Leasing services provider NEC Capital Solutions will provide $50m for a $770m fund being raised by Vertex Ventures, the venture capital arm of Singaporean government-owned investment firm Temasek.
The corporate, which is owned by IT services firm NEC Corporation and leasing services provider Sumitomo Mitsui Finance & Leasing Company, will supply the cash through subsidiary Risa Partners, while financial services firm Aozora Bank is set to put up $20m.
Japanese limited partners are expected to put up 20% of the capital for Vertex Master Fund II, with Risa serving as intermediary, the latter said in a statement. Risa established a Southeast Asian subsidiary in 2012 and will navigate any regulatory differences between the markets.
The fund will invest in the US, China, Israel and India and Southeast Asia, representing Vertex’s four main regional offshoots, each of which operate independently, and intends to distribute at least $100m to each area.
Vertex is targeting companies with the potential to reach $1bn valuations, and plans to help them grow by matching them with Japanese corporations. Its global portfolio includes ride hailing service Grab, which is valued at $14bn, and warehouse robot developer Geek+, which last raised money at a valuation of more than $1bn.
News of the latest fund comes less than three weeks after Vertex revealed it has raised $230m for the first close of its fourth Southeast Asian fund.
