WAKEI Completes Seed Round Funding from MicroAd and Ho-Chwan Investment, Launches Full-Scale Operations

WAKEI Inc. (Headquarters: Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Representative Director and CEO: Takeshi Iryo), a provider of digital marketing support services in Japan and Taiwan, has announced the completion of its seed round of funding through additional investment from Taiwan's Ho-Chwan Investment Co., Ltd. and an investment from MicroAd, Inc. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo). This funding brings WAKEI’s capital to approximately 130 million JPY (including capital reserve).

This funding represents more than just a capital alliance; it signifies a powerful strategic partnership between MicroAd, which develops data platform businesses centered on digital advertising, and Ho-Chwan Investment, an investment firm for the founding family of the Hotai Group, one of Taiwan’s largest mobility conglomerates. By merging both companies' assets with Takeshi Iryo’s global network, WAKEI has established a robust foundation for executing business in the ITD sector and Japan-Taiwan cross-border initiatives.

■ WAKEI’s Strategy and Market Background
The global programmatic advertising market is growing rapidly, driven by budget shifts into new areas like Connected TV (CTV) and retail media, beyond traditional smartphone and web media. Research by Grand View Research in the US forecasts the market will reach 2.753 trillion USD (approx. 420 trillion JPY) by 2030, accelerating cross-border marketing development on a global scale.

However, the digital marketing landscape in Japan and Taiwan remains hampered by language barriers, lagging behind global trends. While global digital companies once competed to enter the Japanese market, the focus has shifted recently to high-growth markets like India and Southeast Asia, leading to a decline in new entry and investment in Japan. Conversely, this presents a significant opportunity for connection with global markets and the introduction of the latest technologies.

WAKEI leverages its strength as an 'independent' entity, free from platform dependency, to introduce and provide world-leading, unreleased ad-tech services through its Independent Trading Desk (ITD) business.

Additionally, for its Japan-Taiwan cross-border marketing business, WAKEI will promote partnerships with MicroAd’s local Taiwanese subsidiary and the portfolio companies invested in by Ho-Chwan Investment, including the popular app 'Invos Data', which holds over 4 billion pieces of purchase data in Taiwan.

■ A Powerful Alliance for this Project
This project is an ambitious alliance between 'Ho-Chwan Investment,' which supports many Taiwanese digital companies as the investment firm of the Hotai Group’s founding family, and 'MicroAd,' a leading Japanese digital marketing firm.

Takeshi Iryo, who has assumed the position of CEO, has a distinguished career launching global advertising businesses at Rakuten, establishing Japanese subsidiaries for Appier (Taiwan) and Mobvista/Mintegral (China), and serving as Country Manager for major global foreign digital firms like InMobi (India) and Outbrain (now Teads, US). With a team of partners possessing rich product assets, local networks, and global business experience, the structure to drive business in the Japan-Taiwan market is now complete.

■ Comments from Corporate Representatives
Wang-Teh Ko, Chairman, Ho-Chwan Investment
'We sincerely welcome MicroAd’s participation in this project. The company already has an office of about 100 people in Taipei and is deeply trusted in Taiwan. Taking this capital participation in WAKEI as an opportunity, I am confident that the fusion of MicroAd’s excellent ad-tech and our local digital network will further revitalize the Japan-Taiwan marketing market.'

Yoshiki Ehara, Executive Vice President, MicroAd, Inc.
'We have been actively investing in the Taiwan market as a top-priority region for our inbound business.'