Dentsu Ventures, a corporate venturing subsidiary of Japan-listed advertising agency Dentsu, launched a second vehicle dubbed Dentsu Ventures Fund II yesterday with ¥10bn ($92.2m) of capital.
The vehicle is expected to deploy the cash through 2031 and will target companies at seed to late stage. It counts Dentsu Group, its Dentsu Innovation Partners subsidiary and venture capital consultancy and startup accelerator operator Prime Partners as partners.
The unit formed Dentsu Ventures Global Fund I in 2015 and its overall capital under management stands at roughly $185m. The first fund focused on global deals, particularly in the United States, while the latest iteration will increase Dentsu Ventures’ commitment to its home country.
The first fund’s portfolio includes about 40 middle-stage US-based companies operating in diverse areas including those in which the corporate is not directly involved, such as life sciences and healthcare.
Dentsu Ventures has scored numerous exits: smartphone maker Nextbit was acquired by gaming equipment producer Razer, entertainment network operator Cheddar was purchased by internet communications service Altice USA and DNA synthesis platform developer Twis Bioscience floated on the Nasdaq Global Select Market.
Fund I also backed domestic startups such as medical database creator Kakehashi and Alp, the developer of cloud-based business management platform Scalebase, in addition to those in other territories, like India-headquartered bus network operator Shuttl.
