Genesia Ventures Raises $110M in Final Close of the Third Fund
About Genesia Ventures
Genesia Ventures is an independent venture capital firm that provides investment and management support to pre-seed and seed stage startups. With three offices in Japan (Tokyo), Indonesia (Jakarta), and Vietnam (Ho Chi Minh City), it aims to build a platform for the creation of large-scale sustainable industries across Asia, together with stakeholders that include startups, corporations, investors, governments, and non-profit organizations.
The company also plans to establish an office in India by the end of 2023, and will be investing in startups that are operating in Japan, Southeast Asia, and India.
Investments from the First and Second Funds
The first fund completed its final close in December 2017 with a total of $35M raised. It invested in 47 pre-seed and seed-stage startups: 35 in Japan and 12 in SEA. (As of March 31, 2023)
The second fund completed its final close in October 2020 with a corpus of $70M, and invested in 59 companies: 41 in Japan and 16 in SEA. (As of March 31, 2023)
About the Third Fund
The following organizations, together with undisclosed domestic institutional and individual investors, participated in the fund: (in alphabetical order)
- Canal Ventures, Ltd.
- Cygames, Inc.
- DBJ Capital Co.,Ltd.
- FFG Venture Business Partners
- GREE Ventures, Inc.
- JA Mitsui Leasing, Ltd.
- Japan Investment Corporation
- Mizuho Capital Co., Ltd.
- Mizuho Bank, Ltd.
- Oriental Land Innovations Co.,Ltd.
- Sumitomo Mitsui Trust Bank, Limited.
- Withus Corp.
Investment Thesis
- Digital Transformation (DX) Business models around digital transformation, such as XaaS solutions that improve efficiency in various industries, and platforms that eliminate complex and fragmented middle layers.
- New Economy New economy business models such as OMO, C2C (E-Commerce, service), the sharing economy, decentralized platforms, etc., that optimize individual empowerment and customer experiences.
- Media and Entertainment Business models around media and entertainment, such as content, VR, and AR that provide value in the form of moving experiences.
- Frontier Technology New industries that include robotics, digital twinning, and space technologies, as well as areas related to digital innovation through the application of information science.
Message from the Management Team
Soichi Tajima, CEO / General Partner
As a venture capital firm, we focused on six themes to work towards our vision of “realizing a society that brings wealth and opportunities to all”: circular economy, prosperous lifestyle, equal access to information and opportunity, knowledge, coexistence and symbiosis, and a healthy society. We have invested in more than 140 startups, mainly in Japan and Southeast Asia, that tackle these themes.
In addition, we have set forth our mission to “build a platform that creates sustainable industries in Asia,” which is an initiative aimed at building a platform that enables the creation of sustainable, large-scale industries in cooperation with stakeholders that form our society throughout Asia. At the same time, these are efforts to provide the knowledge and networks necessary to maximize the probability of success and the corporate value of startups that take on challenges of creating large-scale industries.
One of the concrete steps we took was the creation of the the Portfolio & Partnership Management (PPM) team. The PPM team is actively working to build relationships with corporations, audit firms, securities firms, and other stakeholders including local governments, regional financial institutions, and universities, in order to meet the needs of portfolio companies, and to realize an industry creation platform that brings prosperity and opportunity to all.
Takahiro Suzuki, Head of Investments in Southeast Asia / General Partner
The Southeast Asian startup market, which is the main battleground for the overseas investment team, has grown to a scale that far surpasses the Japanese market in terms of both the total amount and number of fundraising.
In recent years, along with talented entrepreneurs from countries in the region, entrepreneurs from various markets including India, Europe, and America, are taking on the challenge of building solutions for the Southeast Asian market. In addition, venture capitalists from North America, India, South Korea, Greater China, Europe, and other countries and regions are expanding their operations into Southeast Asia. At the same time, I believe that the startup ecosystems in Asia, especially between Southeast Asia and India are becoming more seamless. In light of such changes in the market environment and the enormous potential of the Indian startup ecosystem, we plan to establish an investment base in India within this fiscal year. As a unique venture capital firm with expertise in Southeast Asia and Japan, we will further hone our strengths in Southeast Asia and are determined produce great results in India.
We will continue to serve as a bridge connecting Japan, Southeast Asia, and India to promote regional collaboration and co-creation between startups and large corporations to realize our mission of “building a platform that creates sustainable industries in Asia”. At the same time, as a Japanese venture capital firm with an overseas team, we believe in the potential of Japanese entrepreneurs to succeed in the global market, and will continue supporting them in their journey to build and expand globally.
Masafumi Kawai, Partner / Chief Sustainability Officer
In addition to actively investing in environmental technology and other areas of sustainability, we support our portfolio companies with ESG management, focusing on strengthening human capital and establishing appropriate governance systems to help them build businesses with sustainable growth.
In order to systematically carry out such support activities, we have been working on effective measures, starting with the signing of PRI and the formulation of ESG investment policies at the end of 2021, identifying key issues using ESG checklists when considering investments, and providing our own ESG solutions for post-investment engagement. Moving forward, we will also consider setting KPIs and improving reporting.
From the third fund, we will also focus on investing in deep tech companies that include university-launched ventures and companies that focus on sustainability, and have so far invested in fields such as space tech, renewable energy, resource recycling, and microbial biotechnology. We will continue to develop and improve ourselves, and take on new challenges so that we can provide solid support to startups with superior technological capabilities that can compete on the global stage.
Company Profile
Company Name: Genesia Ventures, Inc.
Website: https: genesiaventures.com
Founded date: August 2016
Founder: CEO/General Partner Soichi Tajima
Address (Japan): Guild Aoyama, Kyowa Gobankan 2F, 3-3-13, Kita-aoyama, Minato-ku, Tokyo, 107-0061
Address (Indonesia): WeWork Revenue Tower, SCBD, Jl Jend.Sudirman No.52-53, Senayan, Kebayoran Baru Jakarta City, JK, 12190, Indonesia
Address (Vietnam): D08, SENoffice Business Center,L18-11-13,18th Floor, Vincom Center Dong Khoi Tower,72 Le Thanh Ton, Ben Nghe Ward,District 1,Ho Chi Minh City,Vietn
