Former US ambassador launches $335m fund to bridge Japan and America

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Silicon Valley-based late stage venture capital firm Geodesic Capital announced today the completion of its first fund totaling US$335 million. The fund will focus on growth-stage companies looking to enter Japan and other markets in Asia.

The Geodesic Capital Fund I was founded by former US Ambassador to Japan John V. Roos and former partner at Andreessen Horowitz Ashvin Bachireddy. The fund counts several major Japanese companies among its investment partners including Mitsubishi, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking, the Bank of Tokyo-Mitsubishi UFJ, Sompo Japan Insurance, Nikon Corporation, and the Development Bank of Japan.

According to Geodesic’s statement, Mitsubishi will act as the fund’s anchor in Japan. With the strong presence of Japanese partners, it appears the fund will be focusing on the land of the rising sun first. Today’s announcement also included the appointment of former Apple Japan senior executive Marcus Otsuji to lead Geodesic’s Japan office.

With the strong presence of Japanese partners, it appears the fund will be focusing on the land of the rising sun first.

During his four years as ambassador to Japan from 2009 to 2013, Roos was the first sitting US ambassador to attend the commemoration ceremony of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima. He was also pivotal in leading the US relief effort following the earthquake in 2011 and helping set up the Tomodachi Initiative to connect Japan’s next generation of leaders with the United States which Mitsubishi played a key role in. “Mitsubishi through chairman Kojima was one of the first corporations to step up in a significant way to support the Tomodachi Initiative,” elaborated Roos, “and that led to a natural inclination on my part to talk to chairman Kojima as we were formulating the plans for Geodesic Capital.”

Roos was previously CEO and senior partner at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich and Rosati, a law firm focusing on technology, life sciences, and emerging growth companies. After his term as ambassador he returned to Silicon Valley to found Geodesic Capital.

John Roos and Ashvin Bachireddy of Geodesic Capital at the press conference in Tokyo.

Roos hints at supporting Japanese companies looking to come to the US. “After returning to Silicon Valley, I found this to be the most deeply disruptive and innovative period in technology I have seen in my career and came to believe that Japan needed a much greater presence here,” he said in a statement.

He also noted a rise in interest in Japan by US technology companies and hopes to use his experience as ambassador to connect the two countries. “By launching Geodesic Capital, we aim to establish a bridge between Silicon Valley and Japan that will help the world’s most transformative technology companies enter the Japanese market and also help Japan’s most iconic companies establish a window into Silicon Valley innovation.”

The fund has already made a number of investments including into Snapchat, enterprise software Tanium, content delivery network Instart Logic, and bitcoin computer maker 21 Inc.

Ashvin stated each investment will range between US$5 – 30 million and that Geodesic is looking at four attributes for each investment: a strong leader in the CEO who can “guide the company for the next 20 – 30 years,” incredible product innovation, large potential markets, and strong execution with rapid growth. Tech in Asia spoke with Ashvin and while he says there is no definition for a “growth stage” company, he clarified that positive unit economics was vital.

Update on May 17 2016, 7:05pm JST: The article was updated to include information on Geodesic’s strategy.