Genuine Startups, Ideo launch Japanese VC fund

The new firm, known as D4V (Design for Ventures), plans to pursue a multi-disciplinary approach to developing start-ups by combining Ideo's design expertise and Silicon Valley networks with Genuine's financial experience. It is aiming to raise up to JPY5 billion ($48.6 million) by next March, according to The Bridge.

D4V is expected to be controlled 60% by Genuine and 40% by Ideo via its Tokyo office. Former Sony CEO, Nobuyuki Idei, will serve as an executive advisor.

"Nurturing venture companies will become one of the main pillars of the growth strategy of the Japanese economy, where the growth rate is expected to further slow down because of an aging society accompanied by falling child birth rates," Makoto Takano, Genuine's founder and CEO of D4V, said in a statement. "To meet the needs of the times, D4V aims to be a full-scale venture capital company which will be able to support portfolio companies globally as well as to receive investments from abroad as a mid to long-term goal."

The investment represents an expansion of recent corporate venture activity aimed at internationalizing Japanese start-ups that are poorly equipped for cross-border strategies. Earlier this year, Rakuten Ventures, the corporate VC arm of Japanese e-commerce giant Rakuten, launched a JPY10 billion fund that aims to connect founders from Japan to Western and Southeast Asian market opportunities.

Genuine focuses on Japan-based investments at seed and early stages. It claims to have backed more than 50 companies since 2013. Its current portfolio includes food delivery technology developer Planet Table, music app provider Nana and online education service Street Academy.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Fundraising
• Venture
• Japan
• USA
• Growth capital