Strive, a corporate venturing vehicle for Japan-based digital media company Gree, has closed its third fund at just over $100m, DealStreetAsia reported today.
Formerly known as Gree Ventures, Strive was set up in 2011 and targets internet and mobile-focused companies across Asia, investing at seed to series B stage. It provides approximately $300,000 to $1m for each deal.
Gree backed the fund along with limited partners including the government-owned ME Support Japan and financial services firm Mizuho Financial Group, which contributed through its Mizuho Bank, Mizuho Securities Principal Investment and Mizuho Capital subsidiaries.
The close represents a reduction of the fund’s original target of more than $130m, which was set when the firm rebranded in May 2019. Its second fund had closed at an oversubscribed $67m in 2017.
Nikhil Kapur, a Singapore-based partner at Strive who manages its Indian and Southeast Asian deals, told DealStreetAsia: “We had set 31 December 2019 in our heads as the deadline to get whatever commitments we could get and just close the fund, and that is what we did.
“Wherever it ended, we were okay with it as long as it was at least $100m (or ¥11bn). We would rather spend more time with the [portfolio] companies than trying to fundraise.”
