Smooth Secures Series C Funding of Approximately 700 Million Yen for Split Payments on Rental Initial Fees

Smooth Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Taku Koizumi) announces the first close of its Series C funding round, raising approximately 700 million yen. Following the Series B funding announced in December last year, the company's total capital raised since inception—including loans and operating capital lines—now amounts to approximately 4.22 billion yen.

In this round, Smooth welcomed JIC Venture Growth Investments, Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Hideki Yari) as a new shareholder, alongside additional investments from existing shareholders: Maesawa Fund, XTech Ventures, and CyberAgent Capital. The investment reflects strong recognition of the social significance and growth potential of Smooth's service amid rising rents and initial move-in costs due to inflation.

Smooth offers a service that enables installment payments for initial rental move-in costs such as security deposits, key money, and agency fees. The number of affiliated real estate agencies has grown approximately 2.5 times year-on-year, and the total number of LINE friends (users) has surpassed 470,000, demonstrating continued growth. The funds raised will be used for recruitment and service improvements in preparation for a future IPO, accelerating further business expansion.

Overview of Third-Party Allotment

Amount Raised

Approximately 700 million yen

Method

Third-party allotment of new shares

Subscribers (names listed without honorifics)

New Investor

JIC Venture Growth Investments, Inc.

Follow-on Investors

Maesawa Fund

XTech Ventures

CyberAgent Capital

About Smooth

Smooth enables installment payments for initial rental move-in costs such as security deposits, key money, and agency fees. Tenants can move into their desired properties without paying large upfront fees.

Real estate agencies value the service for reducing lost opportunities due to tenants abandoning leases over high initial costs, thereby improving closing rates and revenue. Additionally, with benefits such as "free to adopt and use" and "instant approval results in as little as 15 seconds," the number of partner agencies nationwide is rapidly increasing.

Social Challenges Addressed by Smooth

When renting, tenants are typically required to pay several months' worth of rent upfront as initial fees. High initial costs have ranked as the top rental-related concern for ten consecutive years, representing a serious and unresolved social issue.

Source: Ministry of Land, Infrastructure, Transport and Tourism, "Housing Market Trends Survey"

Moreover, rental prices themselves have been rising in recent years. According to the Nikkei (May 2026), rents for single-person apartments in Tokyo's 23 wards have reached record highs.

As initial fees rise proportionally with rent, more people are expected to give up on their preferred properties. Through its installment payment system, Smooth aims to address this challenge and help create a society where everyone can live where they want.

Business Growth Achievements

Smooth continues to grow by meeting persistent demand for installment payments. The total number of LINE users has reached 470,000, and the number of partner agencies has increased approximately 2.5 times year-on-year. These figures indicate that the installment payment service is steadily gaining traction among both tenants and partner agencies.

Total LINE Registrations

Number of Rental Agencies

Use of Funds and Future Outlook

The funds raised will primarily be allocated to the following two areas:

1. Organizational Strengthening

To support business expansion, Smooth will accelerate hiring, particularly in engineering, sales, and administrative departments. Currently in a rapid growth phase, the company is actively seeking team members who can help build the business toward an IPO.

▼ Open Positions

Head of Administration

Software Engineer

Senior SWE

2. Service Improvement

Smooth will continue investing in service enhancements to improve experiences for both tenants and partner agencies. Specific initiatives include accelerating AI-driven operational efficiency, expanding partnerships with real estate firms, strengthening core financial systems, and improving usability, all aimed at maximizing service value.

CEO Statement

Taku Koizumi, CEO, Smooth Co., Ltd.

This successful funding round would not have been possible without the support of our investors, financial institutions, business partners, employees, and users. I sincerely thank all our stakeholders.

We will use the funds to improve our service and strengthen our organization so we can reach even more people with Smooth.

Moving is an important step that connects to personal aspirations—starting a new job, attending a new school, or beginning life with a new family. We will continue striving to fulfill our mission of enabling more people to move toward their dreams, aiming to become a company that meets the expectations of all our stakeholders.

Subscriber Comments

Masayuki Konuma, JIC Venture Growth Investments, Inc.

Rising rents have become a societal issue amid ongoing inflation. We are concerned that increasing initial move-in costs could negatively impact living conditions, even among promising working-age individuals. We believe Smooth addresses this challenge and contributes to improving quality of life. We also see its potential in promoting cashless transactions among rental businesses.

Hirotoshi Kusumi, CEO, Maesawa Fund

As rising rents and initial move-in costs make it increasingly difficult to live where one wants, the social significance of Smooth's mission grows ever greater. We highly value the exceptional execution capability of the team led by Mr. Koizumi and their growing support from users and partner real estate agencies, which led us to make an additional investment. We look forward to supporting their continued innovation and expanding choices for more people.

Hiroki Teshima, Representative Partner, and Yuta Inohara, Associate, XTech Ventures

We are making an additional investment following our previous round. As I mentioned before, during the seed stage, I repeatedly told Mr. Koizumi (perhaps quite rudely) that "this business probably won't work," that the category itself seemed impossible regardless of effort. But now I've completely changed my mind—"It's working! Amazing!"—and reversed my position to invest. It's been about a year since then. I've watched an experienced management team, drawn in by Mr. Koizumi's passion, work tirelessly to deliver a rare life-changing value—"accelerating the moving experience"—to users, backed by funding and credibility from major Japanese corporations. I'm now incredibly excited to see how large and unique a financial business they can build, far beyond questions of feasibility or profitability.

Keita Yasaki, CyberAgent Capital

Throughout our collaboration, we've consistently sensed strong user demand. Smooth is steadily becoming an indispensable service. The norm of paying more than a month's salary when moving has long been accepted despite being burdensome. The persistence of the Smooth team in challenging this norm and scaling the service is truly impressive. We welcome any inquiries from those interested in learning more.

About Smooth Co., Ltd.

Mission: "Enable moves that bring people closer to their dreams." Smooth offers a service that allows installment payments for initial rental move-in costs. Its easy LINE-based application process and fast automated approvals have earned strong support, with over 470,000 LINE friends registered.

Company Name: Smooth Co., Ltd. Address: 5F, Udagawacho Building, 14-13 Udagawacho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo Representative: CEO Taku Koizumi Founded: May 2019 Capital: 730 million yen (including capital surplus) Business: Development and provision of deferred payment services for rental move-in costs Corporate URL: https://corp.smooth.jp/ Service URL: https://smooth.jp/

Media Inquiries Smooth Co., Ltd. Public Relations Contact Email: pr@smooth.jp

Financial Inquiries Smooth Co., Ltd. Finance Contact Email: finance@smooth.jp