* Following megabanks, Sakana AI begins providing bank-specialized AI solutions to regional banks * As the first partnership with a regional bank, signed MOU with Hokkoku Bank and began considering specific implementation details * Moving forward, will work together with Hokkoku Bank to promote transformation of regional finance including regional revitalization, serving as
Everimpact, the climate tech company building the world’s first real-time greenhouse gas (GHG) data network, has secured strategic investment from EIT Urban Mobility (an initiative of the European Institute of Innovation & Technology), a body of the European Union, and Mitsubishi UFJ Capital, the venture capital arm of Japan’
Ares Management Corporation, a leading global alternative investment manager, has completed the final close of Japan DC Partners I LP (“JDC I” or the “Fund”), marking Ares’ first vehicle dedicated to data center investment and development. With approximately US$2.4 billion (¥350 billion) in total equity commitments, the Fund
Kigen, a global leader in eSIM and pioneer of integrated SIM (iSIM) security solutions, has received a strategic investment from SBI Group, one of Japan's largest financial services and investment groups. This latest investment joins existing backers Arm Holdings and SoftBank Vision Fund 2, marking a significant milestone
Geodesic Capital, a venture capital firm focused on strategic technology investments to bridge Silicon Valley and Japan, announced the completion of initial fundraising of $250 million (approximately ¥38.7 billion) for its new fund "Geodesic Alliance Fund." This fund represents an unprecedented venture fund aimed at advancing the
Capgemini and Dai-ichi Life Holdings have signed a multi-year agreement to establish a Global Capability Center (GCC) in India. This landmark agreement is poised to accelerate Dai-ichi Life Group’s digital transformation globally. The GCC aims to tap into India’s deep pool of skilled professionals to support and enhance
EVONET has launched a cross-border mobile wallet interoperability service in partnership with KDDI Corporation and Tenpay Payment Technology. In the first phase of this initiative, more than 1.4 billion WeChat users from China can make payments by WeChat Pay (Weixin Pay) at au PAY-affiliated stores across Japan by simply
JAMP Fund Management, a subsidiary of Japan Asset Management Platform, has launched its ETF white-label service in the Japanese market, positioning the company to capitalize on growing demand for innovative asset management solutions. The ETF white-label service delivers comprehensive middle and back-office capabilities for Exchange-Traded Fund operations, designed to drive
Welcome to the one hundred fifteenth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. Greetings from Lake Biwa! Our annual sake brewery tour & domestic holiday has us hovering around Japan's biggest lake, with our path leading us across Gifu, Shiga, Fukui, and Kyoto prefectures so far. We got to
In a recently published FSA Analytical Note (in Japanese), the authors conducted a fact-finding survey on deposit balances and deposit interest rates at various financial institutions in response to recent interest rate increases. While deposit balances have increased overall, differences in the distribution of deposit balance growth rates by business
Bank of Japan Executive Director Kazushige Kamiyama spoke at the third "Meetup with BoJ", hosted by the FinTech Association of Japan. Introduction Good afternoon, everyone. I am Kamiyama from the Bank of Japan. Thank you very much for this valuable opportunity to speak with all of you who
Mercurity Fintech Holding (MFH), a digital FinTech group, has entered into a strategic partnership with SBI Digital Markets (SBIDM), a subsidiary of SBI Digital Asset Holdings, the digital asset arm of Japan's leading conglomerate SBI Group. The underlying objective of this partnership is to accelerate the adoption of
venture capital
bolttech, the fast-growing global insurtech, announced the addition of Sumitomo Corporation, one of Japan’s largest trading houses, and Iberis Capital, a leading private equity and venture capital manager in Portugal, as strategic investors. Their participation marks the successful close of bolttech’s Series C funding round, with shares acquired
corporate venture capital
EX-Fusion has completed its Series A funding round totaling approximately 2.6 billion yen. This round consisted of 2.3 billion yen in equity financing and 300 million yen in debt financing. EX-Fusion has previously raised 3 billion yen in funding, bringing the total cumulative funding to 5.6 billion
venture capital
SMBC Nikko Securities will make a strategic investment in Fund 3 established by Hashed Venture, a global blockchain-focused venture capital firm. In March 2020, SMBC Nikko Securities established the "Nikko Open Innovation Lab (NOIL)" as a new business development division, and has been exploring new business models that
banking
Sony Financial Group has entered into a license agreement with Peanuts Worldwide LLC regarding the comic "PEANUTS" created by Charles M. Schulz, known for the globally beloved character "Snoopy." This agreement was concluded with the cooperation of Sony Creative Products, which holds the long-term exclusive agent
venture capital
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group, its consolidated subsidiaries MUFG Bank, and Mitsubishi UFJ Trust and Banking, Kodansha and CREDEUS have launched a new initiative for creating Japanese entertainment titles. This initiative is the first of its kind in Japan to bring together financial and Japanese entertainment companies. It aims to create
cards
TOPPAN Security, a global leader in secure identity and payment solutions, has entered into a definitive agreement to acquire dzcard Group, a prominent provider of smart card solutions and personalization services across Asia and Africa. This strategic acquisition immediately positions the TOPPAN Group as the clear leader in the Asian
mergers & acquisitions
SB Payment Service (SBPS), a wholly owned subsidiary of SoftBank and the core of the company's finance business, has signed a capital and business alliance agreement with Nomupay, a company that provides local payment methods and global-standard payment products in the EU and Asia. Pursuant to this agreement,
weekly
Welcome to the one hundred fourteenth edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. Never a dull moment in banking! Deal-making galore, and finally the cash on those balance sheets is put to productive use (rather than stock buy backs and increased dividends, i.e. financial engineering), with the aim of developing
mergers & acquisitions
Dai-ichi Life Holdings and M&G announced a new long-term strategic partnership across asset management and life insurance. 🔹 M&G and Dai-ichi Life HD establish an ambitious long-term strategic partnership 🔹 M&G to become preferred asset management partner for Dai-ichi Life HD in Europe 🔹 Partnership is expected
regulation
Listed companies basically face no restrictions under the current legal framework when conducting pre-meeting disclosure. The Financial Services Agency has curated all relevant documents on a single web page, and the following is the translation of the overview. Financial Instruments and Exchange Act * The deadline for submitting the annual report
broker/dealer
PostPrime's consolidated subsidiary, TakaTrade, has received permission from the Minister of Agriculture, Forestry and Fisheries and the Minister of Economy, Trade and Industry to operate as a commodity futures trading company under the Commodity Futures Trading Act. Additionally, on the same date, the company joined the Japan Commodity
carbon credit
Carbon EX has launched a white label offering for its carbon credit and emissions trading platform, "Carbon EX." This new service enables local governments and regional financial institutions to build their own branded carbon credit trading platforms, helping foster regionally-driven carbon economies and promoting local sustainability. Challenges and