SmartNews has raised $410 million through venture rounds and debt facilities, including a $230M Series F (Sep 15, 2021) and a $69.3M venture debt package (Jan 9, 2024) backed by Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation. Founded in 2012, SmartNews built an algorithmic news-discovery app that filters and surfaces high-quality stories using machine learning and human editorial signals. Funding supported product localization, global expansion (especially in Japan and the U.S.), improvements in recommendation accuracy, and investments in video formats and publisher partnerships to increase engagement and sustainable monetization.