AnyMind completes IPO on Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market

AnyMind Group, an end-to-end commerce enablement company, has today announced the successful completion of its initial public offering and listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market under the ticker number [5027].

AnyMind Group newly issued 885,300 shares with an additional overallotment option and associated offering 403,400 shares, and a secondary public offering of 1,804,200 shares, at a price to the public of ¥1,000 per share.

Proceeds from the IPO will be invested in talent growth, platform development and business expansion. In less than seven years since the Singapore-born company started operations, AnyMind Group has expanded to 19 offices in 13 markets across Southeast Asia, East Asia, India and the Middle East, and has grown its headcount to over 1,300 employees.

Kosuke Sogo, CEO and co-founder of AnyMind Group, said: “Over the years, we have consistently shown strong execution capabilities and a sustainable approach to growth as we expanded our geographical and market presence, and depth and breadth of products. We are looking to deliver long-term sustainable growth centered around our renewed focus to make it exciting for everyone to do business. We are just getting started on our journey.”

Continuous expansion and growth over the years

Although AnyMind Group today provides proprietary technology and business support that encompasses end-to-end commerce enablement, the company has had a storied history since its founding less than seven years ago.

AnyMind Group started operations as AdAsia Holdings by Kosuke Sogo and Otohiko Kozutsumi in Singapore in April 2016 and quickly expanded across Asia. In 2019, the company moved its headquarters to Tokyo, Japan. Prior to its public listing, AnyMind Group received US$91,700,000 in capital funding from investors that include (but are not limited to) JAFCO Asia, LINE, Mirai Creation Fund, VGI, Japan Post Capital, JIC Venture Growth Investments, Nomura SPARX, Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, and more.

The company started with a focus on the marketing technology industry and provided advertising technology-related products. The company then launched an influencer marketing platform and a publisher monetization platform before rebranding to AnyMind Group in January 2018, in a signal of intention to develop offerings outside of marketing technology. In 2019, the company moved into the content creator and social media influencer monetization space, and since 2020, the company has launched platforms for manufacturing management, e-commerce management, logistics management and conversational commerce.

Today, the company’s customers include brands and businesses, web and mobile app publishers, and content creators and social media influencers, and provides these customers with offerings across two areas which it terms “Brand Commerce” and “Partner Growth.”

Within Brand Commerce, the company provides brands and businesses with platforms for e-commerce management (AnyX), manufacturing management (AnyFactory), e-commerce enablement (AnyShop), logistics management (AnyLogi), and conversational commerce (AnyChat), along with marketing platforms for influencer marketing (AnyTag) and digital marketing (AnyDigital).

In Partner Growth, web and mobile app publishers and social media influencers can tap on platforms for analytics, monetization and a host of other features, through AnyManager (for publishers) and AnyCreator (for influencers). Customers in Partner Growth can also tap on AnyMind Group’s platforms in Brand Commerce.

The company has also made seven mergers and acquisitions to date, including publisher trading desks FourM (based out of Japan and acquired in 2017) and Acqua Media (based out of Hong Kong and acquired in 2018), influencer networks Moindy (based out of Thailand and acquired in 2019) and GROVE (based out of Japan and acquired in 2019), mobile advertising company POKKT Mobile Ads (based out of India and acquired in 2020), direct-to-consumer fitness apparel brand LÝFT (based out of Japan and acquired in 2020), and cross-border marketing firm ENGAWA (based out of Japan and acquired in 2021).

With a renewed purpose to “make it exciting for everyone to do business,” AnyMind Group looks to help its customers better manage the growing complexity of online commerce, accelerating a world where business is done through a single platform, is borderless and open, and data can be utilized and maximized freely across business functions, enabling higher levels of growth. The company terms this next-generation commerce.

Resilient business model with continued traction

Over the years, the company has continuously innovated and expanded its value to customers, growing from the marketing space to now providing end-to-end offerings for digital commerce. The company serves a growing pool of customers that include 1,000+ brands and businesses, 1,300+ web and mobile app publishers, and 1,300+ content creators and social media influencers.

Despite macroeconomic headwinds, pandemic-induced impacts and weakened local currencies against the U.S. dollar in recent years, the company has continued to stay resilient, resulting in:

• A 54% compound annual growth rate from 2017-2022
• A track record of revenue growth. The fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 saw revenue of ¥24,790 million, up from ¥19,252 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, and has a projection of ¥32,744 million in the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023 *There was revenue recognition adjustment incurred in FY2022 for some creator customers in Partner Growth from recording of gross sales as revenue to recording of net sales as revenue
• Continued growth in gross profits. The fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 saw gross profit of ¥9,291 million, up from ¥6,272 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021, and has a projection of ¥12,090 million for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023
• Achievement of operating profit whilst balancing growth. The fiscal year ended December 31, 2022 saw an operating profit of ¥30 million, an improvement from an operating loss of ¥213 million for the year ended December 31, 2021, and has a projection of ¥309 million operating profit for the fiscal year ending December 31, 2023
• Positive adjusted EBITDA of ¥1,005 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2022, an improvement from ¥554 million for the fiscal year ended December 31, 2021