Sony announces to invest $185 million in companies within high-growth industries

Sony puts its major foot forward in the world of startup investment by announcing an investment of 20 billion JPY (around $185 million) to encourage the growth of tech startups. The new fund aims to invest in firms within “key high-growth industries.”

The new fund called “Innovation Growth Fund” has been initiated in collaboration with other investors. It is a joint initiative with other LPs including Daiwa Capital Holdings (the VC arm of investment bank Daiwa Securities), and the other confirmed investors are Mitsubishi UFJ Lease & Finance Company Limited, Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, andOsaka Shoko Shinkin Bank.

In the company’s last funding initiative, it made more than 40 investments. However, this time it is aiming at a much bigger investment than one which Sony managed by itself. This one is particularly to pay closer attention to the growth of tech startups and help its portfolio companies to emerge as public firms.

The company also plans to establish links with popular research institutions and other tech firms to help its startups flourish.

“We believe that the collaboration of Sony’s insight of cutting-edge technologies and Daiwa Securities Group’s expertise in finance will result in the development of a new kind of venture capital business while providing the spark for new trends in the venture capital ecosystem,” said Yoshihisa Kaneko, Executive Managing Director of Daiwa Securities, in a statement.