We have raised a total of 210 million yen in Series A funding.
Thank you for your continued interest in fermata. We are pleased to announce that in April 2022, fermata successfully completed a Series A funding round, raising a total of 210 million JPY through a third-party allotment of shares to our lead investors: University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners (UTEC), DEEPCORE, iSGS Investment Works, and ITOCHU Corporation.
fermata Management Team: From left, Amiina Sugimoto (CEO), Hiroko Nakamura (CCO), Kana Kondo (COO)
Since its establishment in 2019, fermata has been dedicated to its vision of "transforming your taboos into excitement," engaging in various ventures to foster the femtech market in Asia and Japan. Leveraging a network of over 900 femtech companies globally, partnerships with 9 major international femtech hubs, and the diverse expertise of its international team in public health, community development, and other fields, fermata has grown to be recognized as the go-to expert for femtech in Asia. We actively provide innovative proposals to individuals, corporations, and government agencies to bridge access gaps for all stakeholders, thereby driving market growth.
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For individuals: We operate the world's first femtech-focused e-commerce site, retail stores where products can be experienced directly, and online events to provide accurate knowledge about physical and mental health.
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For corporate clients: We offer consultation and support for distribution and pharmaceutical affairs to companies looking to enter the Asian and Japanese femtech markets, as well as assistance with employee benefits to promote Diversity, Inclusion, and Equity (DI&E) within their organizations.
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For government agencies: To ensure that products embodying new values circulate appropriately in the market and to protect consumers, we are promoting revisions to laws, including the Pharmaceuticals and Medical Devices Act (PMD Act) in Japan, or the proper interpretation thereof. We also lead discussions and practices concerning the protection of individual privacy in the utilization of healthcare data.
While the femtech market in Asia and Japan has transitioned from its nascent stage to a period of rapid change, overflowing with vast options and information, many individuals still face physical and psychological barriers to accessing femtech products and services, leading to unprecedented access gaps. Among fermata's customers, the demand for "knowing the options and information necessary for their present and future selves" has grown higher than ever before. Furthermore, with the rapid growth of the health tech industry, including femtech, there is insufficient discussion and rule-making regarding how to protect individual privacy when utilizing healthcare data across companies and society as a whole.
fermata plans to provide systems, including curation and recommendation functions, to meet this demand. The funds raised in this round will be allocated to developing these systems and strengthening recruitment for existing businesses. Through this funding, fermata aims to establish its value as a global platformer that is essential to the overall market and as a trusted curator for all stakeholders.
■Comment from Amiina Sugimoto, CEO and Representative Director of fermata Inc.
Investment in the healthcare market, including women's health, has historically been challenging due to various reasons, both domestically and internationally, as it was often considered taboo. However, in recent years, "femtech" has gained recognition within industry, government, and academia as an independent and growing industry. Furthermore, the utilization of new technologies and data protection techniques has begun to attract attention, with the potential for innovation precisely because it is a new market with fewer stakeholders.
The lineup of investors who participated in this round reflects that the femtech market in Asia has reached its next stage and is in a transitional period. UTEC supports us not only in platform development but also in expanding each of our businesses and in connecting with academia and government. DEEPCORE is expected to provide technical support for the platform, and iSGS will assist in building individual-oriented services on the platform. With ITOCHU Corporation, we will form a capital and business alliance to expand and support market entry in Asia and Japan for distribution, as well as develop corporate services together. As we enter our third year since establishment, with powerful new partners, we aim to create a movement that transforms taboos into excitement, without being constrained by "how things should be."
■Comments from Investing Companies
UTEC Partner Maiko Katadae (appointed as outside director of fermata Inc.) *Photo Left
UTEC Representative Director, President & CEO, Managing Partner Tomotaka Goji (appointed as auditor of fermata Inc.) *Photo Right
fermata is a startup that aims to build a platform to promote women's empowerment through the development of the femtech industry in Asia, and to realize a community & ecosystem that fosters social diversity. The management team, led by CEO Amiina Sugimoto, consists of global talent with high entrepreneurship, making them one of the few teams capable of leading the femtech industry in Japan. They have achieved product sourcing from global femtech companies and community building, and also possess the regulatory compliance capabilities to disseminate femtech products as medical devices. UTEC will fully support fermata in becoming a platformer in the femtech domain.
