Japan-based robotics technology provider Cyberdyne has raised an initial ¥9.2bn ($81.9m) for a strategic investment fund that features several corporate limited partners, Nikkei Asian Review has reported.
The fund’s limited partners are insurance firms Sompo Japan Nipponkoa and Daido Life, home builder Daiwa House Industry, financial services firm Mizuho Bank and its corporate venturing vehicle, Mizuho Capital.
Founded in 2004, Cyberdyne develops robotics technology and its best known for a cybernetic exoskeleton called HAL 5 which is capable of greatly enhancing body strength.
The fund is targeting between ¥20bn and ¥30bn for a final close and is raising the capital through CEJ Capital, an entity established by Cyberdyne, Mizuho Capital and venture capital firm Global Brain in December 2017.
The vehicle is intended to invest over a 10-year period and is considering deals in sectors such as robotics, artificial intelligence, medical and healthcare technology. It will provide about $270,000 to $18m for each portfolio company, supporting them from research to commercialisation.
Yoshiyuki Sankai, Cyberdyne’s founder, president and CEO, will head the fund. It will look to access technologies that can integrate with the company’s exoskeletons, the uses of which include helping caregivers to lift incapacitated patients out of bed.
– Image courtesy of Cyberdyne Inc.