Geodesic closes $335m VC fund to bridge US, Asia
Geodesic Capital, a US-based venture capital firm focused on helping start-ups drive Japanese expansion, has closed its first fund at $335 million.
LPs include Mitsubishi Corporation, Mitsubishi Heavy Industries, Mitsubishi UFJ Trust & Banking Corporation and Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, according to a statement. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance, Nikon Corporation, Development Bank of Japan and Toho Bank are also among the investors.
The vehicle is aimed at helping Geodesic's US portfolio access Asian markets, with an emphasis on Japan. It will also establish relations between established Japanese companies and Silicon Valley-based players.
Geodesic was founded by Ashvin Bachireddy, a former partner at Andreessen Horowitz who was actively involved in the firm's investments in Facebook, Twitter, Box and Airbnb, as well as by former US Ambassador to Japan John Roos.
"During my time as ambassador, I traveled all over Japan talking about the importance of innovation and entrepreneurship to Japan's economy," Roos said. "After returning to Silicon Valley, I found this to be the most deeply disruptive and innovative period in technology I have seen in my career and came to believe that Japan needed a much greater presence here."
Leadership at the firm also includes James Kondo, former Twitter Japan chairman, and Nate Mitchell, a former growth stage investor at Vulcan Capital and Index Ventures who has been involved in investments such as Uber, Alibaba, Etsy and Flipkart.
Geodesic supports consumer and enterprise technology companies through assistance in securing staff, customers, partners and marketing strategies. It recently launched a growth support and Japanese market entry service known as Geodesic Japan GK, which will be led by Marcus Otsuji, a former senior executive at Apple Japan.
The firm's latest fund has already invested in cybersecurity software provider Tanium, cloud services company Instant Logic and Bitcoin start-up 21 Inc.
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