[The Bridge] Opt unveils $150M investment plan, wants more companies to go public with new businesses

Japanese newspaper Nikkei reports that　Tokyo-based e-marketing company Opt will invest 15 billion yen ($146.2 million) in startups focused on cloud services for enterprise users, adtech, e-commerce, and edtech businesses. The company plans to invest amounts ranging from hundreds of thousand dollars to $3 million in each qualified startup and acquire over a 51% plus share in them. 

Opt has 17 group companies so far, and wants to have 100 within three years through the investment efforts. Besides the funding, Opt plans to help invested companies improve their back office operations in advertising, marketing, public relations, and hiring, with the aim to have an IPO within a few years after the investment. ...

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The Bridge 8/3/2014 [en]

memo

• Investing in startups for large corporations is rapidly becoming a big trend this year. However, Opt looks quite different. According to the article, it will acquire over 51%, so it is not taking minor share like most of other corporate VCs. It is more like Opt aims to speed up its growth rate by acquisition.
• http://www.opt.ne.jp/english/

[The Bridge] Japan’s B Dash Ventures to form $60M second fund by yearend

At the reception party for the B Dash event, we heard from the organizer and B Dash Ventures CEO Hiroyuki Watanabe that they are currently forming a new fund. He told us it will be valued at around 6 billion yen (about $59 million) and has secured almost 50% of funding towards its planned closing by end of 2014. 

Their previous fund formed in September 2011 was worth 2 billion yen ($20 million) and attracted investment from big companies like Docomo Ventures, Gree, Septeni, Biglobe, and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital. ...

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The Bridge 7/17/2014 [en]

memo

• Several new funds have been established this year by venture capitals like B Dash and corporations. Most of them established a larger fund than previous one. Also several new comers joined particularly of CVC. It would be the biggest chance for startups this year than ever.
• http://bdashventures.com/

[Tech in Asia] Japanese telco giant KDDI puts $8M into four American startups, launches new $50M fund

KDDI (TYO: 9433) revealed a flurry of investment plans today. First, the telecommunications firm announced the KDDI Open Innovations Fund (operated by Global Brain) deposited US$8 million into four American startups. Education firm Edmodo, digital media publishing platform Issuu, seat upgrade app Pogoseat, and TechCrunch competitor VentureBeat all received funding but individual terms were not disclosed. KDDI noted that a key reason for investing in these companies is their collective potential for trying to enter the Japanese market. 

It is unclear if that US$8 million was the last of the initial $50 million fund established in 2012, but, regardless, KDDI is reloading and launching a new innovation fund – again with a price tag of US$50 million. With KDDI’s latest move, it is starting to look like venture capital has become a new proxy battle for Japanese telecoms. Docomo has a US$109 million fund and Softbank is working on a US$250 million fund. ...

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Tech In Asia 7/14/2014 [en]

memo

• CVC has been more and more increasing recently in Japan. Telecom companies have been definitely leading the trend. Media, advertising, and manufacturing companies are following.

[Tech In Asia] Report: Japanese stealth investor ANRI announces new fund for young entrepreneurs, targets $20M

Anri Sama, a significant investor in the Japanese startup ecosystem, announced the opening of a new US$20 million fund today. The new fund will also focus on tech companies led by young entrepreneurs. It was reported that Anri will focus on seed and series A rounds. Companies can expect to receive between US$50,000 and US$1 million. ...

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Tech In Asia 7/3/2014 [en]

memo

• Larger sized funds are increasing recently in Japan and most of them may be mainly looking at series A or later rounds. But seed round investors have not so increased. There will be great opportunities for Anri's fund since he has already invested in several promising startups including Crowdworks and Raksul at seed stage.
• http://anri.vc/

[Tech Crunch] Japanese E-Commerce Giant Rakuten Launches $100M Global Investment Fund

June is barely over, but Rakuten has already had a busy year. In addition to purchasing messaging app Viber for $900 million, the Japanese consumer Internet conglomerate also made investments in several companies based in Southeast Asia or Japan, including Carousell, Visenze, Coda Payments, and Send Anywhere, from its $10 million fund dedicated to the region. 

