Japan's 01Booster Capital closes debut fund
01Booster Capital, a Japanese accelerator and VC investor set up in 2012, has closed its debut fund at an undeclared size. It was launched in late 2021.
The core LPs are Nihonkai Lab, the corporate VC unit of utilities supplier Nihonkai Gas, and Willway, an IT-oriented training and recruitment services provider. They were joined by M&A brokerage Strike, diversified industrials supplier Harada Corporation, and Chugoku Bank.
The fund will target both domestic and overseas technology start-ups at the pre-seed, seed, and Series A stages. Focus categories include metaverse, web3, financial technology, artificial intelligence, construction, and entertainment.
01Booster, also known as Zero One Booster, specialises in offering accelerator services to large corporations, helping them discover in-house entrepreneurs, nurture internal ideation, and co-develop technologies with start-ups. Operations include 01Dojo, a staff training programme focused on venture investment.
The fund has invested in at least 14 start-ups, three of which are overseas. It notes that four are led by women, and one is a corporate spinout. The accelerator programme is expected to drive deal flow. Exits are expected to be mainly M&A driven in light of the corporate ecosystem that underpins the model.
01Booster’s investees include Linda Pesa, a Japan-based business management app targeting Africa, and hologram live-streaming company Holotch. Last June, the firm backed Any Style, a messaging app that simulates interactions with fictional characters using voice actors. In May, it joined a USD 6.2m round for used construction equipment marketplace Sorabito.
More on North Asia
Latest News
Asian GPs slow implementation of ESG policies - survey
Asia-based private equity firms are assigning more dedicated resources to environment, social, and governance (ESG) programmes, but policy changes have slowed in the past 12 months, in part due to concerns raised internally and by LPs, according to a...
Singapore fintech start-up LXA gets $10m seed round
New Enterprise Associates (NEA) has led a USD 10m seed round for Singapore’s LXA, a financial technology start-up launched by a former Asia senior executive at The Blackstone Group.
India's InCred announces $60m round, claims unicorn status
Indian non-bank lender InCred Financial Services said it has received INR 5bn (USD 60m) at a valuation of at least USD 1bn from unnamed investors including “a global private equity fund.”
Insight leads $50m round for Australia's Roller
Insight Partners has led a USD 50m round for Australia’s Roller, a venue management software provider specializing in family fun parks.