Sony to launch $185m VC fund with Japanese investment bank Daiwa Securities

Sony has teamed up with Daiwa Capital Holdings, the venture capital arm of Japanese investment bank Daiwa Securities Group, to launch a US$185 million VC fund that will back startups in “key high-growth industries.”

Photo credit: Ian Muttoo

The two companies have formed a joint venture called Innovation Growth Ventures (IGV) to create Innovation Growth Fund.

Companies such as Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Osaka Shoko Shinkin Bank, and Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance have signed on to become limited partners to the fund as of its first closing this month, Sony said in a statement.

“Sony will support IGV’s efforts to maximize the performance of this fund, based on the experience it has cultivated through its corporate venture capital activities,” said Sony executive vice president Toshimoto Mitomo.

In July 2016, Sony established Sony Innovation Fund, its corporate venture fund, which backs startups in the AI and robotics spaces. The company claims to have made over 40 investments through the fund in the past three years.