Japan VC reloads with $175m fund

Yasuhiko Yurimoto, founder and CEO of Global Brain, stands in the middle, flanked by LPs for the new US$175M fund.

A fixture in Japan’s venture capital industry, Global Brain has upped the ante yet again. At the annual Global Brain Alliance Forum, founder and CEO Yasuhiko Yurimoto announced the creation of a sixth fund to be valued at US$175 million.

Since its humble beginnings in 2001 – when its first and second funds totalled only US$17.5 million – the firm has steadily been adding stars to its portfolio. One of the few Japanese funds that can cut large checks at home and abroad, it has invested in printing startup Raksul (Japan) and location-based advertising venture Near (India). Mercari, the used-goods application and newly minted Japanese unicorn, is also a portfolio company.

The fund made its first close at US$130 million. Final close is expected in June 2017.

Global Brain will be looking most closely at startups offering internet of things, hardware, enterprise, robotics, education, and commerce solutions.

Yurimoto also emphasized an interest in startups solving societal issues that will make Japan a stronger, more economically competitive nation. “With the Tokyo Olympics and Paralympics happening in 2020, Japan is in a time of change. We want to create an ecosystem that links [this progress] to a future beyond the Olympics,” he says.

That future includes stronger international ties. The latest fund is earmarked for startups in Japan, Silicon Valley, South Korea, Southeast Asia, and Israel. In particular, the firm is keen to strengthen Japan’s stature in tourism and inbound industries. It is a goal shared by the primary limited partners: the Cool Japan Fund, travel service conglomerate JTB, and mega-bank Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC).

Global Brain’s strategy is sure to influence future Japanese startups. Per Japan Venture Research, startups took in US$812 million during the first half of 2016. Assuming the rate remains constant, this single fund will represent 11 percent of all Japan domestic VC investments in 2016.

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