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Tuesday, 17 May 2016, 10:21 JST
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Source: Mitsubishi Corporation
Mitsubishi Corporation: Investment Fund Aimed at Silicon Valley Startups Reaches Fundraising Target
Capital to support innovative enterprises and help expand technology in Japan

TOKYO, May 17, 2016 - (JCN Newswire) - Mitsubishi Corporation (MC) is pleased to announce that "Geodesic Capital Fund I" has concluded the final closing with the aggregate investment amount of $335 million. The fund is aimed at providing investment capital for innovative technology startups in Silicon Valley, USA. Geodesic Capital was founded by John V. Roos, a former US Ambassador to Japan and former CEO of Wilson Sonsini Goodrich and Rosati, the leading law firm in the US in the representation of technology, life sciences, and emerging growth companies, Ashvin Bachireddy, former partner of Andreessen Horowitz, a major US venture capital firm, and Mitsubishi Corporation.

Leveraging Ambassador Roos' network in US and Japan business circles and Mr. Bachireddy's investing experience in Silicon Valley, Geodesic Capital provides growth capital to startup ventures with software technologies and business models that drive innovation. In addition to providing capital, Geodesic Capital also has an in-house team dedicated to supporting entry into the Japanese market. Geodesic capital aims to enhance growth and raise corporate value at these enterprises.

In addition to being a lead investor, MC intends to collaborate with Geodesic Capital in its efforts to support entry into the Japanese market by U.S. startup companies and to forge ties between the prominent Japanese corporations who invested in the fund and the Silicon Valley

The fund has invested in a number of ventures since it began raising capital in May 2015, including Snapchat, a mobile application that is the fastest way to share a moment with friends, bitcoin hardware developer 21.Inc, Tanium, a software product that gives the world's largest enterprises and government organizations the unique power to secure, control and manage millions of endpoints in seconds, and Instart Logic, a content delivery network platform which makes application delivery (i.e. websites) fast, secure, and easy. Geodesic Capital will continue to seek out innovative software firms and supporting their growth through investment. In October 2015 and February 2016, the fund began offering a range of business partnership and enterprise services initiatives for Geodesic Capital investees and other leading software companies from the U.S. aimed at the strategic investors in Japan.

"Geodesic" means a measure of the shortest possible distance between two points on a sphere or curved surface, and is representative of the effective ties created between Silicon Valley and Japan through this investment platform. MC will continue to seek inroads into new growth sectors by providing support to enterprises that help transform industry and society through innovation.

Profile of Ambassador John V. Roos

John V. Roos served as United States Ambassador to Japan from August 2009 - August 2013. On Aug. 6, 2010 he became the first sitting U.S. Ambassador ever to attend the commemoration ceremony of the atomic bombing in Hiroshima.

Ambassador Roos' service in Tokyo coincided with the devastating 9.0 earthquake, tsunami, and nuclear crisis on March 11, 2011 when he led the American effort on the ground in support of Japan's response to the disaster. Ambassador Roos also led the creation of the TOMODACHI Initiative that followed U.S. disaster relief efforts.

Ambassador Roos is a Senior Advisor at Centerview Partners, a preeminent mergers & acquisitions advisory firm. Ambassador Roos is a member of the Board of Directors at Salesforce.com and at Sony Corporation and a member of the Global Advisory Board of Mitsubishi UFJ Financial Group.

Previously, Ambassador Roos served as Chief Executive Officer and Senior Partner at Wilson, Sonsini, Goodrich, & Rosati.

Ambassador Roos is a graduate with honors and distinction from Stanford University and from Stanford Law School where he was Order of the Coif.

Profile of Ashvin Bachireddy

Ashvin Bachireddy has over 14 years of venture capital and technology experience. Prior to Geodesic Capital, Mr. Bachireddy was the Head of Growth Stage Investing at Andreessen Horowitz. He was actively involved with Andreessen Horowitz's investments in Facebook, Twitter, Box, Airbnb, and Github.

Prior to Andreessen Horowitz, Mr. Bachireddy was a venture capital investor at Lightspeed Venture Partners, 3i Group and JMI Equity where he was involved with investments at all stages spanning broadly across technology.

Mr. Bachireddy has also performed corporate strategy, operational and business development work as Chief of Staff to the CEO at Coremetrics, a leading web analytics provider. Earlier in his career he was in the investment banking division at Montgomery & Co. and Salomon Smith Barney.

Mr. Bachireddy received a B.S. in Management Science from the University of California at San Diego.

About Geodesic Capital
Fund Name:            Geodesic Capital Fund I, L.P.
Year Established:     February 24, 2015
Investment Strategy:  Providing growth capital and support to start-ups in 
                      Silicon Valley.
Working Balance:      USD 335 million
Investor:             Large Japanese institutional investors and corporations


Contact:
Mitsubishi Corporation
Telephone: +81 3 3210 2171 
Facsimile: +81 3 5252 7705



Topic: Press release summary
Source: Mitsubishi Corporation

Sectors: Daily News
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