GMO VenturePartners Launches GMO Fintech Fund 8 with Approximately JPY 10 Billion in Commitments
— Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, and Others Back GMO Fintech Fund 8, Centered on “Fintech for the AI Era —
GMO VenturePartners,Inc. (Representative Director and President: Kazuyasu Sugiyama; “GMO-VP”), the venture capital arm of GMO Internet Group, has launched its eighth fund, the “GMO Fintech Fund 8Investment Limited Partnership” (“GFF8”).
We are pleased to announce that GFF8 has completed an interim close after securing approximately JPY 10 billion in commitments from financial institutions including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank, as well as corporate investors and GMO Internet Group companies.
The fund has attracted a broad range of investors who recognize GMO-VP’s 20-year track record in cross-border fintech investing and its role as a “bridge connecting the world and Japan.” Investors also include several startups that GMO-VP backed from their early stages and that have since grown into some of Japan’s leading companies. These companies have joined GFF8 as investors in support of the fund’s mission. GFF8 has set a fundraising cap of JPY 12 billion and is continuing to raise capital toward its final close.
GFF8 is designed to capitalize on the ongoing transformation of global finance driven by AI and fintech, and to channel the knowledge, technology, and networks gained at the frontier of this shift back into Japanese businesses and regional economies. The fund aims to make these insights, technologies, and networks available to regional financial institutions facing population decline and the outflow of assets to major urban centers, leasing companies seeking exposure to new asset classes, and corporates interested in finance and fintech.
Investment Theme: Fintech for the AI Era
Following its predecessor fund GFF7 (GMO Fintech Fund 7 LP), GFF8 continues to focus its investment thesis on fintech as it is redefined by AI. Whereas fintech has traditionally centered on the digitization of financial services, GMO-VP believes that core financial functions such as credit underwriting and customer engagement will increasingly be handled by AI, reshaping the flow of capital itself. Trends such as stablecoins, tokenized deposits, and AI-native financial institutions are no longer confined to a handful of advanced markets and are already having a significant impact on Japan’s financial and business environment.
Centered on this theme of fintech for the AI era, GFF8 invests in companies from seed through growth stage, with a particular focus on companies at or near the Series A stage. The fund targets four regions — Japan, India, Southeast Asia, and North America. Since its founding, GMO-VP has continuously invested in fintech across these four regions, building a track record of cross-border investment that includes backing multiple companies that later became unicorns. GFF8 will continue to capture growth opportunities across these four regions by sharing and applying insights across regions.
Key Portfolio Companies and Investment Pipeline
GFF8 has already begun investing in companies that aim to create new markets and financial infrastructure at the intersection of AI and fintech, in areas such as stablecoin infrastructure, AI-agent payment systems, and AI-driven digital transformation across industries. The fund is also strengthening its access to global investment opportunities through partnerships with leading fintech investors worldwide. Current portfolio companies include the following.
10pct., Inc. (Japan): Provides a fully managed hotel operation service powered by software and AI. Rather than simply improving operational efficiency and cutting costs, the company works to raise property revenue by improving hotel operations as a whole — including pricing, sales channels, customer acquisition, and day-to-day management — through a performance-based business model. It has built a track record of improving profitability at a number of properties, including a large hot-spring ryokan in Kyoto.
1Money Co. (United States): The first vertically integrated, full-stack infrastructure company for the stablecoin and real-world-asset lifecycle, spanning a patent-pending Layer-1 blockchain (1Money Network), a licensed orchestration platform for stablecoins and fiat (1Money.com), and white-labeled stablecoin issuance-as-a-service (1Money Issuance). Operating through fully regulated entities and holding more U.S. money-transmitter licenses than most major stablecoin competitors, 1Money pairs traditional-finance rigor with Web3 speed.
Investment in a Silicon Valley-Based, Fintech-Focused VC Fund: GFF8 has also invested in an early-stage, fintech-focused venture capital fund managed by professionals with extensive experience in building and managing fintech businesses, including a veteran of Silicon Valley Bank’s payments division and entrepreneurs who have founded and sold payments startups.
These investments are emblematic of GFF8’s focus on “fintech for the AI era.” Rather than simply digitizing financial services, GFF8 invests in and supports the growth of companies that are using AI and software to rebuild the underlying mechanisms of currency, banking, payments, commerce, and industrial operations.
Support Across Both Equity and Debt
A distinguishing feature of GFF8 is its ability to support portfolio companies through both equity and debt. Working in partnership with the payments and financial infrastructure of the GMO Internet Group, including GMO Payment Gateway, GFF8 accelerates growth in capital-intensive areas such as lending, BNPL, and B2B payments while limiting equity dilution.
GMO-VP’s Track Record: Backing Multiple Unicorns
Since its founding in 2005, GMO-VP has invested in startups in Japan and overseas, with a primary focus on fintech. It has invested in approximately 230 companies to date, of which 21 have listed on stock exchanges in Japan and abroad. Its portfolio has included multiple companies that went on to become unicorns, including the following.
- India: Razorpay
- Indonesia: Kredivo, CODA, Xendit
- North America: Flex and two other companies
GFF7 has set a goal of backing ten future unicorns. With portfolio companies like LayerX, Asuene, and TransBnk (India) growing steadily, GFF8 aims to build on this track record and pipeline to foster the next generation of unicorns.
Ryu Muramatsu, Founding Partner, GMO VenturePartners
“In a challenging investment environment, we are deeply grateful to Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation, Mizuho Bank, and our many other investors for entrusting us with their capital. GMO-VP’s strength lies in the fintech investment expertise we have built over 20 years and our ability to connect Japan with the forefront of global innovation. This time, we were also joined as investors by startups that GMO-VP once backed and that have since grown significantly, who share the mission of this fund. Having them join us in supporting the next generation of entrepreneurs is, for us, a tremendous vote of confidence.”
“AI and fintech will fundamentally rewrite global finance over the next decade. Together with financial institutions and companies across Japan, we hope to bring this global transformation into each region and, in doing so, help create world-class companies.”
Overview of GMO Fintech Fund 8
| Name | GMO Fintech Fund 8Investment Limited Partnership (“GFF8”) |
| General Partners | GMO VenturePartners, Inc.; Ryu Muramatsu |
| Total Commitments | Approximately JPY 10 billion (as of interim close) |
| Fundraising Cap | JPY 12 billion |
| Target Regions | Japan, India, Southeast Asia, North America |
| Primary Investment Focus | Key sectors centered on fintech for the AI era |
| Primary Investment Stage | Seed through growth stage, with a particular focus on companies at or near the Series A stage |
| Investors | Financial institutions including Sumitomo Mitsui Banking Corporation and Mizuho Bank; corporates; several leading startups that grew out of GMO-VP’s portfolio; companies of the GMO Internet Group; and others |
About GMO VenturePartners, Inc.
GMO VenturePartners, Inc., the venture capital arm of GMO Internet Group, has invested in startups in Japan and overseas since its founding in 2005, with a primary focus on fintech. Operating mainly across Japan, India, Southeast Asia, and North America, the company supports the growth of entrepreneurs by drawing on the knowledge and networks of the GMO Internet Group in payments, finance, security, and infrastructure.