Establishment of UMI III Decarbonization Investment Limited Partnership

On January 1 of this year, Universal Materials Incubator Co., Ltd. (UMI) established the UMI III Decarbonization Investment Limited Partnership (the “UMI Decarbonization Fund”), with a promised investment of more than 1.7 billion Japanese yen, and implemented an initial cutoff. The promised investment scale is scheduled to be expanded to more than 3 billion Japanese yen.
The material and chemical industries overwhelm other industries in terms of the ratio of shipment amounts and added value as part of the manufacturing industry overall. Up to now, Japanese companies have brought about many innovations in this field, supporting the growth and development of other industries as well. These industries have longer R&D cycles than other industries, however, and also require substantial capital to support these R&D operations, as well as human resources with specialized knowledge to undertake these activities. As such, these industries face challenges in terms of the difficulty in creating new business and matching promising technologies and businesses in the embryonic stage from large corporations, venture companies, and academia with optimum partners.

To resolve these issues, UMI started up the UMI I Investment Limited Partnership (UMI I Fund; the first managed fund) in January 2016, and established the UMI II Investment Limited Partnership (UMI II Fund) in April 2019. Up to now, it has investigated close to 1,000 projects, with the UMI I Fund investing in 12 and the UMI II Fund investing in 17. The greatest issue surrounding the creation of business in the material and chemical industries is the substantial capital required from product development through to the production engineering stage. In this context, UMI provides appropriate risk money and offers hands-on management support. Furthermore, in the volume production stage, it promotes active collaborations to ensure that venture companies can effectively utilize the resources of large corporations.

UMI established the UMI III Investment Limited Partnership (UMI III Fund) in October 2022, and continues its activities aimed at establishing a platform for the creation of new business in the material and chemical industries, actively supporting business creation by serving as a receptacle for new businesses and outstanding technologies at major corporations, academia, and venture companies in the material and chemical industries. UMI has established the UMI Decarbonization Fund as a sister fund to the UMI III Fund with the goal of strengthening investments in technologies and businesses in the decarbonization field, where many of the key solutions incorporate material and chemical technologies, and creating innovations that transcend the boundaries of industry by encouraging participation by business companies outside of the material and chemical industries as well. In June 2021, UMI became a signatory to the United Nations Principles for Responsible Investment (UN PRI), and in the case of the UMI III and UMI Decarbonization Funds, it promotes investment activities with attention to ESG issues. UMI strives to create new business on a global scale, with a particular focus on Japan and other parts of Asia.

At this time, we would like to sincerely thank the many parties involved who contributed to the establishment of the UMI Decarbonization Fund, and ask for your kind support of UMI in the future.

UMI Ⅲ Decarbonization Investment Limited Partnership
Location: 1-12-22 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan
General Partner (GP): UMI III Decarbonization Limited Partnership
Established: January 1, 2023
Total Commitment: 1,710 million JPY (calls scheduled to continue until the end of March 2024)
Goals: To invest in and foster venture companies in the decarbonization field as part of the material and chemical industries
Investors (as of first deadline):
Sankyu Inc.
SANYO TRADING CO., LTD.
SHIMIZU CORPORATION
Shinsho Corporation
DBJ Development Bank of Japan
5 companies; random order

Universal Materials Incubator Co., Ltd. (UMI)
Location: 1-12-22 Tsukiji, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0045, Japan
Representative Director: Shosuke Kiba
Establish: Oct 6, 2015
UMI invests in outstanding new technologies and businesses in the fields of materials and chemicals that form the foundations for future industry, originating from both Japanese companies and academia, based on the vision of “Strengthening Japan’s engineering capabilities and cultivating an industry structure that can compete globally, by fostering outstanding material/chemical companies.”
https://www.umi.co.jp/en/