- Established a ¥10 billion-scale fund (including existing investments) to transition SVP to a fund structure.
- Sumitomo's CVC activity began in 1998 across five global bases; SVP was founded in April 2022.
- Fund will increase per-deal investment sizes to enable lead investments and active portfolio management for medium-to-long-term strategic and financial returns, targeting digital, AI and deep tech.
Fund establishment
Sumisho Venture Partners has established a new startup investment fund on a ¥10 billion scale, including existing investments, transitioning SVP to a fund-based structure to support its domestic CVC activities.
Background
Sumitomo Corporation has conducted CVC investments since 1998 across North America, Europe, Hong Kong, Israel and Japan; SVP was founded in April 2022 and has accumulated investments in Japanese startups aimed at business co-creation.
Objectives
The fund structure is intended to enable medium- to long-term investing, larger per-deal allocations to allow lead investments and active involvement in portfolio company management, and to strengthen collaboration with portfolio companies.
Focus areas and AUM
SVP will prioritize investments in digital, AI and deep tech, leveraging the Sumitomo Corporation Group’s network; including the fund, the Group will manage roughly USD 450 million of CVC assets globally measured at fair value.