Now Rakuten is eyeing companies in the rest of the world with the launch of its new $100 million global investment fund, which will focus on startups in Israel, the U.S., and the Asia Pacific region. ...

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TechCrunch 6/30/2014 [en]

memo

• Rakuten has acquired many companies in the last several years. The new fund may enable it to find the targets broader and deeper. 

[The Bridge] CyberAgent Ventures forms $50 million fund to invest in more startups

Japan’s startup-focused investment firm CyberAgent Ventures announced today that it has formed a new fund worth 5 billion yen (about $50 million) called CA Startup Internet Fund No.2. This is because of closing their previous fund CA Startup Internet Fund No.1. 

Comparing to the previous one worth about $24 million, the new fund is almost double in size and is planned for investment of an amount ranging from $100,000 to $1 million in every single startup they choose. ...

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The Bridge 6/16/2014 [en]

memo

• 5 billion yen seems a standard size for early stage focused venture capital fund recently. Recruit and GREE also established the similar sized fund in May and April respectively. It is good to have more money for startups, but increasing number of startups or entrepreneurs takes more time than money. The gap makes venture capitals tougher to find good deals in the future.
• http://www.cyberagentventures.com/en/

[The Bridge] GREE Ventures closes $50M fund to target Asian startups

GREE Ventures has just announced the initial closing of its second fund. Dubbed the AT-I Investment Limited Partnership, this is a 5 billion yen fund (or about $50 million) which it will use to target tech startups in Japan and South East Asia, mostly series A stage companies at about 100 million yen to 300 million yen per company ($1 million to $3 million). 

Investors in the fund include GREE Inc, SME Support Japan, Credit Saison, Ateam Inc, and Mizuho Capital. The announcement notes that a second closing will likely come later this summer. 

The Bridge 5/16/2014 [en]

Recruit Establishes 5B Yen Venture Fund / Nikkei

Recruit Holdings established a new organization to invest in startups doing R&D of IT. It sets up 5 billion yen of fund to invest in 30 companies in and out of Japan within 2014. In addition to temporally staffing and print media, the company sets IT related business as growth area.

The new organization is called Recruit Technology Institute. Recruit upgrades existing IT related business development division to be directly under the president. It will be in charge of investment and application development. Two staffs will be located in the US office. ...

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Nikkei 4/1/2014 [jp]

memo

• Recruit is one of the large corporations with active corporate venture activities from the past. Since other traditional companies including mass media are activating CVC, Recruit may try to accelerate even more.

[The Bridge] Japanese investment firm Venture United forms $11 million startup fund

Venture United, a Japanese startup investment company, announced today that it has formed a fund worth 1.2 million yen ($11 million). The fund’s investors include the country’s state-run SME Support, Fusion Communications (a telco owned by Rakuten), SBI Securities, ad agency Hakuhodo, and Digital Advertising Consortium. 

Venture United and its parent company United, the company best known for homescreen app CocoPPa, have already invested in many startups, including Lifenet Insurance, Enigmo, Unoh (acquired by Zynga back in 2010), and Nobot (acquired by Mediba, a KDDI company). ...

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The Bridge 1/22/2014 [en]

memo

• The size of the fund is not so big compared to large scale funds recently launched, but United has had many successful exits for the amount. It is interesting to see which startups they will invest from the new fund.

[The Bridge] Japanese robotics entrepreneur forms $20M fund for bio and energy startups

Our readers may recall that Japanese robotics company Schaft was recently acquired by Google and won the DARPA robotics challenge trials. Bloomberg reported yesterday that the company’s co-founder Takashi Kato will form a new 2 billion yen fund (approximately $19 million) for Japanese startups focused on biotechnology and energy efficiency segments. It will be called 246 Capital. 

In the process of negotiating with Google during the acquisition process, he tried to get funds from 10 investment firms and the state-run fund Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ). But his efforts didn’t work out. In response to this disappointing experience, he plans to launch a scheme to help Japanese engineers and scientists get funding to complementary to their research and development expenses.  ...

