Japan’s KLab to launch new VC arm, expand to Philippines and Southeast Asia

Japan-based venture capital firm KLab Ventures’ investment activity will be taken up by new company KLab Venture Partners, it announced today. The VC, jointly owned by social and mobile gaming company KLab and Japanese financial services company group SBI, will continue supporting portfolio activities. The new company, KLab Venture Partners, will be a fully-owned subsidiary of KLab, with no involvement from SBI.

There will be a new fund accompanying the launch, which the company hopes to raise by the end of the year. It’s currently reviewing candidates for limited partnership in the fund. With it, the VC will look to invest in “any growing domestic and overseas IT companies,” it says. It plans to invest primarily in Japan, but will also look toward the US and Southeast Asia.

Fresh start

According to CEO Hirokazu Nagano, there won’t be stark differences between KLab Venture Partners’ and KLab Ventures’ M.O. when it comes to selecting startups to invest in. KLab Ventures has previously invested in multimedia, social networking, and enterprise software startups. One notable difference is that the VC will now look more toward seed-stage businesses.

As a fully-owned subsidiary of KLab, the new VC will be able to make the most of its parent company’s resources, technology, and networks, Hirokazu points out. As the previous VC, KLab Ventures, has invested its allocated fund, it was a good time to start off a new company, entirely under KLab.

He did not specify whether the new company will be primarily a lead investor or it will join other rounds, saying this will depend on each case. Likewise, the size of investment into each startup and the equity in it will be determined by the stage of the startup, Hirokazu explains.

KLab Venture Partners plans to open a branch in Manila, the capital of the Philippines, in 2016. That will help the firm go into more Southeast Asian markets, Hirokazu says. The company is excited by the possibilities in the Philippines market, as well as the fact that there aren’t too many VCs based there at the moment.

Hirokazu is counting on KLab’s support and resources to set KLab Venture Partners apart, as well as KLab Ventures’ track record in the last three and a half years. The VC’s portfolio companies have seen further investment after their seed rounds, as well as successful exits, including English language learning startup Langrich, acquired by US education company EnglishCentral.

Update, 15:00pm: A previous version of this story mistakenly mentioned that KLab Venture Partners will replace KLab Ventures, and that Utagoe had been acquired by KLab. This has been corrected.

Is KLab’s entry into the Philippines good news for the ecosystem there? Chime in with your thoughts in the comments.