Smooth Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Shibuya-ku, Tokyo; CEO: Taku Koizumi) announces the first close of its Series C funding round, raising approximately 700 million yen. Following the Series B funding announced in December last year, the company's total capital raised since inception—including loans and operating capital lines—now amounts to approximately 4.22 billion yen. In this round, Smooth welcomed JIC Venture Growth Investments, Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President & CEO: Hideki Yari) as a new shareholder, alongside additional investments from existing shareholders: Maesawa Fund, XTech Ventures, and CyberAgent Capital. The investment reflects strong recognition of the social significance and growth potential of Smooth's service amid rising rents and initial move-in costs due to inflation. Smooth offers a service that enables installment payments for initial rental move-in costs such as security deposits, key money, and agency fees. The number of affiliated real estate agencies has grown approximately 2.5 times year-on-year, and the total number of LINE friends (users) has surpassed 470,000, demonstrating continued growth. The funds raised will be used for recruitment and service improvements in preparation for a future IPO, accelerating further business expansion. Overview of Third-Party Allotment Amount Raised Approximately 700 million yen Method Third-party allotment of new shares Subscribers (names listed without honorifics) New Investor JIC Venture Growth Investments, Inc. Follow-on Investors Maesawa Fund XTech Ventures CyberAgent Capital About Smooth Smooth enables installment payments for initial rental move-in costs such as security deposits, key money, and agency fees. Tenants can move into their desired properties without paying large upfront fees. Real estate agencies value the service for reducing lost opportunities due to tenants abandoning leases over high initial costs, thereby improving closing rates and revenue. Additionally, with benefi