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The Bridge 1/10/2014 [en]

memo

• Investments in startups of Internet and mobile applications may be increasing in Japan recently, but it seems still difficult for more capital intensive or long term R&D required startups like robotics. It will be a great step that an entrepreneur who succeeded exit in the field becomes an investor to support these startups.
• http://schaft-inc.jp/ 

[The Bridge] Japanese companies form new $300M investment fund to target promising startups

Japan’s Nikkei reported today that Silicon Valley-based investment company WiL (World Innovation Lab) has formed a new fund focused on startups in Japan and the Valley, raising $300 million from a number of Japanese companies: All Nippon Airways, NTT Group, Isetan Mitsukoshi Holdings, Hakuhodo DY Group, Daiwa Securities, JVC Kenwood, Benesse Holdings, and Innovation Network Corporation of Japan. 

Their potential investees are startups developing new products and services in fields like consumer electronics, e-commerce, or motor vehicles, making the most of smartphone and big data technologies. They expect the size of each investment to be in the range from $5 million to $50 million, with about six to eight investments being made per year. The Nikkei says that $300 million is a figure that equate to 30% of all startup investments in Japan in FY 2012. ...

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The Bridge 12/28/2013 [en]

memo

• $300 million is very large scale for a single venture fund in Japan. With large corporations in various industries in Japan as investors, WiL would be able to attract attentions from startups even in Silicon Valley, particularly which are interested in going into Japan and Asian market.

INCJ Invests In Global Brain's Fund As LP / Cnet Japan

Innovation Network Corporation of Japan, a manager of Japanese government owned fund, announced investment up to 10 billion yen in a new fund established by Global Brain, which is a venture capital to create and raise IT related ventures.

The target categories include IT ventures related to social, ad tech, security, abd cloud as well as start-ups focusing on "Internetization of real business". ...

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Cnet Japan 11/26/2013 [jp]

memo

• The new fund plans to receive money from other investors. Global Brain is operating KDDI's venture fund. 

Innovation Network Corporation Of Japan Established Joint Fund With University Of Tokyo Edge Capital / Nikkei

A government-owned fund, Innovation Network Corporation of Japan (INCJ) announced a set up of a new fund jointly with University of Tokyo Edge Capital (UTEC). INCJ invests up to 10 billion yen in the fund in which they plan to raise additional 5 to 10 billion yen from financial institutes. It aims to create new business by excavating and investing in buried research at universities.

Majority of capital is funded by INCJ, but UTEC is in charge of selection of investments. ...

Nikkei 10/16/2013 [jp]

memo

• An establishment of new funds is expected to increase in the next several months. A valuation of seed startups seems already rising and these new funds could accelerate the trend.

[Tech In Asia] Kyoto University launches new $60 million fund to invest in Asian startups

Kyoto University, a Japanese research university, is launching its second venture fund worth $60 million to invest in startups in Japan and the region. 

The Kyoto University Venture Fund (KUVF), managed by Miyako Capital, aims to support and fund the development of business ideas by faculty, students, and alumni of the university, as well as anyone who wants to work closely with the education institution to launch a startup. ...

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Tech In Asia 9/30/2013 [en]

memo

• It is interesting that the fund seeks investment in South East Asia as well as in Japan. I have not heard of cases that Japanese Universities' fund invest in foreign startups.

CyberAgent Launches "Fujita Fund" To Invest 10B Yen / Cnet Japan

CyberAgent establishes a new division to accelerate its venture investment. It plans to collaborate with its venture investing arm, CyberAgent Ventures. The CEO, Mr. Fujita said that the concept is Fujita Fund. He, himself as an entrepreneur and manager, invests in startups. ...

The new division targets middle and later stage companies. The amount is case by case. It does not plan to establish a fund, but secures 10 billion yen budget in the division aiming to invest in one startup a month. ...

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Cnet Japan 9/25/2013 [jp]

memo

• It sounds like overlapping with CyberAgent Ventures, but the subsidiary focuses on seed or early stage startups. Also, CyberAgent Ventures does not necessarily stick to synergy with the parent company when selecting startups to invest. It is very interesting to see what kind of companies Mr. Fujita choose to invest.  

