March 31, 2011
- GMO VenturePartners
March 31, 2011
Press Release
GMO VenturePartners, Inc.
GMO VenturePartners Unveils Japan’s First F-commerce Venture Fund
Tokyo – March 31, 2011 – GMO Internet Group venture capital company GMO Venture Partners today established a new venture capital investment fund, the Social Ad & Commerce Technology Fund for social network (Facebook etc.) advertising and ecommerce related technology.
Also today, the fund made its first investment in Aratana, Inc, developer of Social Gateway, Japan's largest Facebook commerce cart service, implemented on 1,100 websites.
Initially the fund is contributed to by GMO VenturePartners Investment Limited Partnership and GMO AD Partners, Inc. however broad participation is expected from outside parties expanding the fund to up to JPY2 billion.
Background
Facebook has over 640 million users and is the most widely used social media network worldwide. Figures in Japan show that the site has over 2.5 million users and receives around 6 million visitors each month. (facebakers.com 2-month survey by Nielsen). Going forward it is expected that Facebook will play an increasingly significant role in business marketing activities. Outside Japan, major online stores, retailers and high-profile artists have all set up Facebook pages (formerly Facebook fan page) to interact with the public. It is believed that approximately 70% of companies in the US have established Facebook pages. In Japan too we are beginning to see a number of organizations using Facebook pages, from television stations to well known brands.
F-commerce, ecommerce on Facebook, is also recently gaining popularity. Taking advantage of Facebook’s social graph to provide users with information based on their purchase history and likes, improving conversion rate (CVR) through use of the “Like” button and other systems for communication between users, and increasing website traffic through viral marketing, we are already seeing examples of successful f-commerce strategies. In the US a similar venture capital fund investing in the development of social applications and services, sFund (US$250 million) has also been established.
However, in Japan there has been a dramatic fall in the number of companies going public, and a significant year-on-year drop in venture capital investment, and as a result there is a lack of capital being invested in growth industries.
Following social applications, GMO Venture Partners recognizes f-commerce and social commerce as leading growth markets, and believes it is the right time to provide investment capital to accelerate growth in the industry. For this reason we have established the fund to provide investment capital and support for the development of social media advertising and ecommerce technology. We also expect the fund to attract more investment to the industry.
GMO Payment Gateway has also invested in Aratana, providing payment processing and social commerce support.
Social Ad & Commerce Technology Fund Fund Overview
Fund Name | Social Ad & Commerce Technology Fund  |
Governing Law | Civil Code – Association (Nini Kumiai) |
Established | March 31, 2011 |
Term | 10 years |
Fund Size | JPY57 million at time of establishment Maximum JPY2 billion |
Managing Partner | GMO VenturePartners, Inc. |
General Partners (Investors) | GMO VenturePartners Investment Limited Partnership, GMO AD Partners, Inc. GMO AD Holdings, Inc. *at time of establishment |
Strategy Advisor | Sakuragaoka Seisakusho, Inc. |
Investment | Social network (Facebook etc.) advertising, ecommerce social advertising, social commerce related technology ventures or related services and technology. Unlisted companies with mid-to-long term growth potential that have the ability to impact the Japanese advertising and ecommerce industries and that have the potential to expand globally. |
Role of Each Company
GMO VenturePartners, Inc. | Fund management, selection of investments, management support after investment |
GMO AD Partners, Inc. GMO AD Holdings, Inc. | Social ad related research, technology sharing, possible business partnerships |
Sakuragaoka Seisakusho, Inc. | Facebook related research, technology sharing, possible business partnerships |
GMO VenturePartners, Inc.
GMO Internet Group’s venture capital business specializing in net ventures.
Managing two funds totaling JPY2.3 billion, activities include supporting business establishment, incubation, and early stage investment through to late stage investment. Invested in a total of 35 companies including CLICK Securities (GMO CLICK Securities from April 1), Lockon, and Kauli as well as four public companies including major Chinese net venture Qhoo360 listed on the new York stock exchange on March 30.
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Media Inquiries
GMO VenturePartners, Inc.
E-mail: [email protected]
GMO Internet Group
Email: [email protected]
GMO Internet Group is a leading force in the Internet industry offering one of the most comprehensive ranges of Internet services worldwide. The group is the top provider of domain registration, web hosting, ecommerce, and payment processing solutions in Japan and operates a host of other Internet services including global online security services, search engine marketing and online securities trading. At the center of the group is GMO Internet, Inc. (TSE: 9449) headquartered in Tokyo, Japan.
GMO VenturePartners, Inc.
Company Name | GMO VenturePartners Inc. http://www.gmo-vp.com/ |
Location | Cerulean Tower, 26-1 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya ku, Tokyo, JAPAN |
CEO | Masatoshi Kumagai |
Business Description | Venture capital fund management |
Capital | JPY 210 million |
GMO Internet Inc.
Company Name | GMO Internet Inc. http://www.gmo.jp/en (TSE First Section Code: 9449) |
Location | Cerulean Tower, 26-1 Sakuragaokacho, Shibuya ku, Tokyo, JAPAN |
CEO | Masatoshi Kumagai |
Business Description | -Web Infrastructure & Ecommerce -Internet Media -Internet Securities |
Capital | JPY 2 billion |