KDDI Corporation today announced the establishment of the "KDDI Open Innovation Fund" (hereafter "the fund"), a corporate venture capital fund that will support promising startup companies. Plans call for a total investment in the fund of 5.0 billion. This is the first corporate venture capital fund established by KDDI.

Through the fund, KDDI will invest in promising startup companies in Japan and overseas. In addition, through cooperative activities, KDDI will support service development, provide platforms for cloud services, and cooperate in promotional initiatives. In this way, KDDI will foster the development of high-quality applications and services and support the growth of startup companies.

Furthermore, the innovative applications and services that are developed through this fund will be provided through "au Smart Pass," KDDI’s cloud-based content service, which is compatible with multiple devices and multiple operating systems. In this way, KDDI will provide customers with new experiences and value that realize the 3M strategy.

The fund will be managed by Global Brain Corporation (Head office: Minato-ku, Tokyo; President and CEO, Yasuhiko Yurimoto), which has a strong track record in the venture capital business. By combining KDDI’s know-how and assets with Global Brain’s investment and management support capabilities, we will work together to accelerate cooperative activities with promising startup companies. Through this fund, as well as "KDDI ∞ Labo," a startup incubation program currently inviting a second round of applications, we will continue to support the growth of the next startup companies.

Overview of Fund

Name (Registered name): KDDI Open Innovation Fund

Period of fund: 10 years until January, 2022 (plan)

Investment target: IT startup companies in Japan and overseas that collaborate with KDDI

Total investment: 5 billion yen (plan)

Managed by: Global Brain Corporation

Overview of KDDI

Company name: KDDI Corporation

Date established: June, 1984

Location: 3-10-10, Iidabashi, Chiyoda-ku, Tokyo , Japan

Representative: Takashi Tanaka (President and CEO)

Business activities: Electrical communication

Overview of Global Brain Corporation

Company name: Global Brain Corporation

Date established: January, 1998

Location: 15F, Kamiyacho MT Bldg, 4-3-20, Toranomon, Minato-ku, Toky

Representative: Yasuhiko Yurimoto (President and CEO)

Business activities: Venture capital business

Global Brain and KDDI Establishes KDDI Open Innovation Fund Its First Corporate Venture Capital Fund