On 24 October 2019, AnyMind Group’s CEO and co-founder, Kosuke Sogo, participated in an insightful panel discussion around funding sources at Singapore Business Review’s 20 Hottest Startups panel briefing for 2019.
AnyMind Group came in third on Singapore Business Review’s list of Hottest Startups for 2019, with the recent funding round integral to the company’s position on the list.
On the very first panel of the day, and alongside other startup founders from Beam and UCARE.AI, and investment & accelerator firm representatives from Venturra Discovery and Entrepreneur First, Sogo shared with the audience on how AnyMind Group raised US$13.5 million for Series A and US$21.5 million for Series B.
Sogo shared that within the first year of operations, the then AdAsia Holdings (now AnyMind Group), brought in its first investor – JAFCO Asia. This was crucial to the company’s ambitious expansion plans.
Prior to the Series A funding, the company had already expanded from its headquarters in Singapore to Bangkok, Ho Chi Minh City, Hanoi, Jakarta, Taiwan and Cambodia, and bringing in an investor with an established track record allowed the company to further establish market share and expand geographically.
For the company’s Series B round, Sogo shared that one of the focus areas was on bringing in strategic partners and investors like LINE and VGI, to further expand opportunities in the advertising industry.
2019 saw business movements across AnyMind Group brands – AdAsia, CastingAsia and TalentMind.
Most notably, the CastingAsia and entertainment tech business saw new growth through the launch of the CastingAsia Creators Network (and collaborated with Keisuke Honda to launch his YouTube channel), and the establishment of AnyUp, a joint venture with SUNNY SIDE UP. CastingAsia also launched CPA and CPC capabilities for influencer marketing, allowing more addressable influencer marketing activities for marketers in Asia.
At the same time, Prof. Yutaka Matsuo, President of Japan Deep Learning Association and professor of the University of Tokyo, and Prof. Toshihiko Yamasaki, associate professor of the University of Tokyo, were appointed technical advisors to AnyMind Group.
Additionally, AdAsia launched AdAsia360 for publishers, and also formed a partnership with Wootag, to deliver interactive video advertising units across Asia, whilst TalentMind launched TalentMind People, a human resource management system for HR professionals.
A big thank you to Singapore Business Review for inviting us to share about our growth story, and for ranking us in the Hottest Startups list for 2019!
