Sony And Daiwa Capital Partner Up To Launch New Late-Stage Fund

The world of corporate venture capital is getting more convoluted.

Sony, which maintains a VC arm called the Sony Innovation Fund, has partnered with Daiwa Capital to launch a new VC firm called Innovation Growth Ventures.

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According to the company, the Sony Innovation Fund will continue to invest in seed to early-stage startups; meanwhile, the Innovation Growth Fund run by Innovation Growth Ventures will handle larger follow-on rounds and participate in other late-stage deals in fintech, AI, and robotics. The IGV fund aims to raise $185 million.

The company reports that the Sony Innovation Fund has invested in 43 startups across the globe. Of those 43 startups, Crunchbase has recorded 26 announced investments. In 2019, those deals include a $1.7 million seed round for Tracklib, which sells record samples; a $50 million Series C for DigiLens, an augmented reality startup; and a $6 million Series B for MainStreaming, which offers infrastructure for live video streaming.

The investment activity from Sony Innovation Fund, according to executive vice president Toshimoto Mitomo, will help bolster the Innovation Growth Fund’s investment thesis “based on the experience [Sony] has cultivated through its corporate venture capital activities.”

The Innovation Growth Fund, much like the Sony Innovation Fund, plans to invest across the globe.