Sozi Inc., Creating Exciting Relationships Between Works and Society and Supporting the Development of Creation, Conducts Fundraising
Sozi Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Tetsuhiro Miyamura) has completed fundraising through a third-party allotment to the following investors.
Investors in This Round
GREE Ventures, Inc.
Genesia Ventures, Inc.
Heart Driven Fund (Akatsuki Inc.)
Hiroshi Tomishima
Kenichiro Fujisaki
Yoshifumi Seki
Kazuma Yamauchi
Business Overview and Use of Funds Raised
Our company aims to support the development of creation by developing various businesses that deliver works in a valuable way and connect creators and recipients interactively in a society where the Web has become the center of communication.
“OFUSE” (https://ofuse.me/), released in 2018, is a web service that allows users to send their feelings of support to creators as fan letters priced at 2 yen per character. Due to its ease of use and wide range of usage scenarios, it is supported by creators in various genres. In 2019, we released “pib” (https://pictureinbottle.com/), a creative illustration app that proposes new ways to discover and enjoy works. Creators can deliver their illustrations to people who truly love them just by posting their created illustrations, while users receive illustrations daily without any creator information attached, allowing them to collect favorite works based solely on their own values, unaffected by the creator's popularity or temporary buzz and trends. (Details of each service are provided later in this release.)
With this fundraising, we will enhance the features of each product and strengthen marketing to advance toward realizing a society where rich creations bloom in abundance.
From Our CEO, Tetsuhiro Miyamura
“A Kind World” and “A Warm World” — Sozi values above all else delivering these two equally to people around the world as we create our products.
And this release is also about “sharing the world we aim for.” While hoping to make the hearts of people we haven't met yet even a little kinder and warmer, I would like to take this opportunity to share my thoughts.
I myself fell into “loneliness” when I was young, and what saved me from that situation was anime and a wide range of manga and novels. They were completely different from the world I had seen before, and their unique worldviews and attractive characters made me lose myself in them, and in those moments alone I could forget my loneliness. What pulled me out of this most painful state of loneliness was the “kindness” and “warmth” that countless works possess, and the creators who brought them to life.
In this world, there are people in the same situation as me, and people who are suffering from various problems. The power of creators is necessary to create many opportunities to escape from such loneliness and suffering. Sozi will continue to be an entity that brings color to every life by providing a system where creation and emotion circulate, without breaking the connections between creators, works, and recipients.
It may sound idealistic, but Sozi has started running toward a future where we firmly connect people and leave no one behind through “A Kind World” and “A Warm World.” This fundraising is to reach the realization of that world as quickly as possible, and we need companions who share the same vision. We seek all kinds of connections, not limited to participation as members, but including business co-creation and participation in products in various forms. I would be happy if we could create fertile ground where rich creations can bloom together.
Comments from Investors
Shintaro Aikawa, President and CEO, GREE Ventures, Inc.
With the development of internet services represented by Instagram and TikTok, we have entered an era where anyone can become a creator. On the other hand, “your personal favorites” are often different from content with many followers or that has gone viral. Attempting to fill this weakness of the internet are “pib,” which uses AI to help you encounter illustrations more suited to your taste the more you use it, and “OFUSE,” which financially supports creators through fan letters. We are very much looking forward to working with Sozi, which operates these services.
Takahiro Suzuki, General Partner, Genesia Ventures, Inc.
Creativity and the creative are things that continue to exist in every era, and I feel they will become even more important in the future. Also, with the development of the internet and devices, an environment where anyone can freely express and transmit has been established, and I feel that we will be overflowing with more information and creations than ever before. I felt it would be interesting if we could become an entity that supports people meeting and connecting through works via our services, nurturing richness of heart and continuing to create more new value, which is why I have invested as a lead investor twice since the seed stage. Also, when I heard about the concept of “pib” from Mr. Miyamura at a startup event on December 9, 2018, the subject was always creators and users, and I strongly felt his stance of thoroughly supporting the stakeholders of our service, and I still strongly remember becoming a fan of the Sozi team in an instant.
Yuji Kumagai, Vice President, Heart Driven Fund
The world of “Art × Creation” created by the Sozi team. There, their own feeling of truly loving this world and their strong will to expand this world further are embedded, and I am always overwhelmed by that momentum. And this worldview is exactly what Heart Driven Fund aims for. I expect many creators and fans to resonate with each other, giving birth to new creations and fan businesses!
Hiroshi Tomishima, Former Co-founder of Mercari, Former President of Bank of Innovation
When I talked with Mr. Miyamura, I got excited and ideas kept popping into my head. Logical yet fun. I got the impression that a very internet-like person is developing internet-like services. Creating new value rather than fighting over the pie. In an environment where pure internet services are said to be difficult, they are taking on the challenge of going global with Japanese content at the core. Before I knew it, I had decided to invest. Let's work hard together!
Kenichiro Fujisaki
I liked the purity of Sozi's products. pib has the potential to develop into a comfortable space that doesn't exist in existing SNS and the possibility for creators to be recognized globally, and while OFUSE is simple, I felt the potential to complement experiences that existing microfinance cannot provide. Mr. Miyamura's perspective is wonderful, sincere and positive, and I feel he is building a very good team. I will cooperate in various ways beyond just investment!
Yoshifumi Seki, Co-founder/Senior Researcher, Gunosy Inc.
pib was a C-facing service that I found “interesting” as a user for the first time in a while, and I immediately decided to invest. In the modern era where anyone can transmit works as a creator, chance encounters are not so common. This phenomenon called the Matthew effect, where the rich get richer and those who are deprived are increasingly deprived, seems to be strengthened by social media. I expect this service to become like a salon in the modern era where “pib” and “OFUSE” can direct chance encounters between creators and consumers and strengthen their connections.
Kazuma Yamauchi, Founder CEO, KZM & Company Group
Above all, the worldview is beautiful. I strongly feel this in both of Sozi's services, pib and OFUSE. The feeling of “like” that emerges more sharply by harboring chance. The feeling of “wanting to support” that is intrinsically generated and delivered through text and money. I sincerely hope that Sozi's services, which delicately weave the relationship between creators and fans, will spread throughout Japan and eventually throughout the world.
About the Fan Letter Service “OFUSE”
A web-based fan letter service where you can send your feelings of “thank you” to creators at 2 yen per character. It was developed from the founding members' desire to support creators even with payment in an era where free has become the norm on the web. Creators can receive support and gratitude from fans simply by sharing their own page URL called an “OFUSE box.” This simple mechanism that doesn't depend on the form of creative work or activity platform is used by an extremely wide range of creators. OFUSE will realize a future where creators can continue their creative activities with the power of fans.
About the Illustration App “pib”
“pib (picture in bottle)” is a smartphone app that delivers created illustrations to people who truly love them just by posting them. Users can collect works they like based solely on their own values, unaffected by the creator's popularity or temporary buzz and trends, as illustrations are delivered daily without any creator information attached. It also provides a new way for creators and fans to meet, where an illustration creator's information page called a “room” is disclosed when certain conditions are met within the app. By creating a mechanism to perpetually reach potential fans just by posting works, we will create a place where creators can concentrate on creative activities and users can find what they like without bias.
Company Overview
Company Name: Sozi Inc. CEO: Tetsuhiro Miyamura Location: LIFORK AKIHABARA II RB1A, 3-13-2 Sotokanda, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo Business: Planning, development, and operation of platforms and tools to develop creation Established: September 2017 Website: https://sozi.co.jp/
For inquiries regarding this matter:
Sozi Inc. contact@sozi.co.jp