Japan's 31 Ventures establishes second fund with $81m

31 Ventures began operations in 2016 with JPY5 billion for its debut fund, Mitsui Fudosan’s first corporate VC vehicle. The headquarters are in Tokyo, where the firm also operates a co-working and events space said to count major companies among its users. There is a similar facility in Chiba.

Fund II will expand on the early-stage remit of its predecessor, investing about 40 early to late-stage start-ups globally while providing management and IPO support. Focus areas include real estate-as-service, digital transformation, and smart city technology, according to a statement.

31 Ventures also has a JPY30 billion growth fund for property technology, internet-of-things (IoT), cybersecurity, e-commerce, financial technology, robotics, and artificial intelligence (AI) deals. In addition, it has made LP commitments to funds managed by Jafco, Real Tech Fund, 500 Startups, Draper Nexus Ventures, DFJ Growth, and Pitango Venture Capital.

31 Ventures often invests alongside Global Brain – which functions as the GP – and is sometimes credited as Mitsui Fudosan CVC. Previous investments include microsatellite maker Axelspace, e-commerce AI supplier ViSenze, digital payments provider Synqa, and Photosynth, an IoT developer targeting office buildings that received JPY3.5 billion last month.

Mitsui Fudosan claims to have been behind the technology for Japan’s first skyscraper in the 1960s. It became active in digital and VC-oriented technologies in the 2000s with various smart city projects and start-up support programs. Direct investments include a cooking robot maker called Connected Robotics, which is also backed by Global Brain.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Fundraising
• Venture
• Technology
• Japan
• Global Brain Corporation
• TMT