Minerva Growth Partners Targets ¥20 Billion for Second Fund to Deepen Crossover Strategy in Japan
Minerva Growth Partners (MGP) has announced the first close of its second flagship fund, "Minerva Growth Partners II, LP" (Fund II). The Tokyo-based firm, which specializes in growth equity, is targeting a total corpus of 20 billion yen ($130 million) with backing from both domestic and international institutional investors.
Deepening the "Crossover" Model
Building on the strategy of its inaugural fund, MGP aims to solidify "growth equity" as a distinct asset class within the Japanese market. The firm utilizes a crossover investing model—common in the U.S. but still nascent in Japan—which provides consistent support to companies through their pre-IPO phases and continuing into the post-IPO public markets.
MGP operates in partnership with Hong Kong-based Pleiad Investment Advisors, a strategy designed to bridge the gap between private venture capital and public equity markets.
Market Context and Strategy
The launch of Fund II comes as Japan’s startup ecosystem faces a structural shift. While the market is maturing, many Japanese startups still face liquidity constraints and pressure to list publicly at smaller valuations compared to their global peers.
MGP’s thesis addresses this gap by providing late-stage capital, allowing companies to scale operations and secure a competitive market position before going public. Fund II will deploy a hybrid strategy encompassing:
- Minority Growth Investments: Targeting pre-IPO and unlisted companies in the technology sector (Internet and Software).
- Opportunistic Buyouts: Including Management Buyouts (MBOs) and corporate carve-outs, capitalizing on the recent trend of public companies delisting or restructuring.
- PIPEs: Third-party allotment capital injections for listed companies.
Track Record
Established in September 2020, MGP’s first fund raised 19.2 billion yen and invested in eight companies over a five-year period. Notable portfolio companies include ANDPAD, CADDi, and Infcurion. The firm highlighted Infcurion’s October 2025 listing on the Tokyo Stock Exchange Growth Market as a validation of its hands-on approach, which included executive recruiting, capital policy advisory, and equity story development.
Forward Outlook
According to the firm, Fund II will focus on a 10-year horizon (with a potential two-year extension), betting on secular trends such as the digital transformation of Japanese industries, the increasing sophistication of capital policies required by startups, and a rising number of companies choosing to stay private longer to achieve scale.
Norbert Gehrke
