Japanese VC firm launches $82m fund for ESG, fintech startups

GMO VenturePartners, a Japanese VC firm, has launched a new fund worth 11.3 billion yen (US$81.8 million) to invest in fintech and ESG (environmental, social, governance) firms in the Indo-Pacific region.

Founding partner and director of GMO VenturePartners Ryu Muramatsu / Photo credit: GMO VenturePartners

GMO VenturePartners says its new GMO Fintech Fund 7 LP aims to create more than 10 unicorns by 2030. The fund is backed by companies in the firm’s parent entity GMO Internet Group. The VC firm says nearly half of the capital is expected to come from “major financial institutions that have invested in the fund in the past.”

Since 2005, GMO VenturePartners has managed as many as six funds totaling nearly US$123 million. Through these funds, the VC firm has invested in nearly 200 businesses, of which 18 have become public companies and 14 have earned unicorn status.

Some popular companies backed by GMO VenturePartners are Razorpay, Mobikwik, Sansan, and FinAccel.

Listed on the Tokyo Stock Exchange, its parent firm GMO Internet Group mainly focuses on internet-related services. It also operates in online advertising, cryptocurrency, and mobile entertainment categories. It is a popular player in Japan’s domain name and web hosting services sector.

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Currency converted from Japanese yen to US dollar: US$1 = 138.24 yen