Japan's e-commerce chat startup Zeals raises $38.8 million

Oluwajuwonlo Afolabi -

Zeals, a business-to-consumer (B-2-C) chat startup has raised $38.8 million in its Series E funding round. The startup claims it raised $27.2 million in equity and $11.6 million in debt funding bringing it to $41.4 million in total raised funds.  

  • The raised funds will be used to develop new products, diversify market channels and enter into international markets, the company claims.
  • Zeals is an e-commerce chat platform that allows businesses to communicate with their buyers through social apps like WhatsApp and Facebook Messenger among others.
  • The startup claims it has had a 139% increase in revenue since 2017 and currently serves over 400 businesses including Toyota dealerships, Shieido and NTT Docomo.
  • The funding round was led by JIC Venture Growth Investments, Z Venture Capital, Japan Post Capital and Salesforce Ventures.