UTokyo IPC Decides to Make LP Investment in "KUC No. 2 Investment Limited Partnership"

The Academic Startup Acceleration Fund (hereinafter "ASA Fund"), operated by The University of Tokyo Collaborative Platform Development Co., Ltd. (Location: Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO: Kosuke Ueda; hereinafter "UTokyo IPC"), has decided to make an LP investment in "KUC No. 2 Investment Limited Partnership" (hereinafter "KUC No. 2 Fund"), formed by Kobe University Capital Co., Ltd. (Headquarters: Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture; Representative Director/Managing Partner: Yoshifumi Mizuhara; hereinafter "KUC").

Towards Strengthening the Investment Foundation to Support Deep Tech Creation Originating from Kobe University and the Kobe Region

For the sustainable development of Japan's university-launched startup ecosystem, it is essential to consistently discover excellent research seeds accumulated not only in the Tokyo metropolitan area but also in universities and research institutions in various regions, and to have players who can connect them to commercialization. KUC, backed by the knowledge and human resources of Kobe University, the research and development environment including Kobe Biomedical Innovation Cluster, and the network of the international city of Kobe, has built a system that consistently handles everything from exploring research seeds to supporting entrepreneurship, investment, and growth support, as one of the core entities for deep tech creation in the Kansai region.

UTokyo IPC highly evaluated KUC's approach, particularly its company creation function, which deeply involves itself from before and after founding, promoting commercialization in collaboration with researchers and specialized personnel, and thus decided to make this investment.

Comment from Yoshifumi Mizuhara, Representative Director/Managing Partner, Kobe University Capital Co., Ltd.

KUC (Kobe University Capital) is a university VC that consistently supports deep tech startups from the entrepreneurial stage, leveraging the research seeds held by universities and research institutions, primarily Kobe University, and the regional ecosystem to tackle social issues faced by the world and humanity. With the vision of leading entrepreneurship by working alongside researchers to connect outstanding research results to social implementation and producing unicorn companies from Kobe, we aim to be a catalyst for innovation in Kansai and Western Japan. We are confident that receiving an LP investment in this fund from UTokyo IPC, a leading university-launched startup support organization in Japan, will be a significant boost towards achieving our vision. By linking the university ecosystems of East and West, we believe we can contribute to the further development of Japan's overall deep tech sector.

Through this investment, the ASA Fund will support the initiatives of such regional university VCs and contribute to the expansion of Japan's overall deep tech ecosystem.

ASA Fund Aims to Become a Hub for Creating University-Launched Startups in Japan and Expand the Ecosystem

The ASA Fund aims to address challenges in Japan's university-launched startup ecosystem, further strengthen collaboration with industry, academia, government, and overseas partners, elevate Japan's university-launched startup ecosystem to a world-class level, and contribute to strengthening Japan's industrial competitiveness globally by fostering unicorn startups that can compete worldwide. As part of its specific operations, it primarily invests in and supports university VC funds (fund-of-funds) that invest in and support university-launched startups, in order to unearth abundant technological seeds centered around universities, support their commercialization, and nurture and support startups that can expand globally.

About Kobe University Capital Co., Ltd.

Overview: Venture investment activities and fund management operations for startups originating from universities and research institutions

Established: October 22, 2021

Location: 1-1 Rokkodai-cho, Nada-ku, Kobe City, Hyogo Prefecture

Representative: Yoshifumi Mizuhara, Representative Director/Managing Partner

URL: https://kuc.vc

About The University of Tokyo Collaborative Platform Development Co., Ltd. (UTokyo IPC)

UTokyo IPC engages in activities aimed at strengthening Japan's industrial competitiveness globally by creating world-class startups and building an ecosystem through collaboration with a wide range of stakeholders including universities, corporations, venture capitalists, and government/local authorities.

Established in 2016 as a wholly-owned subsidiary of the University of Tokyo to further develop the venture ecosystem cultivated around the University of Tokyo. As a public-private fund, it invests in over 80 university-related startups and private VC funds both domestically and internationally through two funds. Concurrently, it provides hands-on support including the "Startup Creation Program" to support the commercialization of researchers' technological seeds, operates "1stRound," the largest-scale academia-co-hosted entrepreneurship and growth support program in Japan, and offers human resource support such as "DeepTech Dive." It aims to build a platform that gathers all necessary resources for supporting and nurturing deep tech startups, providing continuous activity support from incubation & acceleration for founding and nurturing, to supplying growth capital through VC fund management.

In 2024, following a public call and selection by the Tokyo Metropolitan Government, it established the Academic Startup Acceleration Fund (ASA Fund). It aims to create a new hub for deep tech startup creation in collaboration with domestic and international partners.

Overview: An investment company aiming to develop an academia-related startup ecosystem

Established: January 2016

Shareholder: National University Corporation The University of Tokyo (100%)

Location: Entrepreneur Lab 261, The University of Tokyo South Research Building, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

Representative: Kosuke Ueda, President and CEO

URL: https://www.utokyo-ipc.co.jp/

【Contact Information】

The University of Tokyo Collaborative Platform Development Co., Ltd.

Entrepreneur Lab 261, The University of Tokyo South Research Building, 7-3-1 Hongo, Bunkyo-ku, Tokyo

TEL: 03-3830-0200 / FAX: 03-3830-0183

Email: info2@utokyo-ipc.co.jp

Contact Person: Masafumi Kawai