SmartNews

Active#15 in Japan

Estimated valuation · News app · Japan

News aggregation app that uses machine learning to select and rank articles from publishers for readers in Japan and the United States.

Consumer internet›news app smartnews.com

Founded2012

HQTokyo

Raisedabout USD 500M

Last roundSeries F · Sep 2021

Country of originJapanListed in the Japan ranking

Where would you invest?JapanJurisdiction as cited by the ranking

Estimated valuation

AI · Japan ranking

≈ USD 400MUSD 200–790M · Hundreds of M$

Hundreds of k$

Millions $

Tens of M$

Hundreds of M$

Unicorn

Decacorn

Hectocorn

Anchor: Last known equity round: Series F · USD 230M · Sep 2021
Published valuation: USD 2bn · Sep 2021 · older than 24 months, shown for reference
AI adjustment: ÷ 3: the 2021 round was priced at the market peak; the company has since cut its US operations and staff

An indicative editorial estimate produced by AI, imperfect by nature: neither a financial valuation nor investment advice. Only the market sets a company’s value. Method

Uback rankings

How the AI ranks →

Ranking	Tier	Rank	Edition	Next update
Japan · all sectors	Top 50	#15	Edition 0 · October 2026	10 Jan 2027

Rank historyOct 2026 · #15First edition: no movements yet.

Funding history

about USD 500M raised in total

Date	Round	Amount	Type	Investors
Sep 2021	Series F	USD 230M	Equity	Princeville Capital, Woodline Partners, JIC

Valued at USD 2bn (reported, 2021).

Rounds as cited by Uback’s rankings. Equity, debt and grants are shown separately; only equity rounds count towards the valuation anchor.

Independent analyses

By industry professionals & analysts

Industry professionals and financial analysts can publish their own analysis of SmartNews as a PDF. It must answer at least one of these four questions, and stick to them:

AI valuation: $400MUndervalued or overvalued?

Versus competitorsHow does it compare?

Who should acquire itStrategic buyers, and why

Who should it acquireAcquisition targets, and why

Publish an analysisName, role and LinkedIn shown · public sources only

Analyses are the opinion of their authors, not of Uback. They are checked before publication.

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What the AI reads

Read by the AI at the next edition.

Comparable companies in Japan

Full Japan ranking →

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Last updated: Oct 2026Report an error

Uback is a content publisher and an aggregator of non-binding expressions of interest. It provides no investment advice, receives no mandate and takes part in no transaction. Rankings, ranges and brackets are editorial estimates produced by AI, purely indicative.