Japan’s GMO VenturePartners sees $240m in capital gains from 3 bets

Japan-based GMO VenturePartners saw US$240 million in capital gains from three portfolio companies, the firm told Tech in Asia. A substantial amount was gained from fintech firms Coda Payments and GMO PaymentGateway Singapore, with contributions from 2C2P.

Ryu Muramatsu, founder of GMO VenturePartners / Photo credit: News Picks

Founder Ryu Muramatsu, who established the VC firm in 2005, was also named the top influential venture investor in Forbes Japan’s 2023 list.

Coda, which focuses on in-game payments, was GMO VenturePartners’ first investment via its 2 billion yen (US$15.1 million) Global Payment Fund. The VC also led Coda’s series A round.

This investment resulted in 300x return, with Bloomberg pegging Coda’s valuation at US$2.5 billion, Muramatsu told Forbes Japan.

Muramatsu has set up seven funds with GMO VenturePartners, backing businesses across Japan, Southeast Asia, and India.

Combined, his team has invested in or been involved in the creation of 200 companies worldwide. Of that number, 21 have over 100 billion yen (US$700 million) in market value.

Other unicorns that the VC has invested in via this fund include FinAccel and Razorpay.

In July 2021, GMO VenturePartners announced the launch of its latest ESG and fintech-focused fund. Worth US$100 million, the fund will be deployed in the Indo-Pacific region.

Currency converted from Japanese yen to US dollars: US$1 = 129.59 yen.

See also: Ant Group-backed 2C2P’s profit, revenue narrow in 2021