YJ Capital, the corporate venturing arm of Japan-based internet company Yahoo Japan, and venture capital firm East Ventures have created a new accelerator named Code Republic, Tech in Asia reported on Monday.
The accelerator will be based in Tokyo, and was conceived by Ryu Hirayama, managing director of YJ Capital, and Batara Eto, co-founder of East Ventures.
The three-month scheme aims to become as big a player in Asia as Y Combinator is in the US. The two partners will invest a total of $63,000 in each startup in return for a 7% stake.
To be eligible, startups will only need one engineer on its team. There is no requirement for a beta product and teams can also apply even if they have not yet incorporated.
Code Republic’s claims its unique selling point is the reach of East Ventures across Southeast Asia and the support the firm can offer with international expansion, an increasingly crucial factor in the long-term success of Japanese startups.
The accelerator is accepting applications from now until June 17, with the first cohort of 10 startups to be chosen by early July. The demo day is slated for October 31.