Diversified trading group Marubeni is providing $50m for a $770m vehicle being raised by Singaporean government-owned venture capital fund operator Vertex Ventures, Nikkei reported today.
Financial services firm Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation (SMBC) is supplying $20m while consulting firm ABeam Consulting and the state-owned Development Bank of Japan are also participating.
All four limited partners are based in Japan, as is NEC Capital Solutions, the leasing services subsidiary of IT services firm NEC Corporation, which committed $50m in June this year, financial services firm Aozora Bank, which put up $20m, and investment bank Risa Partners. The size of the fund now stands at $730m according to Nikkei.
Vertex Ventures is overseen by state-owned investment firm Temasek and manages funds located in Southeast Asia, US, China, Israel and India. Its global portfolio includes ride hailing service Grab, 3D printer producer Desktop Metal and robotics developer Geek+.
The Japanese investors have supplied a total of $180m for Vertex Master Fund II, which will invest across Vertex’s branches, though Nikkei reports that it will mainly concentrate on China and India.
The Japan-based backers intend to help global startups form partnerships with enterprises in their home country. The fund is targeting internet-of-things and artificial intelligence-related technologies.
