Keio Innovation Initiative (KII)

Keio Innovation Initiative (KII) is the venture capital arm of Keio University. It was established on December 17, 2015, with the mission of investing in startups that create innovative new businesses by utilizing university research results, creating new industries, and contributing to the development of society.

It was established with 50 million yen in capital and 50 million yen in capital reserves, with Keio Academic Enterprise Co., Ltd. (a Keio University affiliate) and Nomura Holdings, Inc. contributing 80% and 20% of the investment, respectively. Kotaro Yam岸 (1999, Faculty of Economics), a co-founder of GREE, Inc., serves as the Representative Director and President.

Keio University has long been actively working to create venture companies as part of its exit strategy for research results. It has already supported Keio University-originated ventures from among the many domestic and international patents generated by the School of Medicine, Faculty of Science and Technology, and Shonan Fujisawa Campus (SFC), with several companies successfully going public. With the establishment of KII, the university aims to promote the development of venture companies utilizing Keio University's research results more than ever before and contribute to society. In addition to traditional joint research with large corporations and licensing of intellectual property as outlets for research results, the university seeks to contribute to society by fostering venture companies that utilize university research results themselves.

As for KII's specific activities, it collaborates with the Office for Research Coordination and Administration, which oversees industry-academia-government collaboration at Keio University, to discover seeds within the university that can be commercialized at an early stage. Depending on the content, KII promotes the development of university-originated ventures by establishing venture companies, securing public funding, coordinating joint research and licensing with external venture companies, and making investments through funds.

The No. 1 Fund, totaling approximately 4.5 billion yen, invested in 19 companies, specializing in medical sciences, healthcare, and IT—fields where investment returns can be expected and Keio University's strengths can be utilized. The No. 2 Fund, totaling approximately 6 billion yen, also primarily targets startups that utilize research results to work on social innovation through digital technology and solving issues in medical sciences and health. Plans are in place to invest in approximately 20 to 25 companies, focusing on the seed and early phases through to the later phase.

KII states that it will continue to promote the social implementation of excellent research results from universities and other research institutions that Japan is proud of through investment and development of startups, playing a role in social contribution. At the same time, it aims to ensure high profitability as a venture capital fund and work toward building a sustainable innovation ecosystem (a process that uses scientific knowledge to create new technologies and ideas, making them economically and socially valuable to satisfy social needs).

(Masaaki Sato, President of Keio Academic Enterprise Co., Ltd. and Administrative Project Director of Jukukan-kyoku (Keio Corporate Administration))