Japanet expands its VC fund after bets on Anthropic and xAI pay off
Japanese home shopping company Japanet is expanding its venture capital fund with San Jose-based Pegasus Tech Ventures, following the success of early bets in SpaceX, OpenAI, Anthropic and xAI.The Nagasaki-based retailer known for infomercials targeting seniors in aging Japan will allocate $200 million to the fund, up from an initial $50 million in 2021, following "significant growth” in investments so far, the companies said in a statement.The fund, of which Pegasus is general partner, will focus on areas such as generative AI, robotics and space technology. Its Japan portfolio includes startup Aillis, which seeks to use artificial intelligence to analyze medical scans.Asian companies have struggled to win stakes in promising startups in Silicon Valley, hampered by a lack of personal connections and reputation for slow decision-making. Pegasus also manages startup investments on behalf of Toyota Motor-affiliate Aisin, Japanese chemical maker Denka, Taiwan’s Asustek Computer and Acer and Indonesia’s pharma company Kalbe Farma."Everybody wants a piece of the Silicon Valley AI action,” Pegasus Chief Executive Officer Anis Uzzaman said on a video call. The venture capital firm manages some 40 funds with about $2 billion in total assets and investments in 290 startups including Airbnb, DoorDash and Coinbase, he said. The investments also often yield commercial relationships."For the Asian corporations, it’s an opportunity to invest as well as find new technologies and innovations in aligned fields,” he said. "For the American AI companies, it’s access to new global markets.”
