Japan's First Startup Unicorn Considers Additional Funding Round

  • The company’s app jumped in U.S. rankings after going viral
  • CEO says additional capital may be needed to keep momentum
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Japan’s first startup unicorn is considering a new fundraising round to maintain momentum after a spike in U.S. downloads for e-commerce company Mercari Inc.

The company’s free mobile app, which matches individual buyers and sellers, jumped to No. 3 in the U.S. download rankings last week, according to researcher App Annie. Daily downloads climbed tenfold to 300,000, bringing total installations in the country to 12 million, according to Mercari.