US-Japan VC hits $75m first close on cross-border fund

The fund has secured a large institutional investor as its anchor, with additional support coming from an international family office and individual investors, according to a person familiar with the situation. The LPs include a mix of US and Asian investors.

SIP was set up by a group of Americans and Japanese in 2019 with a view to backing early-stage US start-ups looking to expand into Asia, especially Japan, Southeast Asia, and the Middle East. It claims to offer extensive cross-border networking support.

The Japan-based team is led by Shigeki Saitoh, a serial entrepreneur and former director of the Japan Venture Capital Association, and Justin Turkat, the CEO of Tokyo-based 8th Street Ventures. Turkat previously led VC investments for real estate developer Hinoki in companies such as lunar hardware developer iSpace.

The US-based team includes Matthew Salloway, who has held leadership and investment roles in various family offices and VCs, and Jeffery Smith, who has industry experience in enterprise software, artificial intelligence, digital imaging, and environmental engineering. Saitoh, Turkat, and Salloway are co-founders and managing partners, while Smith is a general partner.

"The opportunity for US start-ups in Asia is enormous, with Japan often becoming their number-one foreign market," Saitoh said in a statement. "It's no longer axiomatic that a US start-up waits until a Series C or D round to enter Asian markets. In fact, we see as early as US seed-stage start-ups already in Asia, and over 90% of our pipeline is expanding or actively considering expansion."

SIP's fund has made five investments to date. These include virtual workplace platform Croquet, remote internet services provider Parallel Wireless, web design software supplier Fable, and augmented reality gaming company Tilt Five. Last week SIP joined a $11.2 million Series A round for Kinetic, an internet-of-things wearables maker focused on workplace safety and productivity.

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• Topics
• North Asia
• North America
• Fundraising
• Venture
• Technology
• USA
• Japan
• SIP Global Partners