TOKYO—MOL PLUS Co., Ltd. (CEO: Takuya Sakamoto; Headquarters: Minato-ku, Tokyo) today announced its intent to invest in the “Global Fund 2 (Note 1)” managed by UntroD Capital Asia Pte. Ltd. (UntroD; Managing Director: Yukihiro Maru, Shoko Suzuki; Headquarters: Singapore) (Note 2).
Global Fund 2 aims to solve social issues by investing in deep tech startups, mainly in the seed stage through Series B. The investment area will focus on startups based in Southeast Asia, but will also cover startups outside the region with high growth potential in Southeast Asia.
Following UntroD’s global Fund 1, MOL PLUS will invest in Fund 2 to strengthen its investment and collaboration with startups in the following fields:
- Deep Tech x Shipping, Logistics, Blue Economy, Environmental Sector
Given that MOL PLUS' investment domains have a high affinity with Deep Tech, MOL PLUS has established a system of collaboration on a medium- to long-term time horizon to provide business support for the practical application of the unique technologies of deep tech startups. - Deep Tech x Southeast Asia
Southeast Asia is one of the world’s fastest-growing economies, and many deep-tech startups have emerged in recent years. Therefore, MOL PLUS has chosen Southeast Asia as one of the regions in which to invest and has also established a desk in Singapore. The MOL Group also has a worldwide network of offices, and MOL PLUS will attempt to further expand opportunities for collaboration within the group through the fund.
MOL PLUS continually works to generate synergetic effects based on startup companies’ innovative ideas and technologies with the MOL Group’s resources through investment in and collaboration with startups, aiming to create new businesses PLUS new value to the ocean shipping industry and society.
(Note 1) Outline
(Note 2) UntroD was established in 2015 to socially implement deep tech startups with innovative technologies that address global and human challenges. Since then, we have been the lead investor providing hands-on support to seed and early-stage startups. To date, we have managed Real Tech Fund 1-4 (domestic funds), Real Tech Global Fund 1-2 (global funds), and Real Tech Growth Fund 1 (domestic fund), with a total management amount exceeding ¥30 billion. In June 2024, we rebranded to “UntroD,” meaning “untrodden,” embodying our commitment to pioneering unexplored territories to prove their economic viability, thereby creating a sustainable system where capital and talent continue to flow.
Website: https://untrod.inc/en/
For further information, please contact:
MOL PLUS (website: https://en.molplus.net/)
Tel: +81-3-3587-7643/Email: molplus@molgroup.com