Kyocera Corporation (President: Hideo Tanimoto; hereinafter, Kyocera) today announced that it will launch the "Kyocera Venture Innovation Fund-I," a corporate venture capital fund of approx. 40 million U.S. dollars, on April 1, 2024, as a vehicle to create new businesses.
Kyocera has a long history of supporting start-ups through direct investment and collaboration using its unique technologies to enhance research and development and build new enterprises. The new fund will allow Kyocera to continue these efforts in anticipation of future market changes while accelerating its open innovation activities.
The fund will invest primarily in Japanese and Asian start-ups in the fields of environment and energy, information and communications, medical and healthcare, mobility, advanced materials, software (including AI), aerospace and defense, semiconductors, and nuclear fusion. Kyocera will collaborate with VC firm Global Brain Corporation (CEO: Yasuhiko Yurimoto, hereinafter, Global Brain) to develop venture capital strategies supported by Global Brain's investment platform, networks, and knowledge base.
Fund Outlook
| Entity name |
KVIF-I Limited Partnership (Registered Name) (Name: Kyocera Venture Innovation Fund-I) |
| Establishment date | April 1, 2024 |
| Fund size | Approx. USD40 million |
| Operation period | 10 years |
| Investment areas | environment and energy, information and communications, medical and healthcare, mobility, advanced materials, software (including AI), aerospace and defense, semiconductors, and nuclear fusion |
| Investment stage | Early stage (Series A-C) |
| Investment size | USD0.2-2 million (less than 20% equity) |
| Unlimited liability partner | Global Brain Corporation |
| Limited partner | Kyocera Corporation |
About Global Brain
| Company Name | Global Brain Corporation |
| Location of Head Office | 10-11 Sakuragaoka-cho, Shibuya-ku, Tokyo, Japan |
| Representative | Yasuhiko Yurimoto, CEO |
| Establishment | January 1998 |
| Business activities | Venture capital business |
| URL | https://globalbrains.com |
