The Open Innovation Promotion No. 1 Investment Limited Partnership (AOI No. 1 Fund) operated by the University of Tokyo Collaborative Creation Platform Development Co., Ltd. (IPC, University of Tokyo), an investment business company aiming to develop an innovation ecosystem around the University of Tokyo, is an electric vehicle. It has decided to invest 4,200 million yen in Yanekara Co., Ltd., which develops charging and discharging systems.In addition, this investment in Yanekara will be a joint investment with Deepcore Inc., Angel and others.
The AOI No. 1 Fund operated by the University of Tokyo IPC was established in 2020 with the concept of "cultivating and investing in ventures through collaboration between companies and academia" with the aim of promoting open innovation activities around the University of Tokyo.The fund aims to create successful cases of open innovation in new fields by establishing new companies in collaboration with leading companies in each industry, carving out ventures, and investing in ventures that make effective use of their assets.
Yanekara, which has received an investment of 4,200 million yen this time, is for highly expandable commercial vehicles that convert electric vehicles (EVs) into storage batteries as storage equipment, which is an issue for popularizing renewable energy. We are developing an EV charging / discharging system.A young company whose founders are all in their early twenties, the project was launched at the "University of Tokyo Entrepreneur Dojo" sponsored by the University of Tokyo, and the human resources development project "20 Unexplored Advanced Project" implemented by the Information-technology Promotion Agency, Japan. We have been promoting product development with training support.
The University of Tokyo IPC adopted Yanekara at the 2021th "1st Round *" held in January 4, and after supporting the start-up support of the company and the formulation of business plans, the investment was executed this time.
The University of Tokyo IPC will continue to promote academic and academic activities created by academia through various collaborations with venture capital and companies promoting open innovation in order to accelerate the development of the innovation ecosystem around the University of Tokyo and the innovation of the world through it. We will promote the creation, development and investment of ventures that utilize the research results.
* 1st Round is a consortium-type incubation program sponsored by the University of Tokyo IPC, in which leading companies in each industry participate as partner companies.
Reference: [Tokyo University IPC] Decided to invest in Yanekara Co., Ltd.
