Omron Ventures, the corporate venturing arm of Japan-based automation equipment producer Omron, has formed a second vehicle dubbed OVC2 Investment Limited Partnership.
The fund is set to invest over a five-year period and will focus on factory automation, smart city, digital health and energy management technology developers globally.
Founded in 1933, Omron produces automation parts and medical devices including thermometers as well as blood pressure gauges and nebulisers. It also manufactures automated teller machines and swipe-based card readers.
Omron founder Kazuma Tateishi has been credited as one of the first venture capitalists in Japan, having co-founded VC firm Kyoto Enterprise Development in 1972.
The corporate formed Omron Ventures in 2014 to identify and support startups operating in areas such as data-equipped healthcare digitalisation, automation and mobility technology. In addition to funding, the unit helps entrepreneurs incubate their businesses and promote business development.
Omron Ventures invests in series A and B-stage companies developing innovative technologies and services. Tomoko Inoue came on board as chief executive in 2018, and five out of its eight team members were hired from outside the corporate, helping to provide external perspectives.
The sizes of each of the unit’s vehicles are not disclosed but Omron Ventures said it now has about ¥15bn ($130m) in total under management.
Inoue, whose grandfather was an engineer and father a financier, told Nikkei Business Publications earlier this month: “I believe that the very idea of VC is effective in creating innovation.
“In order to unite experts from different fields with different languages, a metaphorical higher-order concept is needed, and Omron has been solving problems by embodying design thinking for a long time.
“In other words, we have the DNA to create innovation. It is precisely because of this culture that we believe we can bring about innovation through co-creation with startup companies, and we are proceeding with this sense of mission.” (Translated from Japanese by Global Corporate Venturing)
Omron Ventures has approximately 20 portfolio companies including Spain-headquartered decarbonisation project finance marketplace ClimateTrade, France-based energy efficiency system supplier Metron, dementia prevention technology developer CogSmart from the United States and Terrals Technologies, which was founded in India and which provides management services for chronic diseases like diabetes and hypertension.
Inoue intends to keep a close eye on India because of the size of the market. In addition, she is keen on supporting global startups because about half of the companies the unit has recently evaluated have been in Japan.
Inoue added: “As we focus on early-stage companies, we are looking more at teams and people rather than numbers. Most of our targets are engineers and scientists who are also CEOs, but in order to break through, they need to strike a good balance between business and management.
“Startups that are aware of this balance and those that build a structure that suits their growth will be candidates for our investment.” (Translated from Japanese by GCV)
Image courtesy of Omron Corporation.
