Arkray’s Kyoto office
Arkray, a Japanese company developing products that focus on diabetes testing and urinalysis, has launched a corporate venture capital (CVC) business through an affiliate in Singapore.
Named Arkray 4U, the JPY10 billion (US$87 million) fund aims to support startups in the healthcare and related sectors in Japan, Southeast Asia, India and Israel. Its goal is to invest in and support healthcare startups that can utilise the parent company’s assets/resources to scale and grow.
“We will invest in what we term the broader healthcare sector. For example, digital healthcare, medtech, biotech, AI, IoT medical devices, cloud pharmacies, medical diagnostics, personal wellness & self-care, pet-tech, medical and functional foodtech. Granted, functional foodtech is not exactly healthcare. Still, there is some relevance due to the close correlation between food and health,” according to Wei Cong SEAH, Senior Investment Associate (CVC) at Arkray.
The fund doesn’t have a minimum cheque size but it may invest up to JPY 300 million (US$2.6M) per company. It anticipates investing in a “fair number” of startups and is already conducting due diligence with a few.
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Arkray 4U will provide extensive support for the growth of innovative businesses and technologies through tangible and intangible business assets owned by the Arkray Group worldwide. It uses global business assets to support startup companies’ rapid growth and accelerate their services through tangible and intangible business assets owned by the group worldwide.
According to the healthcare company, technological innovation is accelerating in the medical industry with the introduction of new testing methods and improved convenience using AI and digitisation. However, many startups seeking to develop innovative technologies and services must select and concentrate management resources for various reasons.
Arkray is a diabetes testing company that developed a “simple” glucose meter in 1970. Since then, it has provided diabetes treatment and guidance and improved patients’ QOL by developing a device that automates the measurement of HbA1c (haemoglobin A1c). The firm has 46 offices in 18 countries around the world, providing products to more than 80 countries and regions.
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