Japan's Genesia Ventures closes second fund at $75m

A first close on Fund II came in January 2019 on $45 million, with LP support from Mizuho Capital, Mizuho Bank, JA Mitsui Leasing, Marui Group, and Tokyu Land Corp, which participated through its TFHD Open Innovation program. The initial target was $80 million. Fund I closed at JPY4 billion ($38 million) in 2017.

The new vehicle will carry out the same mandate as its predecessor, investing across Japan and Southeast Asia with a special interest in digital transformation, new economy, and media and entertainment. This will include a focus on enterprise software-as-a-service, e-commerce service models, decentralized platforms, sharing economy, virtual reality, and augmented reality.

“We want to create a society that brings abundance and opportunity for all, and we are working every day in Japan and Southeast Asia to make this vision a reality,” Soichi Tajima, a general partner at Genesia (pictured), said in a statement. “However, this is a vision that we cannot achieve on our own, and that is why as venture capitalists, we work as a team to bring together the start-ups that are taking on the challenge of creating the ideal society, and other stakeholders who share our vision.”

Genesia, which operates via offices in Tokyo, Jakarta and Ho Chi Minh City, positions itself as a regional platform that can support the different paths of digitization in developed and developing markets. In Japan, the firm targets what it calls an operating system turning point, which has opened up opportunities in lifestyle infrastructure and industry. In Southeast Asia, it focuses on the needs of younger consumers and the creation of new, digital-first industrial paradigms.

Genesia has invested at least 77 start-ups to date, 33 of which have been backed by Fund II. The firm has made investments in two Japanese start-ups within the past month, among them art and illustration platform Sozi and restaurant industry software supplier Kankak.

Standout Southeast Asian portfolio companies include car sales platform Mobilkamu and Bobobox, a capsule hotel operator that raised $11.5 million earlier this year. Both start-ups are based in Indonesia.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• Venture
• Fundraising
• Japan
• Mizuho Capital
• seed