Japan's UTEC raises fourth early-stage fund

The venture capital firm said in a statement that the fund – which has a five-year investment period – could eventually expand to JPY25 billion. It brings UTEC’s total assets under management to JPY45.6 billion. Nikkei Asia Review reported that the latest fund will target start-ups looking to expand globally in areas such as automated driving, artificial intelligence (AI), and healthcare.

Founded in 2004, UTEC is the product of one of four venture capital partnerships between the Ministry of Economy, Trade & Industry (METI) and local universities. Most of its capital now comes from private sources. Tomotaka Goji, managing partner of UTEC, previously worked at METI, where he helped draft the Japan Limited Partnership Act and the regulatory framework for VC funds.

The firm has invested in approximately 80 start-ups, of which nine have gone public and 10 have been bought by strategic or financial players. Last year, Seven Dreamers Laboratories – a manufacturer of personal-use devices that UTEC supported through to its Series A round in 2015 – received JPY2.5 billion in Series B funding from an investor group that included KKR co-founders Henry Kravis and George Roberts.

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• Topics
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