Mind Palette

Jul 29, 2014

15 By Jonathan Toyad Mind Palette, the Tokyo-based startup behind Snapeee, has secured the investment from Global Brain and others The ‘GB-V Growth Fund Investment Limited Partnership’ managed by Japanese venture capital company Global Brain Corporation , and Japanese magazine publishing giant  Kodansha have together invested US$4 million into photo sharing app  Snapeee ‘s creator  Mind Palette . The investment makes Hiroshi Mihayashi, Principal, Global Brain, a part of the company’s Board of Directors. Takaaki Kamio, CEO, Mind Palette said that the company will add e-commerce functionality on its platform so that it will be easier to get potential fashion outlet customers. Launched in 2011, the fashion-focussed photo sharing app Snapeee is quite a rage with those in love with decorating their selfies and pictures with ‘kawaii’ culture wraps, and sharing them via social networks. Shinichi Kuwata, Deputy Executive Director of Rights Division, Kodansha said that the company’s various female fashion magazines will have an increased user base, thanks to the investment. It’s no surprise that Snapeee had beyond 8.1 million registered users as of July 24 this year, given that social network apps and fashion go hand-in-hand like peanut butter and chocolate. The app has been ranked as number one in various Asian territories including China, Hong Kong, Malaysia, Taiwan, Thailand and Vietnam. Global Brain’s last investment, together with KDDI, was worth US$8 million, which it invested in four startups — Venturebeat, Pogoseat, Issuu and Edmodo.