US-based venture capital firm Geodesic Capital closed its inaugural fund at $335m today with an anchor investment from Mitsubishi Corporation, a member of Japan-headquartered conglomerate Mitsubishi Group.
Geodesic Capital Fund I also secured commitments from four other businesses within Mitsubishi Group: camera manufacturer Nikon, engineering company Mitsubishi Heavy Industries and financial services firms Bank of Tokyo – Mitsubishi UFJ and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking Corporation.
Insurance provider Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance, financial services firms Toho Bank and Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, and the government-owned financial institution Development Bank of Japan are also limited partners in the fund.
The firm will invest in US-based growth-stage technology companies and support their expansion into Asia, with an initial focus on Japan. It will also help with recruitment, accessing customers, attracting partners and creating go-to-market strategies.
Geodesic was co-founded by Mitsubishi Corporation in May 2015. John Roos, former US ambassador to Japan and formerly the CEO of law firm Wilson Sonsini Goodrich & Rosati, and Ashvin Bachireddy, previously a growth stage partner at Andreessen Horowitz, are also co-founders.
The firm has launched a Japanese branch dubbed Geodesic Japan GK to help portfolio companies enter the Japanese market with the help of Mitsubishi. It is being led by Marcus Otsuji, previously a senior executive at technology company Apple Japan.
Geodesic Capital Fund I has already made its first investments, backing ephemeral messaging platform Snapchat, content delivery network Instart Logic, bitcoin computer producer 21 Inc and cybersecurity software developer Tanium.
Roos said: “By launching Geodesic Capital, we aim to establish a bridge between Silicon Valley and Japan that will help the world’s most transformative technology companies enter the Japanese market and also help Japan’s most iconic companies establish a window into Silicon Valley innovation.”