UMI has become a LP in Yissum's $7m Racah Nano Venture Fund as part of an alliance aimed at bringing advanced materials and nanotechnology applications to the Japan.
Hebrew University of Jerusalem (HUJ)’s tech transfer office, Yissum, teamed up with materials and chemicals-focused venture fund Universal Materials Incubator (UMI) today to build links between its spinouts and Japan-based corporates.
As part of the partnership, UMI has invested in the Yissum-run Racah Nano Venture Fund, which was founded earlier in 2019 and has so far raised more than $7m to inject into HUJ’s advanced materials and nanotechnology ecosystem.
The collaboration will also aim to grow the international presence of both parties, creating joint investment opportunities in its target segments.
Formed in 2015, UMI has raised ¥16.5bn ($150m) to invest in and create materials and chemicals-focuses businesses with the goal of furthering what it regards as Japan’s traditional strengths in the area.
The fund works from its Tokyo headquarters in partnership with Japanese universities and corporates, and will enlist the latter to bring HUJ technologies to the Japanese market.
Itzik Goldwaser, senior vice-president of business development and alliance management at Yissum, said: “The partnership with UMI advances Yissum’s efforts to bring HUJ innovations to global markets and furthers our international strategy of global outreach that already includes similar partnerships in China and South America.”
Shosuke Kiba, chief investment officer of UMI, added: “Through this collaboration, we aim to strengthen our network in Israel and improve our position as a new business creation platform in the materials and chemical industries in Japan.
“Israel is a global leader in the startup ecosystem and one of our top international targets for finding investment projects that contribute to the development of the Japanese materials and chemical industries.”
