UntroD Capital Japan closes first crossover impact fund at 4 billion yen

UntroD Capital Japan has established the Crossover Impact Fund and has completed its first closing of 4 billion yen. The fund aims to create a positive impact on society in addition to investment returns through impact-oriented crossover investments that transcend the boundaries between listed and unlisted companies.

Since 2015, UntroD Capital Japan has been operating the Real Tech Fund, a VC fund specializing in the deep tech field, and has been promoting the social implementation of technology through lead investments and hands-on support from the seed and early stages for startup companies with innovative R&D-based technologies that contribute to solving problems on Earth and humanity. UntroD Capital Japan has been involved in the IPO of several companies that represent the deep tech field, and existing fund investments are also preparing for IPO with the aim of going public in the future.

In this environment, startups before and after listing face challenges such as a lack of growth capital in the late stage, small IPOs, weak governance, and a lack of adaptability to the dramatic changes in the business environment that come with listing. To solve these issues, there is a need for crossover investments that can consistently support growth from the late stage through to post-listing.

The fund will collaborate with Nomura Asset Management, one of Japan’s largest asset management companies, and combine UntroD Capital Japan’s experience and knowledge in supporting startup investments in the deep tech field with Nomura Asset Management’s long-standing dialogue methods with listed companies to provide long-term capital to promising late-stage startups aiming for an impact-oriented IPO and support the improvement of corporate value with an emphasis on sustainable growth after listing, thereby realizing an ecosystem in which startups that contribute to solving global and human issues can continue to create further social impact even after listing. In addition, through the fund, UntroD Capital Japan aims to foster a market for crossover investments and impact investments and establish an investment model that realizes not only fund performance but also social impact.

Partner Companies

• Nomura Asset Management
• Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking
• Resona Bank
• Tokyo Century
• Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank
• Sumitomo Realty & Development

Overview of Crossover Impact Fund

• Fund name: UntroD Nomura Crossover Impact Fund Investment Limited Partnership
• General Partner: UntroD Nomura Crossover Impact Fund Limited Liability Partnership (LLP)
• Investment targets: Domestic R&D startup companies with innovative technologies that tackle the challenges of solving problems facing the planet and humanity and bring innovation to society (mainly deep tech companies engaged in businesses related to healthcare/bio, space, sensing, robotics, agriculture, medicine, marine, environment/energy, electronics, new materials, etc.), as well as startup companies with a high level of social impact in areas such as the global environment and human health.
• Investment stage: Final financing or cornerstone investment in late-stage startup companies with a high probability of going public (IPO)
• Operation period: Up to 8 years from December 2024 (with the possibility of extension for up to 2 years)

About UntroD Capital Japan

UntroD Capital Japan established the Real Tech Fund in 2015 with the aim of implementing deep tech startups with innovative R&D-based technologies that contribute to solving global and human problems, and has been providing lead investment and hands-on support to seed and early stage startups.

To date, the company has managed Real Tech Funds 1–4 (Japan Fund), Real Tech Global Funds 1 and 2 (Global Fund), and Real Tech Growth Fund 1 (Japan Fund), with a total of over 40 billion yen under management. In order to further embody its will to be the first to step into unexplored areas that are needed by society but where capital is difficult to flow, and to create a sustainable system in which capital and human resources continue to be supplied by proving its economic viability, the company has adopted the name “UntroD”, which means “unexplored”, as its company name and restarted in June 2024.

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