The VCs helping to fuel Japan’s startup ecosystem
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Hello readers,
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Back in the “Before Times,” when the term “coronavirus” was known only to scientists and doctors, I had plans to go to Japan for my first, truly solo, holiday. I’d shortlisted a whole bunch of places to visit and was in the midst of crowdsourcing for “challenges” from friends to undertake – one of them was to make friends with locals in the relatively relaxed atmosphere of an izakaya. For an introvert like myself, that would’ve been extremely daunting, but the sense of achievement if I’d succeeded would’ve also been through the roof.
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That level of euphoria is probably similar to how a startup feels upon securing funding (how’s that for a totally seamless segue?). In Japan, investors have been cashing in. For inspiration on this front, founders of Japanese startups might like to refer to our curated list of the most active investors in the land of the rising sun.
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Mitsubishi UFJ Capital comes in at third, with 44 deals over the past 24 months – find out who the top two are.
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Today, we look at:
nnThe top 100 most active investors in Japan’s startupsnnA new mobile game studio is taking aim at the Indian marketnOther newsy highlights such as SpaceX sending four astronauts to the International Space Station and investors’ voracious appetite for the Chinese market despite Ant Group’s IPO woesnnnPREMIUM SUMMARYnBig (and busy) in Japann
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2020 was supposed to be a banner year for Japan, with the pomp and circumstance of the Olympics coming to town. Covid-19 scuppered those plans, and the country continues to battle the effects of the pandemic. But it seems nothing will stop investors’ interest in Japan’s startups, as deals continue to be closed – especially by those on our list of investors making the most moves in the market.
nnnSelf-improvement: Eight of the top 10 on the list are Japan-headquartered. After that, you’d have to go all the way to the 27th spot to find another foreign company.nnTraditional money: While venture capital firms are present throughout the rankings, the top two spots are occupied by organizations directly tied to banks: SMBC Venture Capital and Mizuho Capital.nn
Read more: These are the most active investors in Japan’s startups
nnSTARTUP SPOTLIGHTnA newcomer to the Indian mobile gaming scenen
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US-based mobile game studio Lila Games has raised US$2.8 million in its seed round to expand its hiring efforts in India and establish its studio in the country.
nnnGot you in my sights: Lila Games is an early-stage game development company that’s currently working on a mobile free-to-play (F2P) shooter game codenamed Project B.L.A.C.K.nnnBolstering the ranks: As part of its hiring spree in India, the company says it plans to onboard new talent across product management, development, game design, and art.nnInvestor roll call: The financing round was led by Bitkraft Ventures and included participation from Galaxy Interactive. Angel investors in the gaming industry such as Machine Zone co-founder Mike Sherrill, Super Evil Megacorp CEO Kristian Segerstrale, and Cmune ex-CEO Ludovic Bodin also pitched in.nnnIN PARTNERSHIP WITHn
nHealthtech is healthyn
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The Covid-19 pandemic has greatly accelerated the average layperson’s awareness and understanding of virus containment. Even those who refuse to read up on the coronavirus or even watch the news eventually had to come to terms with the enforcement of mask-wearing and contact-tracing measures.
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A similar acceleration, both in terms of funding and technology advancement, has happened in the healthcare and biomedical sciences industry for obvious reasons. But in reality, startups in this sector have been active for years – healthcare funding in Southeast Asia has climbed at about 40% annually since 2014. Singaporean firms, in particular, are active in the space – in 2019, they secured over half of the US$266 million invested into the region’s healthtech firms.
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This kind of growth doesn’t just happen out of nowhere, of course. Singapore has a robust support system in place, with the government, numerous accelerators and incubation programs, and the nation’s universities all offering assistance in various forms. Mentoring, funding, and infrastructural support are just some examples.
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In this article, you can see exactly how this support plays out for startups. Tan Sze Wee, assistant chief executive at ASTAR’s enterprise division, and Gideon Ho, co-founder of medtech firm HistoIndex, share their insights.
nnQUICK BYTESn1️⃣ Another SpaceX firstn
Elon Musk’s rocket company launched four astronauts on a flight to the International Space Station on Sunday – NASA’s first full-fledged mission sending a crew into orbit aboard a privately owned spacecraft.
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“That was one heck of a ride,” astronaut Mike Hopkins said to SpaceX mission control about an hour after liftoff. Talk about understatements.
n2️⃣ Ant Group’s suspended IPO doesn’t discourage investorsn
The collapse of the world’s largest ever initial public offering has already been brushed off by investors, who are still setting aside large amounts of capital to deploy in China as the nation opens its gates to foreign investors.
n3️⃣ Reliance gets a step upn
Reliance Industries has acquired online furniture seller Urban Ladder Home Decor Solutions, expanding its presence in India’s fast-growing ecommerce market. This comes just three months after Reliance Retail acquired a majority stake in online pharma firm Netmeds, which widens its online offerings.
n4️⃣ What’s a “startup studio?”n
Former WeWork China executive Dominic Penaloza has launched a “startup studio” called REinvent. The term refers to an organization that builds startups with an in-house team – so it’s really just another term for a startup factory or venture builder. A famous example is Rocket Internet, which is credited for building Lazada in Southeast Asia.
n5️⃣ China’s factory output beats forecastsn
The country’s factory output rose faster than expected in October, while retail sales continued to recover – albeit at a slower-than-forecast pace. The industrial sector has staged an impressive turnaround from the paralysis it experienced at the beginning of the pandemic, buoyed by the resilient exports market.
n6️⃣ Walmart is selling most of its holdings in Seiyun
The Japanese supermarket chain, which Walmart acquired 12 years ago, will see new investors in KKR and Rakuten. The two firms will take on 65% and 20% stakes, respectively, while Walmart retains 15%.
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