VCNC Adds Global Brain Corporation And 500 Startups As Investors, Launches e-Commerce Store

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10 years ago

Global Brain Corporation and 500 Startups invests into VCNC as couple app Between hits 1 million users in new market Japan. South Korea sees launch of Between e-commerce store.

VCNC, the creator of leading mobile couple application Between, announced today the addition of Japan’s Global Brain Corporation and US-based 500 Startups to its list of investors. The two investors join VCNC’s latest venture round, lead by social gaming platform DeNA in February this year. Global Brain’s investment was made through its GB-V Growth Fund Investment Limited Partnership. The investment amount remains undisclosed.

Having raised a total of US$4 million in two earlier funding rounds, including from notable venture capital firm SoftBank Ventures Korea, the latest venture round seeks to establish strong networks in key markets outside of VCNC’s dominated home market in South Korea. The commitment of Japanese investors DeNA and Global Brain Corporation is a result of VCNC’s strong performance in the local market, with VCNC achieving over one million users in just a year since penetrating the Japanese market. Between continues to lead in Japan’s mobile couple application space.

Yasuhiko Yurimoto, President and CEO of Global Brain Corporation, said “As social network services (SNS) become more popular, there are increasing amounts of security issues in the online world. Closed or private social network services like Between enable people to share information with selected users. Within this domain, Between is in the top global position and has high potential of becoming the standard. Global Brain Corporation could support VCNC’s growth not only in Japan but also in all of Asia.”

“Between is one of the top companies in the South Korean startup ecosystem, so for us to be part of their team is a thrill. To date, they are our second investment in South Korea. I first met them a couple years ago, and since then have been continually impressed with their performance. We like that the team values distribution and growth, which shows in their KPIs, and we look forward to helping them expand globally,” said Christine Tsai, Managing Partner of 500 Startups.

Strong growth for VCNC has seen Between crossing 7.3 million users worldwide. At the same time, VCNC is launching an e-commerce store for users in South Korea. With 60% of users based in South Korea, VCNC is taking the next step in monetising the Between platform. Working with local partners such as 10×10 and Wincube Marketing, Between continues to be a scalable platform to target and engage couples.

Jaeuk Park, co-founder and CEO of VCNC, said, “An e-commerce play is a natural progression for Between in terms of VCNC’s monetisation strategy. Since our early days of partnering brands through our Event Box (advertising), we have seen this demand and believe that this can also be successfully executed in our other markets such as Japan, Taiwan and Southeast Asia.

Other than South Korea and Japan, VCNC has operations in Southeast Asia and Taiwan where 7% and 4% respectively of users currently are.

Milestones Achieved By Between

December, 20112 – 2 million downloads worldwide.
January, 2013 – VCNC raises US$3 million Series B funding, launched sticker store with Version 1.4.0 update.
March, 2013 – VCNC Japan office opens in Tokyo.
October, 2013 – VCNC expands to Southeast Asia.
December, 2013 – 5 million global downloads, launched Between 2.0 update.
February, 2014 – VCNC raises venture round from DeNA for stronger expansion into foreign markets such as Japan.
May, 2014 – VCNC reaches 1 million downloads in Japan alone. Global Brain Corporation and 500 Startups invests into VCNC. VCNC launched e-commerce store on Between in South Korea.

About VCNC

VCNC stands for Value Creators & Company and was founded in 2011. The global mobile application company has offices in South Korea and Japan with teams in Southeast Asia and Taiwan. VCNC’s vision is to provide emotional communication services to enrich real, offline-based relationships. Between is VCNC’s third application and is now the leading mobile couple application in the world with over 7.3 million users worldwide.