New Year Message and Strategy for 2023
Our entire team will work together focusing on the new strategy announced at the annual GBAF event to make 2023 another year of remarkable growth.
Written by Yasuhiko Yurimoto
Happy New Year. This is Yasuhiko Yurimoto, President & CEO of Global Brain (GB).
In 2022, we saw another year of record-high deal counts and deal value, with capital gain exceeding JPY 10 billion (USD 69.0 million). We also started managing two new CVC funds, and the AUM is now over JPY 200 billion (USD 1.4 billion).
We will strive to make 2023 another year of significant growth, focusing on the following strategies I explained at the annual GBAF event.
1. Investment Strategy Considering Sector and Region
While post-money valuation at each stage is increasing around the globe, market capitalization at the time of IPO in Japan is low at about USD 60 million, making it necessary to invest overseas to generate higher returns.
GB has 10 offices in 9 countries, which enables us to flexibly formulate strategies based on information from each office. Based on various factors including the startup ecosystem landscape, expertise of venture capitalists in each region, macroeconomy and future forecasts, science policy in each country, and VC trends, we predict which region and sector will perform best and select priority sectors and regions to invest in.
We would like to particularly invest in startups located in regions that are expected to perform better in sectors that are expected to grow globally including life science / healthcare devices and climate tech.
2. Fundraising Linked to Investment Strategy
In view of macroeconomic information, firsthand local information, and future forecasts, we plan to give variety to our fund types as with the investment strategies based on the combination of sector, region, stage, and CVC.
For example, we will seek diversity in funds such as flagship funds for specific regions/stages and CVC funds of overseas corporations to deliver high performance with repeatability.
3. Enhancing Hands-on Support
GB offers a diverse menu of support services. In recent years we have further strengthened our team to support portfolio companies in growing their businesses.
We have a Value Up Team that supports leading startups in Japan, a Biz Dev Team that helps startups in achieving PMF with a focus on supporting their sales to large companies, and a wide range of experts in IP, recruitment, PR, IR, etc. to offer support tailored to each portfolio company’s issues and needs.
In 2023, we plan to recruit more members to build the best support team in the world.
4. Enhancing Support for CVCs
Large corporations play an important role in the startup ecosystem these days, with CVC-related deal value accounting for as much as 50% of global investment and 60% of investment in Japan.
GB manages 11 CVCs and is currently working to form new CVC funds, with a plan to expand the support structure.
In 2022, we launched the CVC Support team, a structure to support the corporations in managing their CVCs, ranging from fund formation to performance measurement. We will pursue our efforts to create an environment for focusing on CVC investment activities, including system development for streamlining CVC operations.
5. Revitalizing Local Communities
Regional development is also vital for the growth of the overall Japanese economy. We would like to help startups grow by increasing location choices for starting a business and by discovering new technologies and businesses that emerge from local regions.
As a foothold, we are planning to open a new office this year in the Kansai area (western Japan). In addition to closely communicating with our business partners in Kansai, we will contribute to the revitalization of the local economy through fostering deeper understanding, building new networks, etc.
6. Strengthening Organizational Structure and Pursuing ESG Management
In order to accelerate global investment, we have established three headquarters in Japan, Singapore, and Europe. In 2022, we acquired a VC license in Singapore to invest in overseas startups. Going forward, we will further encourage investment in overseas startups to diversify our investment activities.
In addition, GB is pursuing ESG management as the industry leader. We are already working on startups’ ESG implementation and awareness building according to their stages, and we hope to establish an impact investment fund in the future.
In times like the current declining market conditions, the power of startups is needed the most. This year, GB will continue to actively pursue investment activities as the industry leader, and our entire team will work together to become a top global VC firm both in name and reality. We look forward to working with you in 2023.