UTEC / University of Tokyo Edge Capital Partners:Since its establishment in April 2004, UTEC has been a venture capital firm that sincerely engages with entrepreneurs, scientists, and engineers, making numerous successful investments in startups that challenge global and human issues. Its investment strategy is to create startups that tackle global markets and human challenges, collaborating with academia in Japan and overseas, such as the University of Tokyo, to provide consistent hands-on support from the seed/early stage to startups strong in a wide range of science and technology. To date, UTEC has invested in over 140 startups, of which 17 have gone public and 13 have achieved exits through M&A or similar means.
DEEPCORE President Masaya Niki *Photo Left
DEEPCORE CFO Kasumi Amemiya *Photo Right
We invested in fermata with the conviction that this team can achieve the transformation it envisions, having observed not only the prominent activities of the fermata team, led by CEO Sugimoto, as pioneers in the Japanese femtech domain, but also their steady efforts in foundational activities such as regulatory reform, understanding of the latest research, and diligent networking with overseas femtech startups. Going forward, by establishing fermata as a platform and creating a mechanism for cross-sectional utilization of various data, we can not only provide better services to individual users but also expect a significant social impact, including contributions to medical research. We look forward to fermata continuing to create much "excitement" as per its vision.
DEEPCORE / DEEPCORE Inc.: DEEPCORE is an AI-focused VC with a mission of "CORE for Disruptive Innovations," aiming to foster excellent entrepreneurs in the field of AI, especially deep learning. It provides startup support through investments via its operating funds and the management of "KERNEL," an AI technology-driven community.
iSGS Investment Works Director / Representative Partner Makiko Sato *Photo Right
iSGS Investment Works Investment Manager Risa Anki *Photo Left
Women's social advancement is steadily progressing through the expansion of diversity and women's empowerment initiatives. However, "women-specific wellness issues" are still sometimes seen as taboo, and many aspects remain medically unexplained.
fermata aims to collect data that can be utilized in various ways, such as in the development of products to assist women's lives and in medical fields, by creating a platform that contributes to solving women's wellness issues. We hope that fermata's business will grow, be used throughout Japan and the world, and realize a society where everyone, not just women, can live more comfortably. iSGS will fully support the construction of the fermata platform by not only providing its expertise but also by thinking and working together.
iSGS / iSGS Investment Works Inc.: With "Be a LifeStyle Changer" as one of its investment policies, iSGS established its first fund in 2016, followed by its second fund, "iSGS ARISE Investment Limited Partnership," in January 2020. As of the end of March 2021, it has invested in and supported a cumulative total of 84 startups.
With an average of over 20 years of investment experience among its three representative partners, combined with extensive practical and management achievements, iSGS leverages its broad network and practical/management experience to invest in and support a wide range of startups that bring about change through technology across various industries, not limited to the internet industry, including medical, food and beverage, retail, logistics, agriculture, and education.
ITOCHU Corporation, Manager of Development and Research Dept., Ryohei Suda
ITOCHU Corporation has been exploring and considering entry into the femtech market as a new growth area. In this context, we have formed a capital and business alliance with fermata, a company that provides comprehensive solutions in this market, with the aim of expanding and supporting the growth of the market and jointly developing related products and services. Through this capital and business alliance, we will mutually leverage ITOCHU Corporation's service infrastructure and network with fermata's knowledge and expertise in the femtech market. With a market-in approach, we aim to accelerate the development of products and services that address women's bodily concerns and challenges, which can be considered social issues, and to realize a society where all people, not just women, can live comfortably.
ITOCHU Corporation: ITOCHU Corporation traces its origins to 1858 when Chubei Itoh I began linen trading. For a century and a half, the company has continued to grow. Today, as a major general trading company with approximately 100 offices in 62 countries worldwide, it conducts domestic, import/export, and trilateral transactions across various sectors including textiles, machinery, metals, energy, chemicals, food, housing, information, and finance, in addition to engaging in various business investments both domestically and internationally.
■About Recruitment
fermata is currently actively recruiting new members for multiple open positions, the first time the company has done so. Would you like to join us in challenging and growing the rapidly expanding femtech market in Japan and Asia?
Please see below for available positions.
https://hellofermata.com/blogs/recruit
Recruitment Contact: recruit@hellofermata.com (Contact persons: Aoyama, Hakumai)
The full press release can be found here.
Thank you for your continued support of fermata.