*Well, so much for the notion that Tonchidot are cute garage-startup Tokyo anime guys. With that kind of yen in the bank, they've become heavy operators.
"Tokyo-based augmented reality startup Tonchidot has raised $12 million in Series B funding from various Japanese companies, including the country’s second biggest telco KDDI, major media conglomerate Recruit, ad agency SPiRE and venture capital firms DCM, Itochu Technology Ventures (ITV), and JAFCO.
"Tonchidot closed a $4 million series A funding round led by DCM and with ITV participating back in December 2008. The $16 million raised in two rounds is an impressive chunk of money in Japan’s startup scene. (((And by AR standards, that's a war chest to be reckoned with.)))
"The TechCrunch50 company is known for Sekai Camera, its hit augmented reality (AR) application that’s available for free on the iPhone, Android, iPad, and on the web. In March this year, Tonchidot introduced OpenAir, an API that allows third parties to deliver content within Sekai Camera. (More info on how Tonchidot did after TC50 2008 can be found in my post from July.)
" “SoLAR” games as the third wave of mobile gaming innovation..."
