Uniforce Raises Approximately 530 Million Yen in Funding｜Governance as the Foundation for Sustainable Growth in Corporate Management

Views and Objectives of Back Funding

Uniforce, with the mission of "Governance Growth," provides "Cloud Financial Statement Disclosure Management Service" for efficient disclosure of financial statements from April 2022 and "IPO Preparation Cloud" for building internal control (governance) in preparation for IPO from November 2022. Preparation Cloud" to build internal control (governance) in preparation for IPO from November 2022.

We support startup companies that are moving toward exit by providing "SaaS" x "consulting" services to help them build governance, which is important in addition to increasing sales.

The cloud-based financial disclosure management service aims to reduce the burden of ongoing disclosure operations by reducing the amount of work that belongs to the financial disclosure process and compiling know-how.

The IPO Preparation Cloud is also used as a tool for building and operating internal controls for exit, since it is necessary to build internal controls not only for IPO but also for M&A. The two services have been installed by more than 70 companies and are used by startup companies and listed companies throughout Japan that are preparing for exit. The two services are used by more than 70 companies in Japan, including startups and listed companies.

The funds raised will be used for the development of "Cloud Financial Statement Display Management Service" and "IPO Preparation Cloud" and to strengthen recruitment and organizational structure, to strengthen marketing and organization, and to build a sales organization.
In the future, we intend to enhance the functionality to build more internal control and to realize linkage with other services.

Funding Summary

Amount raised: Approx. 530 million yen
Procurement method: Capital increase through third-party allotment
Shareholders:
TKP Corporation
MS Startup Support Investment Limited Partnership
MS-HAYATE No.1 Investment Limited Partnership
Vector Inc.
AGS Consulting Inc.
Iceblue Fund Limited Liability Partnership
90s No.1 Investment Limited Partnership
Airtree Corporation
Creek & River, Inc.
14 other investors
Use of funds: Strengthen product development and development systems, strengthen recruitment/sales marketing and systems

Comments from Underwriters

Ayumu Hashimoto, Fund Manager, Investment Business Department, MS Startup Support Investment Limited Partnership
We are very pleased to have been selected to participate in this funding round.
Uniforce's services promote the DXing of administrative operations through both "technology and consulting services," and we saw great potential in its future.
Although it is a small effort, through our experience and network, we will help Uniforce continue to expand and grow its business.

Yoshihide Hirowatari, President, AGS Consulting Inc.
In Japan, around 90 companies go public each year. When an IPO is announced, while the business and valuation of the company are at the center of the conversation, the spotlight is often not on the IPO preparation, which can take several years. At the heart of IPO preparation is the repeated process of communicating and responding to issues presented by the key players, the audit firms and brokerage firms. We believe that Uniforce's IPO Preparation Cloud can make a significant difference in the way IPO preparation proceeds, in that it allows companies to manage issues earlier and more proactively. We hope that people involved in IPO preparation will be able to communicate smoothly via the IPO Preparation Cloud, and more broadly, as a platform for governance technology, we hope to create a world where companies that use Uniforce's services to build strong governance can focus on business growth. We look forward to the formation of such a worldview.

Houtaka Kunimoto, Partner, 90s Representative Partner
Two of our portfolio companies went public last year, but both were exhausted by the extremely burdensome listing process. Therefore, we were convinced that there was a clear need for a service that would alleviate the man-hours and costs of listing. The "IPO Preparation Cloud" matched this need perfectly, which is why we invested in it. We believe that if startups can dramatically reduce the effort and costs associated with going public and focus their saved resources on their business, the number of startups that can compete globally will increase. We hope that the "IPO Preparation Cloud" will increase the international competitiveness of Japanese startups.

Atsushi Yamamoto, President, C&R Incubation Labs, Inc.
Congratulations on the completion of your Pre-Series A round of financing. Your business of "promoting DX in the finance, accounting, and investor relations industries" based on your cloud service "Uniforce" is a service that will greatly contribute to improving and resolving the management systems and back-office operational issues faced by startup companies aiming for an IPO. We will also cooperate in the human resource business and education-related content to encourage and support startup companies.
I hope that we can grow together as a service that can help you to achieve your goals. We look forward to your company's further growth and development in the future.

Comments from Kazuya Sunada, President of Uniforce

Uniforce supports startups to listed companies from a new angle of "SaaS x consulting" by structuring processes related to financial disclosure and IPO preparation, which are extremely complex, and by sharing advanced knowledge and expertise in a concise manner. Our objective is to contribute to the enhancement of corporate value through governance tailored to each company's Growth phase, while improving the efficiency of governance construction and operation of startup companies and realizing risk management.

By centralizing and structuring a group of documents related to governance building and IPO preparation, which have tended to be scattered, internal and external communication will be facilitated, enabling smoother business operations with seamless support.
In the future, we will fully utilize the knowledge of our staff from audit firms and securities firms to provide companies throughout Japan with governance structures tailored to their growth. In particular, we will add functions and enhance our consulting expertise in governance structure, which is essential for exit strategies such as M&A and IPO selection, and provide support for startups to publicly listed companies.

We are also very pleased to have closed our Pre-Series A round with the great business companies and investors who have recognized Uniforce's business and potential. We look forward to your continued support.

About Cloud Financial Statement Display Management Service

It is complex, voluminous, and specialized, and it is difficult to know where and how best to proceed. We are always pressed for time despite the difficulty in managing progress. It is difficult to share or take over the work due to the strong genus nature. ......We want to efficiently promote internal control of the closing financial process. ......This web service was designed to solve such on-site problems by guiding the closing disclosure work to the "best and shortest route".

About IPO Preparation Cloud

This is a "SaaS x consulting" service that opens up the previously black box IPO preparation process to companies in the N-2 or N-3 stage that are serious about preparing for an IPO, or companies in the N-4 or N-5 stage that are thinking about going public in the future.
The service also incorporates the elements necessary to build a company or organization for seed and early-stage companies, as well as for companies that are not looking to IPO.
We provide full support on the road to IPO by achieving efficiency and risk management without the need for a management representative with extensive IPO experience.

About Uniforce

With the mission of "Governance Growth," we contribute to the enhancement of corporate value through the establishment and operation of corporate governance that serves as the foundation for sustainable growth in accordance with all corporate phases.

We develop and provide services to realize strategic corporate governance that combines a "defensive mechanism to monitor corporate management" and an "offensive mechanism to smoothly execute optimal management strategies. We are a company that aims to maximize the "energy" of growing companies.