Fukuoka's Live Search closes Series C, backed by rare retail-investor fund topping $630,000
What's the deal? Live SearchDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, a Fukuoka-based property-data startup, has closed a Series C round, with Minato FundDealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom → as its largest investor. The fund, run by Minato Investment Co., Ltd.Dealroom has a profile for this one. Try Dealroom →, invested more than US$769.2K (roughly $630,000) through its second vehicle — its first investment exceeding US$769.2K.
What does the company do? Live Search builds tools for real estate firms under the mission of cataloguing property information. Its products include Req, a property-photography service; Stockplace, a data platform; and Tours, an app for tenants.
The company covers photography, floor-plan creation, and data management end to end, and now operates across 16 prefectures.
Why does it matter? Startup fund investors have traditionally been institutions such as financial firms and corporations. This time, a fund made up mainly of individual investors became the largest backer in a growing company's Series C.
How the fund works: Minato Fund is a target fund. It first picks a portfolio company, then designs a fund around that company's capital needs, drawing many of its investors from people already tied to the business.
Minato Investment, based in Fukuoka, forms and operates the retail-focused Minato Fund and develops financial services linking individual investors with private companies. It is registered under Japan's Cabinet Office special-zone fund scheme and the Financial Services Agency's qualified institutional investor exemption.
The signal: The deal shows individual investors moving into late-stage startup rounds long dominated by institutions. Backed by Fukuoka's financial and asset-management special zone, it points to a model where retail capital and personal ties, not just corporate balance sheets, fuel growth-stage companies.
Read more: prtimes.jp
Image credit: Generated with Gemini
