Japan's Heartbeats raises $15M Series C for sports fan platform ORICAL
What's the deal? Tokyo-based HeartbeatsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised roughly ¥2.3 billion (about $15 million) in a Series C round to fund new products and expand its sports and entertainment fan-engagement business. Artemis No.1 Investment Limited Partnership led the round, backed by artemis venturesDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →.
The details: The financing closed across July and August 2026 through a third-party share allotment. A separate secondary transaction — existing shareholders selling to new investors — added about ¥200 million, bringing the total deal size to roughly ¥2.5 billion.
What's the endgame? Heartbeats runs ORICALDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a digital trading-card service that syncs cards with live games and events. Since launching with the Saitama Seibu LionsDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → in June 2020, it has grown to 26 partners, including 10 professional baseball teams, as of September 2026.
Where the money goes: The company plans to expand ORICAL's features, recruit new partners, launch new products, and strengthen its organisation. It aims to evolve beyond digital cards into a broader fan platform spanning ticketing and membership management.
Chief executive officer Yuta Umezawa said the company wants to make sports and entertainment "truly indispensable to society" (translated from Japanese).
Why the lead investor? Archibald Ciganer, managing partner at artemis ventures, cited Heartbeats' record in digital baseball cards, its scalable business model, and management quality. The firm, which focuses on Japanese mid- to later-stage startups, said it would support the company over the next decade.
Heartbeats had 177 employees as of September 2026, including 122 full-time staff, and plans continued hiring across all roles.
The signal: At roughly $15 million, the round sits toward the upper end of its cohort by size, reflecting investor appetite for platforms that turn fan loyalty into recurring revenue. As Japanese sports IP moves further into digital experiences, Heartbeats is betting the fan relationship itself — not just the collectible — is the product.
Image credit: wonker
