Start of call for investors for UMI III Investment Limited Partnership and UMI III Decarbonization Investment Limited Partnership

Universal Materials Incubator Co., Ltd. (“UMI”; Managing Partner: Shosuke Kiba), a venture capital company specializing in the material and chemical industries, is pleased to announce that it has initiated a call for investors for the UMI III Investment Limited Partnership (UMI III Fund) and the UMI III Decarbonization Investment Limited Partnership (UMI Decarbonization Fund; a sister fund to the UMI III Fund). The final total fund amount is scheduled to be 23 billion Japanese yen, including 20 billion yen for the UMI III Fund and 3 billion yen for the UMI Decarbonization Fund.
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 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 more than 900 projects, with the UMI I Fund investing in 12 and the UMI II Fund investing in 13. 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.

Following up on the UMI I and UMI II Funds, the goal of the UMI III Fund is to establish a platform for the creation of new business in the material and chemical industries, focusing on new businesses and outstanding technologies at major corporations, academia, and venture companies in the material and chemical industries, and actively supporting business creation by serving as a receptacle for those businesses and technologies. In the case of the UMI III Fund, we started up the UMI Decarbonization Fund as a sister 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 promoting 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.

About UMI Ⅲ Investment Limited Partnership（UMI Ⅲ Fund）
Establishment：September 1, 2022
Scale of Fund：Up to 20 billion yen
Term：Ten years/may be extended for 2 years
Investment Stage：Companies with businesses that meet Stage 2-3
Investment fields: Businesses in the environment and energy*, food/agriculture, life science, electronics/information, and mobility fields using material and chemical technologies as a source of competitiveness, and shared platform technologies related to the development of the material and chemical fields.
*Parallel investments in investment projects as part of the UMI Decarbonization Fund (a sister fund)

About UMI Ⅲ Decarbonization Investment Limited Partnership（UMI Decarbonization Fund）
Establishment：September 1, 2022
Scale of Fund：3 billion yen (no maximum limit)
Term：Ten years/may be extended for 2 years
Investment Stage：Companies with businesses that meet Stage 2-3
Investment fields: Businesses in the environment and energy fields using material and chemical technologies as a source of competitiveness.

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/

These materials were created for information purposes, and are not intended to invite or apply for transactions of any kind.