# Hikari Tsushin Group

> Hikari Tsushin Group is a VC fund in Tokyo backing Internet, E-Commerce and Content. See 21 investments, check sizes, portfolio. Updated Aug 2026.

- Type: VC Fund
- Location: Tokyo, Japan
- Total investments: 21
- Last investment: Dec 2007
- Lead investor: 10%
- Last updated: Aug 2026
- X (Twitter): https://twitter.com/hikari9435
- Website: http://www.hikari.co.jp

Hikari Tsushin Group is a VC fund in Tokyo focused on Internet and E-Commerce. One of the largest distributors of mobile phones, office appliance and insurance in Japan, listed on Tokyo Stock Exchange. Have an overwhelming sales network to SME and consumers, with the 22,000 employees in the group, utilizing door-to door, call center and 8,600 retails stores to sell various products.

## Investment focus

### Industry

| Industry | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Internet | 7 | 33% |
| E-Commerce | 7 | 33% |
| Content | 3 | 14% |
| Software | 3 | 14% |
| B2B | 2 | 10% |

47 industries tracked in total.

### Stage

| Stage | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| Series B | 6 | 29% |
| Series C | 6 | 29% |
| Funding Round | 3 | 14% |
| Series D | 2 | 10% |
| Private Equity | 2 | 10% |

7 stages tracked in total.

### Country

| Country | Investments | Share |
| --- | --- | --- |
| United States | 15 | 71% |
| China | 1 | 5% |
| Japan | 1 | 5% |
| France | 1 | 5% |
| Hong Kong | 1 | 5% |

## Investments

| Company | Description | Amount | Stage | Date | Website |
| --- | --- | --- | --- | --- | --- |
| 56.com | 56.com is a user-generated content (UGC) video-sharing website in China.56.com hosts more than 80 million online videos, the majority of which is user-generated, followed by in-house productions. 56.com obtained its online video license from the State Administration of Radio and Television of China in December 2008.56.com was the firstonline video site to provide video album services in China, and was also the first to offer the “Beauty Show” in China.It has developed partnerships with clients such as Audi, Toyota, Coca Cola, McDonald, Nestle, and Nike.In October 2011, 56.com was fully acquired by Renren Inc. and became a part of the Renren Group. | $20M | Series B | Dec 01, 2007 |  |
| Pulse Entertainment | Pulse Entertainment, Inc. is a leading provider of avatar messaging services for mobile phones and web sites based in San Francisco, California. The Company's patented Veepers Media System (VMS) platform is used by major wireless carriers, web-based greeting card providers and consumer brands to create animated messages, 3-D personalizedwallpaper, visual voicemail and other rich media applications. Pulse is focused on providing engaging web and mobile video services that are easy for other companies to deploy and simple for consumers to use and interact with. Major customers include American Greetings, AT&T, Verizon Wireless and KDDI. | $5.8M | Series B | Mar 22, 2007 |  |
| New.net | New.net is a provider of domain name registry and related services that offers domain name extensions in several languages, including English, Espanola, Francais, Portuguese, Deutsch, and Italian. Its domain name extensions include .sport, .shop, and .school.New.net was founded in 2000 and is based in Pasadena, C.A. It operates as a subsidiaryof Connexus Corporation. | $1.1M | Series C | Sep 09, 2003 |  |
| New.net | New.net is a provider of domain name registry and related services that offers domain name extensions in several languages, including English, Espanola, Francais, Portuguese, Deutsch, and Italian. Its domain name extensions include .sport, .shop, and .school.New.net was founded in 2000 and is based in Pasadena, C.A. It operates as a subsidiaryof Connexus Corporation. |  | Series B | Feb 28, 2001 |  |
| Adero | Adero provides content delivery enablement solutions to carriers and hosting providers through its Adero GlobalWise Network technology. The company also provides content delivery services, and its CD-enable services provide enhanced content distribution for static content and streaming for hosting companies and carriers.Adero’s CD-net servicesprovide professional consulting services, including network architecture planning and implementation, along with CDN technologies that enable carriers to enhance and or build their content delivery network as a private label offering. The company is based in Waltham, Massachusetts. | $72M | Series C | Aug 03, 2000 |  |
| AtNetwork | Their focus is in assisting the global integration of the Asian markets into the new e-conomy. They are building the bridges that will connect Asian countries to each other and to the rest of the world. They are breaking down barriers, which will lead to a more connected world. This is achieved through the use of Their virtual backbone inaddition to Their comprehensive suite of e-business and marketing services. Their Internet backbone is guaranteed to be up 100% of the time. In addition, Their solutions are flexible enough to be implemented seamlessly, allowing companies to infiltrate the Asian markets in a matter of weeks, not months. | $33.5M | Series B | Jul 25, 2000 |  |
| WR Hambrecht | WR Hambrecht is a financial services firm that helps companies of all sizes access capital at the lowest cost in order to accelerate disruptive growth. Its philosophy is based on tenants such as identifying companies, helping them raise capital and go public, and delivering market pricing. The company has a wide range of products such as theOpenIPO Auction, the A+ IPO, the OpenBook Auction, and the OpenFollowOn Auction.Their clients are NETSUITE, Google, MORNINGSTAR, and XBiotech and it also offers initial public offering services to companies.WR Hambrecht is a U.S.-based company that was founded in 1998 by William and Robert Hambrecht. | $83M | Series C | Jun 07, 2000 |  |
| beenz.com | Beenz.com is an online marketing tool designed to attract and maintain the attention of online consumers. | $39.5M | Series B | Jun 07, 2000 |  |
| Cooking.com | Cooking.com sells more than 90,000 kitchen products, all backed by a 100% satisfaction guarantee. In addition to being a store, the site has a large collection of recipes and community features. The company was founded by a team who previously worked together at The Walt Disney Corporation.Cooking.com also operates online stores for many bigbrands including | $35M | Series E | May 17, 2000 |  |
| SiRF Technology | SiRF Technology develops semiconductor and software products that enable location-awareness. | $24.7M | Private Equity | May 16, 2000 |  |

10 of 21 investments shown.

## Co-investors
- [Crimson Ventures](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/crimson-ventures) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [Dain Rauscher Wessels](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/dain-rauscher-wessels) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- Finaventures — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- [GE Equity](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/ge-equity) — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- Idealab — VC Fund, 2 deals together
- ING Barings — VC Fund, 2 deals together

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- [FJ Labs](https://shizune.co/investors/profile/fj-labs) — VC Fund

## FAQ

### What does Hikari Tsushin Group invest in?

Hikari Tsushin Group invests primarily in Internet, E-Commerce and Content startups, most often at Series B and Series C stage. Most of the 21 investments tracked by Shizune back companies in United States. The Investment Focus section breaks down every industry, stage and country in the portfolio.

### When did Hikari Tsushin Group last invest?

The most recent investment recorded for Hikari Tsushin Group closed in Dec 2007. Shizune tracks 21 investments in total for this profile, including round sizes, stages and portfolio companies, all sourced from confirmed public funding rounds and refreshed monthly.

### Is Shizune's investor data accurate?

Yes — every stat on this profile is calculated from confirmed public funding rounds monitored across hundreds of sources since 2020. This profile was last refreshed in Aug 2026 and is updated monthly. Spotted something off? Use the “Suggest an edit” link near the top of the page.

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