NEW YORK AND TOKYO — (PR Web) — SIP Global Partners (SIP), a US-Japan headquartered VC firm, today announced the first close of $75M of commitments for its debut fund, targeting $150M in total commitments.  SIP invests in breakout early-stage US technology companies and supports their expansion across Asia.  To date, SIP has made five investments for its debut fund.

SIP was built to unlock value at the intersection of emerging US technology companies and overwhelming demand for Asian market access. While the US has the most active startup ecosystem in the world, it still only comprises 4% of the global population. SIP provides US startups a unique entry point to scalable market opportunities in Asia, starting with Japan.  

“The opportunity for US startups in Asia is enormous, with Japan often becoming their #1 foreign market,” said Shigeki Saitoh, SIP Global Partners Co-Founder and Managing Partner. “It’s no longer axiomatic that a US startup waits until a Series C or D round to enter Asia markets. In fact, we see as early as US seed stage startups already in Asia, and over 90% of our pipeline is expanding or actively considering expansion.”

SIP’s cross-border ecosystem across the US and Asia drives access to the fastest-growing companies in the US.  Its teams’ deep experience of building global companies over the past several decades helps accelerate market expansion for its portfolio companies in Asia. To date, SIP has both led rounds and been brought in by leading VCs for Asia market access.

“We’ve dedicated our careers to US-Asia cross-border business as operators and investors, and we’ve only seen this demand for Asia market access grow over the last several years,” said Jeffrey Smith, SIP Global Partners General Partner.

SIP was launched by four veteran operators and investors:

• ShigekiSaitoh (Tokyo) brings a long track record of growing US technology companies in Japan, including involvement with Netscape’s, Amazon’s, Infoseek’s and Charles Schwab’s market entry. He has also led innovative Japanese tech companies, including Digital Garage (Representative Director, TYO: 4819), and incubated Kakaku.com (TYO: 2371).  He was formerly the director of the Japan Venture Capital Association.

• Justin Turkat (Tokyo) has helped lead investments in high profile Japanese technology companies, including Royal Gate (Board Member, acquired by Daiwa House Group (TYO: 1925) and iSpace (the largest Series A round in Japan’s history at time of investment). He has also driven Japan market entry for US startups (including Flashpoint and GlassView).

• Jeffrey Smith (Boston) has been a CEO and principal of 12+ public and private technology companies across the US, EU and Asia. Notable exits include GENSYM (NASDAQ: GNSM) and Flight Landata (acquired by KEYW Corp., NASDAQ: KEYW).

• Matthew Salloway (NY, GCC) has served as the CEO of a top-tier global family office for five years and led direct and fund investments in venture capital, often with a strategic market expansion focus into the Middle East.

The firm’s debut fund invests in companies poised for large scale growth in Asia across three key themes: Creativity (AR/XR, Synthetic media, Web-based platforms), Productivity (AI/ML, Edge Computing/IoT, Semiconductors) and Safety (Digital health, Information security).

SIP has invested in five US tech startups alongside top-tier co-investors, featuring a serial unicorn founder, a startup incubated by the “Father of the Personal Computer” and a world-renowned chip and game designer.

“Our integrated team sources a highly targeted pipeline in the US as we assess significant market demand in Asia. We then conduct due diligence of US startups and add value post investment on a local and global scale by leveraging our network of end users across the US and Asia,” said Matthew Salloway, SIP Global Partners Co-Founder and Managing Partner.

SIP’s portfolio includes: Fable, a web-based, full-stack motion design tool; Croquet, an ultra- low latency, collaboration platform; Tilt Five, an AR platform set to revolutionize gaming; Parallel Wireless, a next-generation O-RAN technology company; and KINETIC, an industrial IoT technology focused on workplace safety and productivity.

“One of the most unique advantages of partnering with SIP is they can accelerate our worldwide expansion, especially into strategic markets in Asia,” said KINETIC CEO and Co-Founder Haytham Elhawary. “We selected SIP as a strategic investor because of their Asia market expansion capability, as well as their operational expertise, knowledge and insight.”

“We’re very excited about our initial portfolio and look forward to supporting our startups as a trusted in partner in the US and Asia,” said Justin Turkat, SIP Global Partners Co-Founder and Managing Partner.  “Though international travel is limited today due to the COVID-19 pandemic, opportunities in Asia persist, and we look forward to helping companies unlock those opportunities.”

About SIP Global Partners
SIP Global Partners invests in transformative US technology startups poised for large scale growth in Asia.  SIP leverages its dual-headquarters in the US and Japan, its principals’ 40-year history of building global companies and unique market access to accelerate growth for portfolio companies in Asia, including Japan, ASEAN and the GCC.  For more information, visit sipgp.com.

Press Contact
Mia Carbonell, mia@sipgp.com