Japan's Olympus launches VC unit, $50m fund
Japan’s Olympus Corporation has launched a medical technology-focused venture capital unit, Olympus Innovation Ventures, with an initial commitment of $50 million for its debut fund.
The fund will be co-managed by US-based Touchdown Ventures, which specializes in corporate venture capital. Touchdown has similar corporate VC partnerships with the likes of Kellogg’s, 20th Century Fox, and T Mobile. Other medical industry partners include Colorcon and Avery Dennison.
The plan is to make stage-agnostic investments globally in start-ups developing technologies that improve clinical outcomes, reduce healthcare costs, and enhance the quality of life for patients. Gastroenterology, respiratory, and urology will be focus areas. Portfolio support will include access to clinical and technical expertise, healthcare professionals and hospitals, and go-to-market support.
Olympus traces its history to 1919 and is recognized as a pioneer of optical equipment, including mass-producible microscopes and small cameras that can be used inside the body. The company became a household name with the advent of personal-use recreational cameras but has maintained a strong focus on medical equipment.
In 2011, Olympus admitted to concealing about $1.7 billion in losses since the 1990s in one of Japan’s biggest corporate corruption cases.
The following year, under new leadership, the company announced a “back to basics” cultural pivot that is said would “enable us to abandon our previous excessive emphasis on sales, comprehensively review our cost structures and achieve growth with profitability while pursuing efficiency.”
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