SmartNews key facts
- Operator of a news platform intended to discover and deliver news stories.
- It has raised $476.7M; the latest was IPO in Jul 2025.
- Notable investors include SMBC Venture Capital, J-Startup, Joyance Partners, Atomico, JIC Venture Growth Investments — 25 tracked in total.
- SmartNews has filed 2 Form Ds with the SEC since 2025, most recently May 2026 ( sold).
- Status: In IPO Registration.
Who backs SmartNews
25+- ·The complete investor list: 25 names
- ·Watch SmartNews: the Monday email on marks, rounds and moves
SmartNews funding rounds
No funding rounds for SmartNews are on record yet — either the company hasn't raised institutional capital, or the raise hasn't surfaced in our sources.
How much has SmartNews raised?
SmartNews has filed 2 Form Ds with the SEC since 2025, most recently in May 2026 (null sold).
SmartNews investors
25 investors are on record for SmartNews, including SMBC Venture Capital, J-Startup, Joyance Partners and Atomico. By type, the record holds 6 venture capital firms and 1 hedge fund.
About SmartNews
Operator of a news platform intended to discover and deliver news stories. The company's platform uses machine learning algorithms to evaluate articles and social signals and categorizes these stories into business, technology, lifestyle, entertainment, sports, and world tabs, enabling consumers to stay updated with the news.
- Sector
- Consumer Products and Services (B2C)
- HQ
- Tokyo, Japan
- Founded
- 2012
- Employees
- 540
- Website
- smartnews.com/
- Ownership
- In IPO Registration
Is this your company? Sign in with your work email to keep it current, or tell us what's wrong.
SmartNews doesn't have a valuation on record yet — one is published once a priced round, a reported valuation, fund marks, or secondary prints surface in our sources. The rest of the record below builds toward it.