Mitsui Chemicals Forms CVC Fund With Global Brain
2022.07.05
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc.
Global Brain Corporation
Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Tokyo: 4183; President & CEO: HASHIMOTO Osamu) has established corporate venture capital (CVC) fund with Global Brain Corporation (CEO: YURIMOTO Yasuhiko), a major independent venture capital company. Established to help accelerate the creation of new businesses and products, the fund has been named 321FORCE™.
YURIMOTO Yasuhiko, CEO, Global Brain （Left）
HASHIMOTO Osamu, President & CEO, Mitsui Chemicals （Right）
Mitsui Chemicals has already been investing in startup companies and venture capital firms as part of its efforts to create new businesses and products. With the recent establishment of 321FORCE™, Mitsui Chemicals will endeavor to further ramp up its sourcing of themes that fit with company strategy, as well as its investment in startups.
Fields for investment are set to span not only those where Mitsui Chemicals can make use of its assets and resources — including the likes of life & healthcare, mobility, ICT, carbon neutrality, digital transformation, smart cities and universe — but also markets and technologies that hold significant potential for future growth.
What is more, Mitsui Chemicals will leverage the activities of 321FORCE™ to match ideas originating in-house with the technologies and businesses of startup companies; improve the accessibility of advanced information; and build a company-wide intelligent platform aimed at having the whole of Mitsui Chemicals come together in the creation of new businesses. Aims through all this are to work toward building solutions-based business models, which represent part of the company’s Basic Strategy for VISION 2030.
Overview of 321FORCE™
| Name | 321FORCE™ |
|---|---|
| Scale of fund | 5 billion yen |
| Operating period | 10 years |
| Targeted business stage | Startups in the seed stage or beyond |
| Targeted region | Global |
| Fields for investment | Industrial sectors including life & healthcare, mobility, ICT, carbon neutrality, digital transformation, smart cities and universe |
| General partner | Global Brain Corporation |
| Limited partner | Mitsui Chemicals, Inc. (Homepage: https://jp.mitsuichemicals.com/en/index.htm） |
Overview of Global Brain Corporation https://globalbrains.com/en/
| Establishment | 1998 |
|---|---|
| CEO | YURIMOTO Yasuhiko |
| Head Office | Tokyo |
| Locations | U.S., U.K., South Korea, Singapore, Indonesia, China, India |
| Business | Venture capital business |
| Description | A major player in the venture capital industry, Global Brain handles not only basic investment funds but also 11 CVC funds. The company is skilled at unearthing startup companies, and has a long track record of establishing joint CVC funds with the likes of Mitsui Fudosan and KDDI. Focused on boosting the value of the investee while also creating synergy with the investor, Global Brain has met with positive feedback from investees and investors alike. The company manages funds with an emphasis on both financial and strategic returns. |