On October 18, 2022, Fujia Corporation, operator of the online assistant service Fujiko-san, announced that it has completed the financing of 465 million yen ($3.1M) through equity and debt financing.

With the vision of "making online assistants common in Japan," Fujia is a startup that aims to become an infrastructure to solve the manpower shortage in companies. The company's online assistant "Fujiko-san" is a service that allows users to request online assistants via e-mail or chat whenever necessary for "non-core tasks" like back-office operation that are necessary for corporate growth. The service is operated by a team of experienced staff in more than 30 countries around the world, who respond to requests in a sustainable manner, even during nighttime hours by taking advantage of time zone differences.

Fujiko-San" provides a team of assistants with a variety of work experience without having to spend time, effort, and the costs of recruiting, hiring, and equipment, and on-boarding. A wide range of requests can be made, from clerical work such as accounting, personnel and labor affairs, and general affairs, to web design and site management, translation, and call center operations. In addition, offline work such as organizing documents and creating paper files can also be handled, and the company plans to expand this service in the future so that it can respond flexibly to work requests.

On October 18, 2022, Fugia announced the completion of a Series A round of financing totaling 465 million yen with equity investments from Future Venture Capital, Kamakura Investment Trust, basepartners, Vector Corporation, PKSHA SPARX Algorithm Investment, Lotte Ventures Japan, and Ability Center Inc., and debt financing from Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and the Japan Finance Corporation.

With this fund raised, Fujia aims to achieve further growth by accelerating marketing activities to raise awareness of its "online assistant" service and expand the number of users, acquiring human resources to serve as "Fujiko-san," and developing systems to automate the content of the service.

Atsushi Nakazawa, Senior Investment Officer in the Investment Division of Future Venture Capital said the following:

“I met Mr. Yamada when I was at my previous job, and I am very happy to be able to work with him on this investment. Mr. Yamada is always calm and logical, but at the same time, his passion for his work and ambition are evident in his every word. The decline of the working population in Japan is a serious issue, and they are contributing to the advancement of women in society by hiring assistants to support their services, as well as improving the productivity of their clients, small and medium-sized enterprises and sole proprietors. We will continue to support Fujia through the concerted efforts of our entire company."

Fijia’s company profile is here:
https://protocol.ooo/en/companies/fujikosan