Craig Boshier (pictured) has joined Yamaha Motor Ventures & Laboratory Silicon Valley (YMVSV), Japan-headquartered electronics and automotive manufacturer Yamaha’s corporate venture capital subsidiary, as an Australia-based general manager.
Yamaha hired Boshier from health and wellness consultancy Valu Health, a healthcare consultancy he founded in January this year after leaving BCG Digital Ventures, a subsidiary of consulting firm Boston Consulting Group where he was managing director, after three and a half years.
Boshier told Global Corporate Venturing that YMVSV had only been present in Australia for a few weeks and its priority is to establish offices and staff to cover the country as well as nearby markets such as New Zealand and Southeast Asia.
The unit will in particular target investments in agricultural technology, and Boshier cited the sector’s importance for Australia’s economy as a key factor. It also intends to explore investments in medical, transport and construction technology.
YMVSV has so far made one regional investment, in New Zealand, though Boshier declined to disclose the identity of the portfolio company.
Boshier told GCV he “values the capability Yamaha brings with its adjacencies strategy,” and said the unit will invest from seed to series C-stage and make follow-on investments.
The Silicon Valley-based core unit of YMVSV has a portfolio that includes agricultural robotics developer Abundant Robotics, drone technology provider PrecisionHawk and vehicle-focused wifi internet system developer Veniam.
– Photo courtesy of LinkedIn.
