venture capital
Vertex Ventures Japan (VVJ) has completed the first closing of its inaugural fund, Vertex Ventures Japan Fund I (“VVJFI”), targeting JPY 10bn. This milestone was achieved with the participation of LP investors representing key sectors across industry, government, and academia, with the support of government institutions. VVJ will commence investments
venture capital
Funding Societies | Modalku, the largest SME digital finance platform in Southeast Asia, has announced a strategic equity investment from Gobi Partners, an Asia-focused venture capital firm. This investment underscores strong investor confidence in Funding Societies' business model, resilience, and commitment to bridging the region's SME credit gap,
trading
Bloomo Securities, which provides a US stock investment app, has raised a total of 2 billion yen in a Series A round through a third-party allocation of shares to Global Brain, ANRI, Spiral Capital, Portage Ventures, MUFG Innovation Partners, Angle Bridge, Sumitomo Corporation Venture & Innovation, and Scrum Ventures. This
weekly
Welcome to the one hundred third edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. The Bank of Japan meets for its Monetary Policy Meeting this week. The consensus is for no change in the policy rate. The Nikkei reports real wages down 1.8% in January, the first time in negative territory
venture capital
Neobank Zolve, focused on cross-border financial solutions, has raised USD 251 million in equity and debt financing. The Series B round was led by Creaegis and saw participation from HSBC, SBI Investment, GMO Venture Partners, DG Daiwa Ventures, and existing investors Accel, Lightspeed Venture Partners, Sparta Group, and DST Global.
corporate venture capital
MUFG Innovation Partners (MUIP), the corporate venture capital arm and a wholly owned subsidiary of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG), has recently invested in Auxia through the MUFG Innovation Partners No. 3 Investment Partnership. The USD 23.5m Series A round was led by VMG Technology Partners, with participation from
weekly
Welcome to the one hundred second edition of the Japan FinTech Observer. A big thank you to everyone who made it to Tokyo for the core of Japan Fintech Week 2025, and especially those who joined us for our meetup on Monday, the most international participation we have ever had!
venture capital
MPower Partners have established the "WPower Fund," Japan's first fund 100% dedicated to supporting startups founded by women and those offering services and products that contribute to women's advancement, with the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, MUFG Bank, Mitsubishi Estate, and Shionogi & Co. as Limited
venture capital
Incubate Fund has formed a new "IFLP Fund 3." 1. IFLP Fund "IFLP" has grown as Japan's only model aiming to maximize networking opportunities between individual GPs of independent seed funds and LPs. It continues to develop with a focus on building strong communities
venture capital
Akari Hosho, which provides lifetime support and identity guarantee services for the elderly in compliance with national guidelines together with a group of trusted professionals such as lawyers, judicial scriveners, and care managers, has raised 80 million yen in funds through a third-party allotment of new shares, with underwriters including
venture capital
Fin Capital, a global asset manager specializing in B2B FinTech, will establish a formal presence in Asia, opening an office in Tokyo as its Asia headquarters. Tokyo was selected based on Fin Capital’s strong relationships with Japanese institutions, and the country’s robust and globally respected financial services ecosystem.
Insurance
InsuranceDekho raised USD 70m in its latest funding round, co-led by Beams Fintech Fund alongside Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group (MUFG) and insurer BNP Paribas Cardif, which participated through its InsurTech fund managed by European investment firm Eurazeo. This latest funding round comes about a year and a half after InsuranceDekho