LinQ, operator of the location-sharing application "whoo", raises up to approximately 2 billion yen in funding from MIXI!

Purpose of Fundraising

LinQ was founded in August 2019 and has developed more than 10 apps, including the anonymous questioning app "Ninjar" and the location information sharing app "whoo," under the mission of "a chain of fun generated by creativity," and has developed next-generation communication services. In particular, "whoo" has been ranked No. 1 in App Store and Google Play in various countries since its launch in December 2022, topping 10 million downloads in 3 months, with nearly half of them coming from users outside Japan, and is used by many users around the world.

LinQ has now decided to raise up to approximately 2 billion yen from MIXI in phases, subject to conditions, by the end of March 2024. With this financing, LinQ intends to invest in the addition of functions and value-added enhancement of "whoo", which has high potential for business growth, and in strengthening the development system.

In addition, by receiving business support from MIXI, which has a proven track record of making various communication services a hit, we aim to accelerate the business speed of "whoo" and grow it into a next-generation global communication service used by people of all ages, starting with teenagers. We aim to accelerate the business speed of "whoo" and grow it into a next-generation global communication service used by teenagers and across generations.

About "whoo" location sharing application

WHOO" is an application that allows users to share location information among family members or specific friends. Since its launch in December 2022, the service has been used by many users, and by March 2023, the number of downloads exceeded 10 million, The number of downloads exceeded 10 million in March 2023.

iOS]https://apps.apple.com/jp/app/id6444837964
Android]https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=app.whoo

Comments by Gosuke Harada, CEO, LinQ Inc.

In three months, "whoo" has been downloaded more than 10 million times and is used by users in more than 170 countries around the world. But that is only the first crest of the summit we are aiming for. We are aiming for a revenge match to challenge the world. We are very happy to have raised funds from MIXI for this project. What "whoo" needs in the future is originality. We will put an end to mediatized social networking and bring back the original social network.

Hiroki Kimura, President and CEO, MIXI Corporation Comments

We are very interested in and excited about investing in LinQ, which operates a location-based social networking service that is becoming popular among Generation Z. The expansion of this service will create a society where friends can share their location information with each other and easily make plans to "meet up" in person. We believe that this platform, which allows users to share local information and event information in real time, will create a new form of communication and contribute greatly to the revitalization of local communities and businesses. In addition, our smartphone game "Monster Strike" features face-to-face play, and we expect synergies in the future. We will continue to strengthen our cooperation and support the growth of this project.

Kenji Kasahara, Director and Founder, MIXI Corporation Comments

Harada and his team's big dream is to create a new communication service that will be used by Generation Z around the world, and we would like to support them in this endeavor to the fullest. We would be happy if we could work together with them to realize their dream, sharing the know-how we have cultivated in order to increase the number of users while withstanding the system load, to make the service safe and comfortable for all users, and to spread the service around the world.

Culture Deck open to the public

In conjunction with this fundraising, we are looking for colleagues who can help us strengthen our organizational structure and grow "whoo" together. We have not done any PR activities until now, but we have created a culture deck to answer the question, "What kind of company is LinQ? and to increase the number of members who share our mission and vision, we have created a culture deck.
▼For more information and to apply, click here.
Culture Deck :https://speakerdeck.com/whoo/zhu-shi-hui-she-linq-whoo-karutiyadetuku

Notice of Enhanced Recruitment Activities and Online Recruitment Event

We are looking for members who share our mission of "Chain of fun created by imagination" and work together to achieve our vision of "creating a communication application that is used around the world.

Recruitment site:https://fallacious-ridge-38b.notion.site/LinQ-inc-whoo-7790d93a3994440981ac5eb55e50780f
Online recruitment event:https://linq.connpass.com/event/280525/