Hitachi raises new $300m AI and Web3-focused fund

Hitachi Ventures has raised a new $300m fund, doubling its financial firepower to $600m. Keiji Kojima, the president and chief executive of Hitachi, singled out AI and Web3 as among the key technologies for the new fund to focus on.

“Hitachi began its corporate venture activities in 2019 as a means of quickly identifying innovations in the digital domain globally,” Kojima said in a press release. “The newly established third fund will realise collaborative creation with startups that have cutting-edge technologies such as Web3 and generative AI technologies.” 

The Japanese conglomerate produces a wide range of products, from telecommunications equipment and software to industrial machinery and power grid equipment. The Hitachi Ventures unit was founded in 2019, under the leadership of Stefan Gabriel, managing director and chief executive, to accelerate the pace at which Hitachi can discover new technologies.

Gabriel told Global Corporate Venturing that Hitachi Ventures has a strong focus on creating collaboration projects between Hitachi and the startups it invests in. It has more than 80 collaborations up and running. A 10-person collaboration projects team is in place specifically to help create these joint projects.

“HV adds value to portfolio companies by supporting collaboration and strategic dialogue with Hitachi’s businesses globally, through which we gained a strong reputation in the market,” he said.

The new Fund III is the largest so far by the unit. It follows a previous $150m fund raised in October 2021. Hitachi remains the sole limited partner in the fund.

Gabriel said the venture team would remain highly disciplined and selective over investments despite the new firepower. The 20-person Hitachi Ventures investment team has a highly strategic focus, looking for startups at the series A, B and C stage, mature enough for collaboration with Hitachi. They typically invest between €1m and €5m in a startup, with follow-on funding of up to €20m. The team makes around 10 investments each year.