Tokyo, January 11, 2019 — MUFG announced today the establishment of MUFG Innovation Partners Co., Ltd. (“MUIP”) that will manage corporate venture capital funds of MUFG to accelerate open innovation and strengthening partnerships with FinTech related startups.
The financial services industry is being transformed by FinTech related startups that have scaled up rapidly and have raised substantial amounts of capital from financial and non-financial institutions.
While the MUFG Group entities have previously made separate strategic investments in FinTech related startups, a larger, collaborative and more sophisticated framework for strategic investments is needed by MUFG in order to adapt itself to rapid marketplace changes and enhance open innovation.
MUIP will launch a JPY 20 billion fund backed by commitments from the MUFG Group entities, and will promote strategic investments in FinTech related startups and business synergies between MUFG and such startups.
MUIP will take advantage of “The Investment Specialized Subsidiary” status under the Japanese Banking Act, which allows MUIP to acquire more than 5% ownerships of investees under certain conditions.
Regarding the team development, MUIP has hired venture capitalists and other professionals who have wide experiences of working with and investing in Japanese and global startups to establish a high capability of global open innovation.
Additionally, MUIP is committed to maximizing its portfolio startups’ enterprise value by providing knowhow and leveraging the global network of MUFG
Corporate overview
Name：MUFG Innovation Partners Co., Ltd
Date of Establishment：January 4, 2019 Headquarters 1-6-1 Otemachi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo
Capital：JPY 500 million
Representative：Nobutake Suzuki
Shareholder：MUFG 100%
Overview of the fund Name：MUFG Innovation Partners No.1 Investment Partnership
Planned Date of Establishment：2nd half of January, 2019
Commitment amount：JPY 20billion
General Partner：MUIP Limited Partners the MUFG Group entities 100%
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