Green House, WiL partner on $52m India fund

MT Partners, the management firm founded by Forbes Japan editor-in-chief Makato Takano, will also participate in the fund, providing management support and mentoring services for start-ups. Takano will join the board of directors at GHV.

The fund will invest in 10-15 start-ups, with an average ticket size of $2-5 million, according to press reports posted to GHV's Twitter account. Investments will focus on technology companies affecting the healthcare, financial, internet of things (IOT), consumer and agriculture spaces. GHV founder Vikram Upadhyaya will manage the fund.

WiL is deepening its partnership with GHV, which began in 2014 when the Japanese firm agreed to support the growth and expansion of GHV's start-ups in global markets, particularly Japan and the US. Co-founders Gen Isayama and Masataka Matsumoto also announced at the time that they would spend five days a month mentoring GHV's start-ups.

WiL seeks to help technology-related start-ups in the US and Japan expand into strong global ventures, typically investing $5-30 million in companies with global appeal and disruptive potential. Its debut fund launched in 2014 and closed last year with $353 million in commitments. Investments from the vehicle include a JPY2.4 billion ($22 million) round for IOT communications platform Soracom and a JPY8.4 billion Series D round for peer-to-peer marketplace Mercari, led by Mitsui & Co.

GHV funds and mentors start-ups between the incubation and Series A stages, providing them with funding of up to $300,000. Its portfolio companies include app development tools creator Applop and bike and car accessories retailer RoadGods.

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• Topics
• South Asia
• North Asia
• Venture
• Fundraising
• Technology
• India
• Japan
• World Innovation Lab (WiL)
• seed