Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank (SMTB) has teamed up with fellow Japan-based financial services firm SBI Holdings’ SBI Investment subsidiary to form a ¥5bn ($47.3m) corporate venturing vehicle.
SuMi Trust Innovation Fund is set to operate for 10 years, taking minority stakes in companies past early stage. It will invest on a sector-agnostic basis and focus on developers of digitisation technology.
The fund will leverage SMTB’s industry expertise and capabilities and SBI Investment’s experience in the Japanese innovation ecosystem.
SMTB had already conducted corporate venturing deals, having participated in a $4.9m series D round for price analysis technology developer Milize and made a limited partner commitment to consumer electronics producer Sony’s Innovation Growth Ventures vehicle earlier this year.
SBI Investment has been concentrating on areas including artificial intelligence, blockchain, financial technology, IT and healthcare since it was formed in 1996. It had deployed roughly $4.4bn across 22 funds as of June 30 this year.