TBS Enters Venture Investment By Establishing A Subsidiary / Cnet Japan

Tokyo Broadcasting System Holdings (TBS HD) announced an establishment of TBS Innovation Partners. The subsidiary aims to develop a new business of TBS Group by investing in and partnering with startups. By enhancing contacts with venture companies and entrepreneurs, it will accelerate the growth of new businesses.

A venture fund of 1.8 billion yen will be launched in early September by TBS HD and TBS Innovation Partners. The fund plans to invest in startups around media, contents, entertainment, and IT. ...

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Cnet Japan 9/2/2013 [jp]

memo

• Another TV and media company, Fuji Media Holdings started investment in startups this year. There would be more media companies to join the trend. 

Opt Enters Venture Capital Business Focusing On Ad Tech And E-Commerce / MarkeZine

Opt established a dedicated division to accelerate growth of Internet related startups. In this year, the company plans to invest around 1 billion yen in startups located in Japan and APAC focusing on E-commerce, Crowd sourcing, Edu x Tech, and Advertising Technology.

In addition, Opt invests in Sozo Ventures- True Bridge Fund I, US-based venture capital fund through its US subsidiary. It partners with e-marketing companies centered around big data and O2O which has a potential to get into Japan market aiming to create new business in Japan. Opt has already partnered in capital and business with Retailgence, US-based O2O service provider to support its Japan entry.

MarkeZine 7/19/2013 [jp]

memo

• Opt is one of the largest Internet marketing agencies in Japan. It announced an acquisition of Singapore-based ad network, CDA, in March. Other ad agencies such as CyberAgent and Septeni are also active in going global. Advertising business has been relatively domestic except search ads by Google. But it seems these major players believe it will be much more borderless in the near future.
• http://www.opt.ne.jp/

[TechCrunch] SoftBank Capital Raises $50M To Invest Exclusively In New York Startups

SoftBank Capital, the investment arm of Japanese mega-carrier Softbank Corp., has just announced that they’ve raised $50 million that they plan to invest entirely into early-stage New York startups. 

This new New York fund will be headed by SoftBank Capital General Partner Jordy Levy, with the funds coming from the State Of New York itself in hopes that it’ll boost the startup ecosystem there. The one main rule of this new fund is that any company that gets investment from this fund has to call New York home — in fact, it sounds like they’ll mostly be focusing right on the core, New York City. ...

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TechCrunch 5/30/2013 [en]

memo

• It is quite unique that a Japanese carrier's venture fund invests in only New York-based startups. It is interesting that Softbank is not active in venture investment in its home, Japan compared to other two carriers, Docomo and KDDI, both of which have an incubation program and venture fund focusing on Japan. Softbank has had several successful cases for bringing US startups into Japan including Yahoo and Ustream. Some portfolio of the fund will probably replicate the strategy in the future. 

[Sd] Japan’s Rebright Partners establishes a new fund focused on startups in Southeast Asia

Japanese seed investor Rebright Partners, led by veteran entrepreneur Takeshi Ebihara, recently formed a new investment fund focusing on the internet and mobile business in Southeast Asia.

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Sd 5/12/2013 [en]

memo

• Rebright Partners also runs Batavia Incubator, a joint venture with Indonesia's Corfina Group to invest in seed startups in Indonesia. With the new fund, it aims to expand to other Southeast Asian countries.
• http://rebrightpartners.com/

[Sd] Tokyo-based web integrator IMJ teams up with Fenox Capital, plans to invest in SE Asia

Tokyo-based web/mobile solutions company IMJ (JASDAQ:4305) has announced a partnership with Fenox Capital, a Silicon Valley-based VC firm. The companies have established a fund worth about $4 million dedicated to investing in startups in the South East Asia region. In terms of the fund’s capital allocation, IMJ takes a 74.37% stake and Fenox makes up the rest. ...

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Sd 4/16/2013 [en]

memo

• The new company to manage the fund is IMJ FENOX PTE. LTD., which is located in Singpore. IMJ's existing venture investment arm, IMJ Venture Partners will be merged to the new company. Not only in South East Asia, but it invests in Japan and US according to the company's press release.  
• http://www.imjfenox.com/en/