Japan-headquartered internet company Mixi has closed a ¥3bn ($28.9m) live entertainment digital transformation vehicle dubbed Mixi Entertainment Fund I.
Plans to set up the fund were first announced in August this year. It will concentrate on digitalisation technology covering theatrical production, and sports and music events. Mixi intends to invest up to roughly $96m in this area, including the capital allocated to the fund.
Founded in 1997 as an employment platform called Find Job and later renamed e-Mercury, the company pivoted its core business to social networking in 2004 and eventually rebranded to Mixi. It had been conducting corporate venturing through i-Mercury Capital, which was formed in 2013 with roughly $50m.
Mixi has already made its first investment out of the new vehicle, investing an undisclosed amount in US-based avatar technology developer Genies, which received $3m last month from video game publisher Bandai Namco.
Genies closed a $15m round in June 2019 that took its overall funding at the time to $40m, with contributions from talent studios CAA and Management 360, Macro Ventures, TGZ Capital, Tull Investment Group, Foundation Capital, Lerer Ventures, Trinity Ventures, L Catterton, New Enterprise Associates and multiple individuals.
In addition, Mixi Entertainment Fund has provided an undisclosed amount to KeyHolder, a Jasdaq-listed company that is running a talent management and advertising service for TV programmes and films.
