UMI completes strategic partnership agreement with ITRI (Taiwan)

On January 1, 2020, Universal Materials Incubator Co., Ltd. (UMI), a venture capital company specializing in the material and chemical industries, completed a strategic partnership agreement with the Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) in Taiwan.

UMI has been working to strengthen relationships with overseas entities through the UMI II Investment Limited Partnership, which was established in April 2019. Taiwan is positioned as a country with advanced manufacturing capabilities, mainly in the electronics industry, and is home to some of the world’s top companies demonstrating strengths in their global networks. Japan has many seed technologies in the electronics field, but from the perspective of product creation and social implementation, there is a growing need for collaborations with companies not only in Japan but in Taiwan and other countries as well. We therefore decided to build a strategic partnership with ITRI, which has laid the foundations for Taiwan’s current technology platform as an advanced manufacturing nation, to promote collaborations with Taiwanese companies that contribute to the development of Japan’s material and chemical industries.

In this way, we will promote collaborations in electronics-related fields between Taiwanese companies with global networks and Japanese venture companies and SMEs, as well as large corporations with new technologies in the material and chemical fields, striving for social implementation on a global scale.

Through these activities, UMI will generate synergy in the strengths of Taiwan and Japan to promote the further development of both countries, and to strengthen Japan’s position as a platform for the creation of new business in the material and chemical industries.

Lee Tzong-Ming, General Director of the Material and Chemical Research Laboratories, Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) (right) and Seiichi Tsukioka, Representative Director, Universal Materials Incubator Co., Ltd. (left)

About Industrial Technology Research Institute (ITRI) Taiwan
Established in 1973. Conducts research targeting industrial technologies in three fields: Smart life, healthcare, and sustainable environments. It has acquired more than 28,000 patents, and provided more than 18,000 technical services, acting as a foundation for the current electronics industry in Taiwan. Its mission is to contribute to society through the commercialization of innovations and ground-breaking technologies aimed at resolving global issues. It has established more than 600 spinoff companies, and has given birth to numerous global corporations, including Taiwan Semiconductor Manufacturing Company (TSMC) and United Microelectronics Corporation (UMC).
https://www.itri.org.tw/

About Universal Materials Incubator Co., Ltd. (UMI)
Location：8-1 Akashi-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0044, Japan
Representative Director: Seiichi Tsukioka
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/

About UMI Ⅱ Investment Limited Partnership
Location：8-1 Akashi-cho, Chuo-ku, Tokyo 104-0044, Japan
Administrative member : Universal Materials Incubator Co., Ltd.
Formed: April 1, 2019
Total Commitment: 7.51 billion JPY (as of January 2020)
Goal of formation : To invest in and foster venture companies in the materials and chemical industries
Investors: Materials and chemical companies listed on the 1st Section of the Tokyo Stock Exchange (12 companies) and financial institutions(3 companies)