HEARTBEATS secures funding from five financial institutions

HEARTBEATS, which operates the electronic trading card collection service ORICAL, announced on October 23 that it has successfully secured a total of 1,250,000,000 Japanese yen in debt financing from five financial institutions.

The lenders include Shoko Chukin Bank, Japan Finance Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Mitsubishi UFJ Bank, and Resona Bank. The repayment period extends up to nine years, with all loans being unsecured and without guarantees, and no issuance of stock options involved. This funding follows approximately 2,300,000,000 Japanese yen raised through a Series C equity round conducted in July and August, bringing the total amount raised in this round to 3,550,000,000 Japanese yen.

ORICAL allows fans to express their support and preferences by collecting official electronic trading cards featuring intellectual properties from professional baseball and artists. As of September, the service has partnered with 26 entities, including ten professional baseball teams. Among the partners are the Saitama Seibu Lions, Chiba Lotte Marines, Yakult Swallows, Chunichi Dragons, Rakuten Eagles, Hokkaido Nippon-Ham Fighters, and Orix Buffaloes, as well as the Japan Sumo Association’s "Osumo Collection," Stardom, Tsuburaya Productions' "Ultraman Digital Card Collection," M League, and New Japan Pro-Wrestling, all of which utilize ORICAL for official services.

The company plans to continue investing in product development, recruitment, and partner development to expand its partnerships and launch new projects. BRIDGE reported the story.