Newsroom

UTokyo Innovation Platform Co., Ltd. (UTokyo IPC; President & CEO: Kosuke Ueda), based in Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo, announced today that it has made a limited partner (LP) investment in the “Vertex Ventures Japan Fund I,” managed by Vertex Ventures Japan (VVJ; headquartered in Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo; Managing Partner: Takashi Tomita). The investment was made through the Academic Startup Acceleration Fund (ASA Fund), operated by UTokyo IPC with support from the Tokyo Metropolitan Government under its startup strategy “Global Innovation with STARTUPS.”

Recently, Minister Saito visited Singapore and introduced the importance of collaboration in the field of innovation that leverages the strengths of both countries, the role that this platform will play in creating global startups through collaboration between universities and research institutes, and future initiatives.

Vertex Ventures Japan is pleased to announce the completion of the first closing of its inaugural fund, Vertex Ventures Japan Fund I, targeting JPY 10 Billion. This milestone was achieved with the participation of LP investors representing key sectors across industry, government, and academia, with the support of government institutions. Vertex Ventures Japan will commence investments to foster Japan’s next generation of global champions.

The fund will be anchored by Vertex Holdings and focus on investing in leading Japanese startups with high growth potential in Deeptech, Digital Transformation (DX), AI and the creator economy.

The flow of foreign investments into Japan may have slowed, but the weaker yen and reforms pushing Japanese conglomerates to divest non-core business assets may yet turn the tide. The weak yen is a draw for foreign investors looking to buy Japanese assets as they will fork out less foreign currency for their acquisitions. Chua Kee Lock (Group President & CEO of Vertex Holdings) and Takashi Tomita (Managing Partner of Vertex Ventures Japan) share their perspectives on the new fund in Japan.