FUNDINNO and Okasan Securities Strengthen Capital and Business Alliance to Expand Unlisted Stock Investment Opportunities via 'FUNDINNO PLUS+'

FUNDINNO Inc. (Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo; CEOs: Yuki Shibahara / Manabu Oura; Type I Financial Instruments Business Operator, Kanto Local Finance Bureau (Kinsho) No. 2957; hereinafter "the Company") has agreed to further strengthen its capital and business alliance with Okasan Securities Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Chuo-ku, Tokyo; President: Yoshihiro Ikeda; hereinafter "Okasan Securities"). The companies have signed a memorandum of understanding to promote support for funding unlisted companies and to provide new investment opportunities for investors.

Through this strengthened collaboration, both companies aim to combine their respective strengths to further contribute to the development of Japan's startup ecosystem.

■ Background and Purpose

Since the capital and business alliance in March 2022, the Company and Okasan Securities have leveraged their mutual expertise and networks to promote collaboration aimed at facilitating capital supply to domestic unlisted companies.

Recently, against the backdrop of the government's "Five-Year Startup Development Plan," the funding needs of unlisted companies have become larger and more diverse. Meanwhile, on the investor side, there is a rapidly growing appetite for investing in "unlisted stocks" as an alternative asset class in addition to traditional assets (listed stocks, bonds, etc.), with increasing demand for portfolio diversification. To respond swiftly to these changes in the market environment, we have agreed to fundamentally strengthen our existing collaborative framework.

■ Specific Initiatives

The following initiatives will be launched and expanded sequentially:

• Providing Investment Opportunities via 'FUNDINNO PLUS+'
  We will establish a framework to introduce 'FUNDINNO PLUS+' and 'FUNDINNO MARKET PLUS+'*, which specialize in large-scale fundraising, to Okasan Securities' Private Banking (PB) clients. This will allow us to offer investment opportunities in carefully selected unlisted companies, utilizing systems such as the Japan Investment Securities System (J-Ships).

*FUNDINNO Launches 'FUNDINNO MARKET PLUS+', a Secondary Exchange for Unlisted Stocks for Professionals. (https://prtimes.jp/main/html/rd/p/000000287.000021941.html)

• Collaboration in Sourcing (Deal Discovery)