Motion Ventures fund makes its debut, completes first close of its $22.7m target

Investment fund Motion Ventures, launched by corporate innovation and venture development firm Rainmaking, has completed the first close of its target of S$30 million (US$22.7 million).

Rainmaking co-founder Michael Pomerleau (left) and director Shaun Hon / Photo credit: Motion Ventures

The new fund has anchor investors that include global maritime industry group Wilhelmsen and Europe’s leading logistics firm HHLA.

It will target early-stage startups tackling challenges in the maritime value chain with technologies such as artificial intelligence, continuous intelligence, and hyperautomation.

It will also jointly invest in startups with Seeds Capital, the investment arm of Enterprise Singapore. This follows ​Seeds Capital’s S$50 million (US$37.8 million) commitment​ in June 2020 to co-invest in maritime technology startups with partners such as Rainmaking.

Motion Ventures will offer portfolio companies the chance to scale through Rainmaking’s Venture Studio and Open Innovation Platform, which facilitates commercial partnerships between startups and Fortune 500 companies.

Motion Ventures’ board of directors include Rainmaking’s partners and co-founders Michael Pomerleau and Nicklas Viby Fursund. Shaun Hon, who is also a director at Rainmaking, serves as the fund’s general partner.

Rainmaking said it has launched 30 ventures worth over US$2 billion in value, including startup accelerators Startupbootcamp, in the last 13 years.

Currency converted from Singapore dollar to US dollar: US$1 = S$1.32.