SMBC Venture Capital

SMBC Venture Capital Co., Ltd. is the private equity and venture capital division of Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, focusing on growth capital and buyout investments. Established in 2005 and headquartered in Tokyo, with an additional office in Osaka, the firm invests across various sectors, including information technology, life sciences, services, and manufacturing. By leveraging its parent company's extensive financial services background, SMBC Venture Capital aims to support the development of innovative companies and foster growth within diverse industries.

Akihiko Fujieda

Executive Officer

Daiji Furuta

Managing Director

Makoto Nakamura

Executive Officer

Akira Ochiai

CEO

Hiroya Ota

Director

Ishibashi Tatsushi

President and CEO

Masahiro Yamaguchi

Executive MD

Past deals in TMT

matsuri technologies

Series C in 2022
Matsuri Technologies, founded in 2016 and based in Tokyo, Japan, specializes in developing innovative solutions for the vacation rental market. The company offers a vacation rental tool designed to assist in the management and promotion of various rental properties, including company-owned houses and short-term rentals. One of its key products, m2m Systems, serves as an Airbnb management platform that enables business operators to efficiently manage their listings, communicate with guests, automate check-ins, and provide customer service. By collaborating with real estate brokerages, Matsuri Technologies aims to enhance the rental experience and streamline operations for property owners and managers.

Modulus Co., Ltd.

Series B in 2020
Modulus Discovery is a private Tokyo-based preclinical stage drug discovery company focused on rapid design and generation of small molecule clinical candidates for a range of high-value disease targets through the use of its cutting-edge computational drug discovery expertise and unique biology insights. The international team at Modulus is comprised of drug design and disease biology experts with previous R&D experience at global pharmaceutical, biotechnology , and computational technology firms.

Cytlimic

Series B in 2019
CYTLIMIC is a biotechnology company developing immunotherapy products for the treatment of cancer, including a cancer peptide vaccine. CYTLIMIC’s products aim to activate immune systems to attack cancer cells while enabling patients to maintain a high quality-of-life during treatment.

Momotaro-Gene

Venture Round in 2019
Momotaro-Gene Inc., a biotechology company, develops tumor-suppressor genes for cancer treatment. It offers reduced expression in immortalized cells (REIC) for cancer therapeutic gene and interleukin (I L-12) for cancer immunostimulant. The company was founded in 2007 and is based in Okayama, Japan.

Timetree

Venture Round in 2018
TimeTree, Inc., founded in 2014 and based in Shinjuku, Japan, develops a calendar-sharing application aimed at helping families and groups manage their schedules effectively. The application allows users to share calendars with various groups, facilitating communication and collaboration among family members, partners, friends, and colleagues. Users can coordinate events through a single calendar while having the option to create multiple calendars. Additionally, the platform enables users to post schedule messages and photos via links and email, making it easier to accommodate events based on individual interests and availability. TimeTree's focus is on organizing busy lives and fostering connections through shared scheduling.

JTOWER

Venture Round in 2018
JTOWER Inc. is a Tokyo-based company that specializes in infrastructure sharing services in Japan. Founded in June 2012, the firm focuses on designing and constructing information communication infrastructure, developing communications-related solutions, and providing various information communications services. JTOWER offers a range of products, including in-building infrastructure sharing, cloud-managed Wi-Fi services, and outdoor tower sharing. The company's services cater to landlords, mobile network operators, and local 5G needs, along with site locator systems. As a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, JTOWER plays a crucial role in enhancing communication infrastructure across the region.

TL Genomics

Venture Round in 2018
TL Genomics Co., Ltd., founded in 2015 and based in Tokyo, Japan, specializes in DNA testing services. The company has developed a unique prenatal diagnosis technology that isolates fetal nucleated red blood cells from maternal blood. This innovative approach allows for the examination of the fetal genome, facilitating noninvasive and definitive diagnosis of fetal chromosomal diseases early in pregnancy. Through its advanced techniques, TL Genomics aims to enhance prenatal care by providing accurate and timely genetic information.

JTOWER

Venture Round in 2018
JTOWER Inc. is a Tokyo-based company that specializes in infrastructure sharing services in Japan. Founded in June 2012, the firm focuses on designing and constructing information communication infrastructure, developing communications-related solutions, and providing various information communications services. JTOWER offers a range of products, including in-building infrastructure sharing, cloud-managed Wi-Fi services, and outdoor tower sharing. The company's services cater to landlords, mobile network operators, and local 5G needs, along with site locator systems. As a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, JTOWER plays a crucial role in enhancing communication infrastructure across the region.

