08/09/2023 (Japan) - A subsidiary of Japan's Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group had recently launched a 20 billion yen ($136 million) fund, primarily directed at overseas startups. The fund, managed by MUFG Innovation Partners (MUIP), specifically focused on generative artificial intelligence technology that could benefit the group's banking unit.
MUIP's mission was to identify fintech-related businesses in countries like the U.S. and Israel, with the aim of advancing financial services development through generative AI. Collaborating with foreign banks under the group's umbrella, including Thailand's Bank of Ayudhya and Indonesia's Bank Danamon, they encouraged corporate clients to embrace technologies from the fund's portfolio.
This newly established fund aimed to provide capital support to burgeoning businesses, particularly as rising global interest rates increased fundraising challenges. MUIP, in operation since 2019, had already established several funds, including one specialized in Indonesian startups.
Having invested in over 40 companies to date, MUIP's 2022 investments exceeded 10 billion yen, more than double the 2021 total. Notably, an investment in Liquidity Capital led to a strategic partnership between MUFG and the Israeli startup for an AI-driven lending venture.
Major Japanese banks were actively investing in startups to leverage emerging technologies, with MUFG expressing readiness to invest approximately 570 billion yen groupwide, inclusive of its banking unit. Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corp. had set up a fund in Singapore focusing on Asian startups, while Mizuho Financial Group had launched a new company in April, managing around 10 billion yen in capital.