Asuene Inc. has successfully raised approximately US $5.3 million in the 2nd close of its Series C round through a third-party allocation of shares with investors including Japan Green Investment Corp. for Carbon Neutrality (JICN), Nippon Life Insurance Company (via Nippon Life Strategic Fund I), JERA, Pavilion Capital, and individual investor Hidetaka Kojima (Head of M&A, Strategic Planning and Global Business Development at SHIFT Inc. and Director of the Board at SHIFT Growth Capital Inc.). This round brings the total Series C funding to US $33 million, with aggregate fundraising reaching US $67 million.
Business Progress and Achievements
Asuene is advancing multiple products in the climate tech field, focusing on decarbonization and ESG. Driven by the mission “Changing the world for the next generation.”, the company continues to grow.
“ASUENE”, a carbon accounting platform, has surpassed 9,000 customers in Japan with over 140 partner companies. The ESG evaluation cloud “ASUENE ESG” has over 14,000 evaluated customers, driving ESG management for many businesses. Additionally, through its joint venture “Carbon EX” with SBI Holdings and Asuene offers carbon credit and emissions trading platform, with over 1,200 companies registered on the platform.
Beyond Japan, Asuene has established ASUENE APAC in Singapore and ASUENE USA in the United States, acquiring several dozen overseas customers and partners. Furthermore, we have set up a global development center in the Philippines, hiring many local engineers to drive our global business growth.
In August 2024, Asuene also established Asuene Veritas Inc., focusing on third-party verification and assurance services.
With a vision of becoming a global leader and maximizing societal impact for future generations, Asuene will continue to expand its business.
Future Investments and Partnerships
＜JICN＞
JICN, dedicated to carbon neutrality through diverse decarbonization investments, recognized Asuene’s efforts in the decarbonization sector and invested accordingly.
＜Nippon Life Insurance Company＞
As one of Japan’s largest institutional investors, Nippon Life will strengthen its collaboration with Asuene in the ESG sector.
・Enhance collaboration between Nippon Life’s sustainable finance and Asuene’s services
・Explore the use of Asuene’s services for ESG evaluation and engagement with Nippon Life’s investment targets
・Collaborate on ESG and finance initiatives
＜JERA＞
Asuene will collaborate with JERA, Japan’s largest power generation company, to drive multiple initiatives in the decarbonization space.
・Provide comprehensive end-to-end support from visualization to reduction in customers’ decarbonization efforts
・Assist in the creation of businesses that capitalize on the value generated by decarbonization, and advocate for regulatory changes
＜Pavilion Capital＞
Through collaboration with Pavilion Capital, a Singaporean investment firm, Asuene will further strengthen its expansion in the APAC region.
・Enhance service deployment and promotion in the APAC region and strengthen international client introductions
Comment from a representative of Asuene
Asuene Inc. / Co-Founder & CEO Kohei Nishiwada
Following the Series C 1st close in June, we are pleased to receive investments from JICN, a public-private fund financing businesses that contribute to decarbonization; Pavilion Capital, a Singaporean investment firm; Nippon Life Insurance Company, one of Japan’s largest institutional investors; JERA, Japan’s largest power generation company; and Hideki Kojima from SHIFT. We will continue to strengthen our collaborations across government, finance, energy, and IT sectors as we position ourselves as a leading player in driving transformative change in decarbonization and engage more stakeholders in tackling global industrial transformation.
This press release has also been published on VRITIMES