Japan
Japan's Anri hits $102m first close on latest VC fund
Japanese early-stage VC firm Anri has reached a first close of JPY 14bn (USD 102m) on its fifth flagship fund. The target is JPY 40bn.
Japanese autonomous driving player Tier IV raises $300m
Japanese autonomous driving technology developer Tier IV has raised a USD 87m Series B round from strategic investors and received a USD 183m government grant.
Japan's MPower backs construction workers' platform
Japanese environmental, social, and governance (ESG) focused private equity firm MPower has led a JPY 1.8bn (USD 13.4m) investment in Sukedachi, a jobs platform for construction workers.
Global Brain leads $14.5m round for Japan's SmartBank
Japan’s Global Brain has led a JPY 2bn (USD 14.5m) Series A round for SmartBank, a local start-up that provides prepaid Visa cards and accompanying expense management apps.
Japan's Sumitomo Mitsui commits $1.5bn to Apollo
Japan’s Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Holdings has signed up to an alternatives co-investment program run by Apollo Global Management, taking the total capital raised from Asia-based LPs to more than USD 5bn.
PAG launches Asia renewables platform
PAG plans to commit more than USD 1bn to renewables over the next several years with the launch of a platform dedicated to the development, construction, and operation of projects in Asia.
Japan's WiL raises USD 1bn
US-Japan cross-border investor World Innovation Lab (WiL) has raised USD 1bn across its third flagship fund and several other vehicles.
Japan's Aspirant buys beauty brand John Masters Organics
Japanese middle-market private equity firm Aspirant Group has agreed to acquire John Masters Organics (JMO), a personal care brand with a sizeable presence in East Asia, for an undisclosed sum.
Deal focus: VCs back steppingstones to immortality
Japan’s Alt is quicky commercialising a suite of learning voice recognition products as part of a plan to capture individuals’ personalities and values in a process it calls digital cloning
Japan personal 'clone' AI start-up gets $26m
Japan’s Alt, an artificial intelligence (AI) developer that personalises deep learning systems to make what it calls digital clones of people, has raised a JPY 3.5b (USD 26m) round featuring Vertex Ventures.
Japan's Luca Science secures $30m Series B
Luca Science, a Japanese biotech start-up focused on dysfunctional and damaged tissues and organs, has raised a USD 30.3m Series B round led by life sciences specialists 4BIO Capital and DCI Partners.
Japan VC: Late-stage crossroads
Japan’s late-stage technology start-ups are finally beginning to attract meaningful attention from global investors. They should not pop open the champagne
Japan's T Capital buys Fujitsu semiconductor memory assets
Japanese mid-market buyout firm T Capital Partners has agreed to carve out Fujitsu’s semiconductor memory chip business for an undisclosed sum.
Japan biotech start-up raises $31m Series C
Japanese cancer drug developer Chordia Therapeutics has raised JPY 4bn (USD 31.3m) in Series C funding led by Growth Capital of Japan (GCJ) and UTokyo Innovation Platform.
Mitsui, Nomura acquire real assets manager New Forests
Japan’s Mitsui & Co. and Nomura Holdings have agreed to acquire 100% of New Forests, an Australia-headquartered sustainable real assets investment manager focused on forestry, land management, and conservation.
Japan Industrial Solutions supports troubled local drug maker
Japan Industrial Solutions (JIS) has agreed to invest up to JPY 20bn (USD 155m) in Japan-based generic drug manufacturer Nichi-Iko Pharmaceutical with a view to saving the troubled company.
DST, WiL lead Series C for Japan's Upsider
DST Global and World Innovation Lab (WiL) have led a JPY 15bn (USD 115m) Series C round for Upsider, a Japan-based corporate credit card issuer. It is said to be the first time DST has taken the lead role in a Japan deal.
Japan's J-Star closes fifth fund on $574m
Japanese lower middle-market private equity firm J-Star has closed its fifth flagship fund at the hard cap of JPY 75bn (USD 574m). The target was JPY 65m.
KKR launches tender offer for Japan's Hitachi Transport System
KKR has launched a tender offer for Hitachi Transport Systems at a valuation of approximately JPY 749.5bn (USD 5.8bn) after agreeing to acquire parent company Hitachi’s controlling stake in the business.
Deal focus: Goldman embraces Japan robotics
Rapyuta Robotics offers solutions flexible enough to plug into existing warehouse infrastructure and nurtures ambitions to create a cloud-based operating system. This was enough to win over Goldman Sachs
Vision Fund backs Japan's AI Medical Service
SoftBank Vision Fund 2 has led a JPY 8bn (USD 70m) Series C funding round for AI Medical Service, a Tokyo-based medical technology company that has developed an artificial intelligence-enabled (AI) endoscopy diagnostic solution.
Japan's Hitachi mulls divestment of logistics unit
Hitachi has confirmed it may divest its logistics unit, Hitachi Transport System, following a report that KKR was poised to buy the asset for more than JPY 600bn (USD 4.69bn).
Goldman leads Series C for Japan's Rapyuta Robotics
Goldman Sachs has led a USD 51m Series C round for Rapyuta Robotics, a Japan-based developer of collaborative pick-assist robots commonly used in warehouses.