In 2019, Japan-based advertising holding company Hakuhodo DY Holdings formed a corporate venture capital arm, Hakuhodo DY Ventures, in addition to a strategic fund called Hakuhodo DY Future Design Fund.
Akihiko Tokuhisa has been the president and CEO of the unit since its formation. Hakuhodo DY Ventures was allocated an initial ¥200m ($1.6m) in capital, but the parent company said it intended to invest up to ¥10bn in corporate venture capital activities by the end of 2023 as part of its medium-term business plan
The investment period for the vehicle is 10 years, and to date it has focused on companies across a range of sectors, participating at seed to late stage. Among Hakuhodo DY Ventures’ recent investments are a role in the $1.6m seed round for sharing platform Arches and involvement in the $4.5m series C raise for Sprocket, a digital marketing information specialist.
Members of Hakuhodo DY Group contribute to the fund’s operations, assisting portfolio companies in areas including marketing data, media content and business development. The group also seeks to access new business models that can help its affiliates be more innovative.
At the time of the unit’s launch, Tokuhisa said: “The establishment of Hakuhodo DY Future Design Fund provides opportunities for me to collaborate with venture companies in a broad range of domains and stages like never before.”
Tokuhisa has worked for Hakuhodo group companies since 2001, initially as the chief technology officer of DA Consortium, an online advertising subsidiary of which he is still currently the senior managing director. Previously he spent 15 years working for Toshiba and he has a bachelor’s degree in linguistics from Hitotsubashi University in Tokyo.