Moneytree

Series B in 2017
Moneytree is a fintech data platform, with a mission to bring people and institutions closer together, help them find balance and discover new opportunities to grow personal wealth. Moneytree's first product, a personal finance app for iOS released in 2013, won the App Store’s “Best of” award for iPhone in Japan after only 8 months in market. It went on to win Best of 2014 for iPad, was one of 10 Apple Watch apps featured pre-launch and a featured iMessage app on the launch of iOS 10. Moneytree has over 1,300,000 users on iOS, Android and web. Our proprietary data aggregation platform, Moneytree LINK, has almost twenty enterprise clients, including Japan’s two largest accounting software vendors, an industry first inbound API with Mizuho Bank, an SDK integration SMBC (Mitsui Sumitomo) and multiple regional banks in Japan.

ZenmuTech

Venture Round in 2017
ZenmuTech, Inc. specializes in providing thin client environments primarily for local governments, financial institutions, and the education sector. The company offers a range of solutions, including thin client devices for server-based computing, tools to convert traditional PCs into thin clients, and a security product called ZENMU, which safeguards data on notebooks and PCs from unauthorized access. Additionally, ZenmuTech provides consultation services for implementing thin client infrastructure, develops a virtualized USB management system, and creates embedded operating systems tailored for thin clients. Founded in 2014 and based in Tokyo, Japan, ZenmuTech also focuses on security solutions that utilize advanced encryption and secret sharing technologies to protect sensitive information from potential leaks and theft.

Cytlimic

Series A in 2016
CYTLIMIC is a biotechnology company developing immunotherapy products for the treatment of cancer, including a cancer peptide vaccine. CYTLIMIC’s products aim to activate immune systems to attack cancer cells while enabling patients to maintain a high quality-of-life during treatment.

Timetree

Seed Round in 2016
TimeTree, Inc., founded in 2014 and based in Shinjuku, Japan, develops a calendar-sharing application aimed at helping families and groups manage their schedules effectively. The application allows users to share calendars with various groups, facilitating communication and collaboration among family members, partners, friends, and colleagues. Users can coordinate events through a single calendar while having the option to create multiple calendars. Additionally, the platform enables users to post schedule messages and photos via links and email, making it easier to accommodate events based on individual interests and availability. TimeTree's focus is on organizing busy lives and fostering connections through shared scheduling.

Matrixome

Venture Round in 2016
Matrixome Inc researches, develops, and supplies protein based pharmaceutical preparations. Its products includes iMAtrix-221, substrate for purification and maintenance of cardiomycytes; iMatrix-441 for induction of endothelial progenitor cells for iPS cells; and iMatrix-511, recombinant human laminin-511 E8 fragment for cell culture. The company was incorporated in 2015 and is based in Osaka, Japan.

Moneytree

Series A in 2015
Moneytree is a fintech data platform, with a mission to bring people and institutions closer together, help them find balance and discover new opportunities to grow personal wealth. Moneytree's first product, a personal finance app for iOS released in 2013, won the App Store’s “Best of” award for iPhone in Japan after only 8 months in market. It went on to win Best of 2014 for iPad, was one of 10 Apple Watch apps featured pre-launch and a featured iMessage app on the launch of iOS 10. Moneytree has over 1,300,000 users on iOS, Android and web. Our proprietary data aggregation platform, Moneytree LINK, has almost twenty enterprise clients, including Japan’s two largest accounting software vendors, an industry first inbound API with Mizuho Bank, an SDK integration SMBC (Mitsui Sumitomo) and multiple regional banks in Japan.

JTOWER

Venture Round in 2014
JTOWER Inc. is a Tokyo-based company that specializes in infrastructure sharing services in Japan. Founded in June 2012, the firm focuses on designing and constructing information communication infrastructure, developing communications-related solutions, and providing various information communications services. JTOWER offers a range of products, including in-building infrastructure sharing, cloud-managed Wi-Fi services, and outdoor tower sharing. The company's services cater to landlords, mobile network operators, and local 5G needs, along with site locator systems. As a subsidiary of Nippon Telegraph and Telephone Corporation, JTOWER plays a crucial role in enhancing communication infrastructure across the region.

MonotaRO Co., Ltd.

Venture Round in 2003
MonotaRO Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates an online MRO products store in Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, and internationally. It offers products for manufacturing, construction, and automotive industries. The company was formerly known as Sumisho Grainger Co., Ltd. and changed its name to MonotaRO Co., Ltd. in February 2006. MonotaRO Co., Ltd. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Amagasaki, Japan.

MonotaRO Co., Ltd.

Venture Round in 2002
MonotaRO Co., Ltd., together with its subsidiaries, operates an online MRO products store in Japan, Korea, China, Indonesia, and internationally. It offers products for manufacturing, construction, and automotive industries. The company was formerly known as Sumisho Grainger Co., Ltd. and changed its name to MonotaRO Co., Ltd. in February 2006. MonotaRO Co., Ltd. was founded in 2000 and is headquartered in Amagasaki, Japan.