Japanese financial services giant SBI Holdings will launch a venture capital fund with a scale of up to 100 billion yen (approximately $663 million) by the end of this year. The fund will invest in Japanese startups in the fields of Web3, AI, metaverse, and other related areas. SBI Holdings is also partnering with SC Ventures, the venture capital arm of Standard Chartered, to establish a joint venture capital company in the United Arab Emirates with a scale of $100 million for digital asset investment.
According to CoinPost, SBI Holdings plans to start the fund by the end of this year to invest in Japanese startups in the Web3, AI, metaverse, and other fields. Each investment is expected to range from several hundred million to over ten billion yen, and a total of 150 to 200 companies will be invested in. The overall fund is expected to reach a maximum scale of 100 billion yen (approximately $663 million).
It is reported that the fund will invite major Japanese banks and regional banks to invest in order to support local startups in Japan. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, Nippon Life Insurance, and the Daiwa Securities Group have already decided to invest over 50 billion yen in the fund.
According to an SBI representative, the financial strength of investors is crucial for nurturing startups that can compete on the global stage. Currently, Japan faces challenges in fostering new businesses, and compared to the United States and Europe, there are still few unicorn companies with a market value of over 100 billion yen.
The government led by Fumio Kishida launched a “5-year plan” for Japanese startups in November last year, setting the investment amount for startups. The goal is to expand the scale of investment in startups from 800 billion yen last year to over 10 trillion yen (10 times) by 2027. The public and private sectors will work together to achieve this goal.
In addition to financial support, environmental improvements are also needed. The report mentioned that one of the biggest challenges in launching Web3 businesses in Japan is the tax system. The Japanese government admitted that the tax system related to Web3 companies needs to be modified, and the final tax reform outline is expected to be announced in mid-December by the Japanese Tax Commission.
Meanwhile, SC Ventures, the venture capital arm of Standard Chartered, announced in a press release today that it will establish a $100 million digital asset joint venture investment company in the United Arab Emirates in collaboration with SBI Holdings. The company will focus on investing in digital asset-related companies, including market infrastructure, risk and compliance tools, DeFi, tokenization, consumer payments, and metaverse. The venture aims to invest globally, covering seed to Series C financing rounds.
Alex Manson, CEO of SC Ventures, stated:
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SBI Holdings
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Web3
investment fund
Japan