Between inks investment deal with Japanese firm

VCNC, the operator of Between, a mobile messenger application for couples, said Monday it has successfully attracted investment from DeNA Co., a global leader in mobile Internet services.

The Korean start-up said the investment is aimed at forming a business alliance to promote the mobile application and turn it into an open platform to improve its sales drive.

“We are pleased to welcome DeNA as a strategic investor,” VCNC’s chief executive Park Jae-uk said in a press release.

“We look forward to our new relationship with DeNA and to collaborate more closely with DeNA to build a platform for third-party services to help us meet the needs of couples worldwide,” he said.

Isao Moriyasu, president and CEO of DeNA, said in the joint press release, “Purpose-specific social networks like Between are rapidly gaining popularity worldwide, following the adoption of general social networks and communication tools. DeNA sees great global potential in this highly sophisticated mobile Internet service.”

Further details on the deal between VCNC and DeNa were not disclosed.

Between, officially launched in 2012, has drawn in more than 5 million users worldwide with its unique services tailored for couples, including photo-sharing and exclusive one-on-one texting.

The application currently comes in more than 13 languages including Korean, English, Japanese and Chinese.

By Kim Young-won (wone0102@heraldcorp.com)