Fenox Venture Capital and Sega Sammy Holdings have jointly announced a USD20 million venture capital fund to invest in advanced technologies globally.
Fenox Venture Capital is an international venture capital firm with headquarters in Silicon Valley. Sega Sammy Holdings INC, is a Japanese general entertainment company group engaged in a range of businesses, including digital games, amusement machines, toys, animation production and resort facility development.
The purpose of the fund, for which Fenox Venture Capital acts as General Partner, is to contribute to Sega Sammy’s innovation and growth by investing in startups with the potential for strategic synergy with Sega Sammy’s businesses. The Fenox model is to pursue strategic value through partnerships with startups, and financial return for its corporate Limited Partners, while providing growth capital and business development opportunities for its portfolio companies.
Sega Sammy and Fenox Venture Capital began their partnership three years ago when Fenox became General Partner of a new private fund designed to fulfil the corporate venture capital function for Sega Sammy. Over the years, Fenox has invested in several companies in the United States, Japan and elsewhere on behalf of Sega Sammy.
Some prominent investments include: Affectiva, which is an emotion recognition AI software from MIT; X.ai, which offers an AI personal assistant that helps with scheduling; QC Ware, which provides quantum computer software for the next generation of enterprise computing; and D-ID, an Israel startup that graduated from the well-known incubator Y Combinator.
In addition, Fenox and Sega Sammy are collaborating on a new co-working space in Tokyo, established at the new office of Sumitomo Real Estate in Osaki Garden Tower. The building has been the headquarters of Sega Sammy Group and Fenox Japan since September 2018. The co-working space is intended to expand the reach and impact of Fenox and Sega Sammy in the Japanese startup ecosystem.
Haruki Satomi, President and Group COO of Sega Sammy, says: “We have been investing in the world’s top startups with Fenox Venture Capital for three years. We are delighted to expand the scale of the fund and increase our investments in cutting edge technologies around the world, helping us to strengthen our business activities on a global scale.”
Anis Uzzaman, CEO and General Partner of Fenox Venture Capital, says: “We are honoured by the confidence Sega Sammy has shown in Fenox by expanding this fund. We will continue to uncover major technology trends and fund advanced technology companies that can contribute to Sega Sammy’s growth.”
