corporate venture capital
Daikin Industries has invested in Asuene, a startup company providing services to measure and reduce CO2 emissions, and to support decarbonization and ESG management, by underwriting a capital increase through a third-party allocation of shares. Through this collaboration, the two companies will combine Asuene’s services with Daikin’s energy-saving
corporate venture capital
Sumitomo Life has made an investment in EverEx through its CVC fund "SUMISEI INNOVATION FUND", operated by SBI Investment. Background of the Investment Sumitomo Life aims to provide services that contribute to customers' well-being through WaaS (Well-being as a Service), centered on the Vitality health program that
venture capital
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’
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
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
banking
Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and its consolidated subsidiary, MUFG Bank, have entered into a partnership agreement with Sakana AI, an AI R&D company, and have retained Ren Ito, COO of Sakana AI, as AI Advisor. Under the partnership agreement, MUFG Bank and Sakana AI will establish a
carbon
Sustainable Lab, which provides the platform "TERRAST for Enterprise" to support corporate ESG information disclosure and financial/non-financial data analysis support, has signed an agreement with Tottori Bank to cooperate in helping regional companies achieve ESG and sustainability management. Background of Collaboration Regional companies face unique challenges in
green finance
ASUENE has acquired 100% of the shares of NZero, a US-based climate tech company providing real-time GHG emissions visualization and AI energy management cloud services. In the United States, which is experiencing a policy transition period, the collaboration between NZero, working on balancing energy costs and emissions, and ASUENE will
impact
AgeWellJapan, which operates the "Motto Mate" grandchild companion service and the multi-generational community space "MOTTOBA!", and was part of Plug and Play Japan's InsurTech Batch No. 10, has secured new funding. This round marks the first investment from the "Region, People, and Future
venture capital
Acompany, part of Plug and Play Japan's FinTech Batch No. 6, has completed its Series B round, raising approximately 1.1 billion yen through a third-party allocation of new shares. SBI Investment served as the lead investor, with participation from Globis Capital Partners, Central Japan Innovation Capital, Hiroaki
venture capital
This Sushi Tech panel discussed the theme of "Rethinking Japan's Startup Ecosystem: Priorities for the Next Decade." Moderated by Akio Tanaka, Founding Partner of Headline Asia, the panel consisted of industry experts who offered their perspectives on the current state of Japan's startup landscape,