Japan's AbbaLab launches $14m start-up fund

According to a statement, LPs include Japanese groups Mistletoe, Sojitz Corporation and Sakura Internet as well as 2020, a VC vehicle set up by Taiwan's Hon Hai Precision Industry. The fund will target investments at the seed and Series A stages; follow-on investments to accelerate scaling will also be considered.

AbbaLab supports IoT equipment manufacturers through equity investment, crowdfunding assistance and access to workspaces and technical skills. Last year, it launched an engineering and prototyping support program in collaboration with Intel Corporation.

Hon Hai's 2020 vehicle targets novel technology investments and recently committed $11 million in Series A to virtual reality (VR) company Fove. Mistletoe offers incubation services to tech start-ups - including Fove - via a 1,300 square-meter workspace and networking opportunities.

Japan's historical prominence in tech manufacturing has underpinned the country's emergence as an attractive development ground for start-ups in hardware-dependent technologies such as IoT and VR. Other recent activity in the space includes a $22 million round for IoT player Soracom, the launch of a VR-focused fund by Gree, and a move by IBM's BlueHub incubation program to foster a domestic IoT ecosystem.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Technology
• Fundraising
• Early-stage
• Japan
• seed