UMI completes collaborative partnership agreement with SOURCING BROTHERS to strengthen support for startup growth in the material and chemical fields

Universal Materials Incubator Co., Ltd. (UMI), a venture capital company specializing in the material and chemical industries, has completed a collaborative partnership agreement with SOURCING BROTHERS Co. Ltd. The goal of this partnership is to create Japanese innovations aimed at supporting the growth of startups in the material and chemical fields, and strengthening exit strategies.

SOURCING BROTHERS promotes open innovations, DX, and the creation of new business at business companies through corporate venture capital (CVC) support, based on the vision of “Updating Japan.” It also supports M&As involving startups and recruiting in keeping with the needs of startup companies.

Through this collaborative partnership agreement, as part of UMI’s growth support for startups targeted for investments, CVC networks and business companies in SOURCING BROTHERS’ CVC support business will be introduced to promote collaborations that will tie into cooperation, investments, and capital tie-ups.

Furthermore, as part of exit strategies for startups targeted by UMI’s investments, the two companies will collaborate in introductions and research involving candidates for acquisition through SOURCING BROTHERS’ startup M&A support business. In this way, we will increase cases of startup M&As involving large corporations, which are still comparatively rare in Japan, and contribute to Japanese innovations.

SOURCING BROTHERS Co. Ltd.
Location：1-11-30 Nagata-cho, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo 100-0014, Japan
Co-founder：Sota Ozawa, Shotaro Watanabe
Establish：2019
Based on the vision of “Updating Japan,” SOURCING BROTHERS undertakes the innovation platform business, which involves CVC investments in business companies, supporting increased value for startups, and supporting exits through M&As.
https://sbro.co.jp/

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/