Collab+Line, the investment partnership formed by Japan-headquartered online messaging platform Line and US-based venture firm Collaborative Fund, has invested in nine startups, Collaborative Fund CEO Craig Shapiro has told TechCrunch.
The initiative was formed in July 2014 with almost $10m in capital to invest in seed-stage startups that would help Line make more traction in the US, where social networks like Facebook and Twitter were established while rivals like WhatsApp and Snapchat were growing quickly.
Collab+Line’s target areas include media, the internet of things (IoT), e-commerce, communications and social networks, though all its portfolio companies have either a business model that could profit from linking with a mobile message platform, or aspirations to expand to Asia.
The fund’s portfolio includes livestreaming platform YouNow, driving analytics technology provider Zendrive, IoT product development platform Particle and iPhone keyboard developer Slash.
Collab+Line is not Line’s only corporate venturing outlet. The company, which raised $1.1bn when it went public last week, established a mobile game fund, also in 2014, and a wider-ranging $42m fund in February 2015.