Money Forward Venture Partners (MFVP), the corporate venturing unit for Japan-based accounting software provider Money Forward, has closed its seed and early-stage investment vehicle, Hirac Fund I, at ¥3.04bn ($29m).
The latest limited partners (LPs) for the fund included GMO VenturePartners, Nippon Life X and Ricoh Leasing, respective subsidiaries of internet company GMO, insurer Nippon Life and office products supplier Ricoh respectively.
Financial services firm Shizuoka Bank and Tokai Tokyo Financial Holdings also committed, the latter through its Tokai Tokyo Investment unit, as did cross-border mergers and acquisitions consultancy Nihon M&A Center, brokerage Matsui Securities and venture capital firm Incubate Fund.
MFVP was formed in May this year and launched Hirac Fund the month after. The vehicle targets developers of IT-related technology and has backed five companies: Go Visions, Salowin, Tential, Workside and Wray, the last three announced alongside the fund’s first close in July 2020.
Enterprise communication platform developer Chatwork, design studio operators Goodpatch and The Guild, printing services firm Raksul and software testing service Shift were among the initial LPs, as were investment firm Jafco and multiple individuals.
