuation data. Start Free Trial | ||||||||
Common questions about Kakao Japan
| When was Kakao Japan founded? | Kakao Japan was founded in 2011. |
| Where is Kakao Japan headquartered? | Kakao Japan is headquartered in Tokyo, Japan. |
| Is Kakao Japan publicly listed? | No, Kakao Japan is a private, VC-backed company. |
| What is Kakao Japan's valuation? | Kakao Japan was last valued at $7.3B in its undisclosed-stage round in May 2021. |
| How much funding has Kakao Japan raised? | Kakao Japan has raised $624M across 2 funding rounds. |
| What was Kakao Japan's last funding round? | Kakao Japan's last funding round was a $550M undisclosed-stage round in May 2021, led by Anchor Equity Partners. |
| Who are Kakao Japan's investors? | Kakao Japan's investors include Anchor Equity Partners, Kakao and Podotree. |
| Which companies are comparable to Kakao Japan? | Companies comparable to Kakao Japan include Match Group, Kakao, Life360, Miaopai, Strive and Telegram. |
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