Japan's FinT lands angel round from six investors, including Mercari's chairman
What's the deal? Tokyo-based FinTDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → has raised an angel round from six individual investors and strengthened its management team, the social media marketing firm announced in September 2026. Backers include Mercari chairman Fumiaki KoizumiDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, AskulDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → founder Shoichiro Iwata, User Local chief executive Masao ItoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and Anagram founder Keiji Abe.
What does FinT do? The company runs social media marketing for enterprise clients such as KaoDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → and MizkanDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, and has served more than 460 companies to date. Founded by chief executive Yui Otsuki as a student startup, it now employs roughly 130 people across offices in Japan, Vietnam, and Thailand.
What's the money for? FinT is moving into a new growth phase, expanding its core business while building out global and AI ventures. It plans a significant increase in hiring across all roles, from business staff to AI engineers and product managers.
The hires: Koki Kitagawa was named executive officer of the global division, which is replicating FinT's Vietnam playbook — where it supports clients including Kao and Itoen — in newer markets such as Thailand, where clients include Kobayashi PharmaceuticalDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →. The company also created a new AI technology lead position to speed development.
Why now? FinT set up a dedicated AI team in 2025 and now reports that all staff use its in-house AI agent, putting company-wide adoption at 100%. On that base it launched two AI ventures: AI Media Studio, which pairs social media know-how with AI search optimisation, and Jiritsu AI, which installs its AI agent system inside client firms.
The investors framed their support around Otsuki herself. "The biggest reason I decided to invest in FinT is Yui Otsuki as a leader," Abe said. "I value who is doing it more than what they are doing now." (translated from Japanese)
Koizumi said he was "excited about FinT taking on the world, especially Asia," adding that he expects the company to become "a firm that represents the next generation." (translated from Japanese)
The signal: FinT is one of a wave of marketing firms betting that AI reshapes how brands reach audiences. By raising from operators rather than institutional funds, it signals a preference for hands-on backers as it pushes deeper into Southeast Asia and automated marketing.
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
