Q&A with Shinichiro Hori, CEO, Z Venture Capital
Shinichiro Hori is chief executive of Z Venture Capital (ZVC), a vehicle that was created in April 2021 as the result of a union between Line Ventures and YJ Capital, the respective corporate venturing subsidiaries of messaging platform developer Line and Japan-based internet company Yahoo Japan.
Regarding his unit, Hori said: “ZVC is a strategic corporate venture capital (CVC) group, but we aim at both financial return and group synergy. In order to do that, the unit is independent as well as the majority of money comes from Z Holdings.
“Our previous name was YJ Capital, which was the CVC department of Yahoo Japan. After the merger of Yahoo Japan (Z Holdings) and Line (A Holdings), Z Venture Capital was born. From then on, we aim to generate win-win collaborations between startups and Yahoo, Line and other group companies of Z Holdings.”
Z Holdings co-CEO Takeshi Idezawa said: “Co-creation with startups that implement new services and technologies is essential for the continued growth of Z Holdings Group. I have high expectations for Z Venture Capital, which will play a role as the spearhead of Z Holdings’ global business. Please pursue the positive aspects of bringing the two companies – YJ Capital and Line Ventures – together and work hand in hand to become the number one CVC in Asia!”
Z Holdings co-CEO Kentaro Kawabe added: “I hope that all of you at ZVC will scour Japan and the world for ventures, invest in promising companies ahead of time, and bring many future partners to the group. I would like to congratulate you on your new start and wish you great success – let us create the future together!”
Hori noted: “I am personally excited about being a member of ZVC. Not only because ZVC is now the number one CVC in Japan, but also because we have a lot of historic opportunities to change the future of Japan and Asia. Besides we have a huge network of international teams from Japan, Korea, the US and China, so that we are powerful enough to get the best know-how from all over the world. I believe there are no more exciting places than the ZVC in Japan now.”
Examples of notable direct investments from the past 3 years:
– Yappli – invested in its seed stage, then IPO in 2020. Founded by a former Yahoo Japan member.
– Visional – invested in series B, created a joint venture, IPO in 2021.
– Dely – invested in series A. Number one recipe online platform in Japan. Media business of Yahoo Japan, acquired by Trill.
Concerning ecosystem leadership initiatives, Hori said: “We created a paradigm that gives Japanese startups the opportunity to match with Z holdings’ own business units. Through this event, startups can come and pitch, and if there are business leaders who are interested, we can discuss further cooperation with them. On top of that, we can offer the opportunity to work with SoftBank Group. This event accelerates the growth of the startups and develops synergy with the main company.”
Plans for the year ahead: “Investment in Japan In addition to the three areas of commerce, media, and fintech, ZVC will actively invest in the healthcare, cybersecurity and B2B software domains. In particular, ZVC will focus on supporting the continuous growth of its portfolio companies by investing in all stages from seed-stage startups to the middle to late-stage startups that are in the expansion phase of their business. In addition, we will create opportunities for business collaboration between portfolio companies and Z Holdings Group companies, and support the overseas expansion of portfolio companies.
“Global Investment: We will promote investment activities in South Korea, Southeast Asia, the United States and China, and make flexible investments according to the market trends of each country. At first, we will focus our investment activities on the areas of consumer services, e-commerce, fintech, O2O and mobility. In addition, we will explore frontier markets such as the US in the areas of AI, robotics, and deep tech including blockchain, in order to provide support for our portfolio startups to expand into Asia. In addition, we will support the global expansion of businesses in Korea, Japan and other countries.”
For colour, what did you do prior to your venture role or in your spare time?
“I was the general director of Dream Incubator Vietnam from 2007 to 2012, managing $50m private equity funds in Vietnam. Dream Incubator is one of the top consulting firms in Japan.”
