Bitkey, a smart lock and access control startup, raised 4 billion yen in additional funding from Japan's government-backed fund JIC Venture Growth Investments (JIC VGI). This brings the company's cumulative capital raised since 2018 to over 39 billion yen.

Bitkey provides a connected platform combining smart locks and digital keys with cloud-based software, serving residential apartments, office buildings, airports, government buildings, and logistics facilities. The company's ID authentication and authorization technology enables seamless hardware-software integration.

The new funding will support development of new products and services for Bitkey's residential (homehub) and workplace (workhub) platforms, as well as potential M&A activities. The financing utilizes mezzanine financing structures to minimize dilution of existing shareholders.