Singapore-based venture capital firms IMC Ventures and Signal Ventures, together with corporate arm of Japanese shipping heavyweight Mitsui O.S.K. Lines, Ltd. (MOL), MOL PLUS have decided to invest in the Motion Ventures Fund established by a Singapore shipping start-up company.
Three new maritime and supply chain industry leaders have joined the corporate consortium driving Motion Ventures’ $30M investment fund to expand the corporate consortium’s geographic reach to Japan and Greece, and introduces fresh strategic capital to startups. The corporate investors include MOL PLUS – the corporate venture arm of Japanese shipping conglomerate Mitsui OSK Lines, .
Rainmaking launches Motion Ventures to boost innovation in the maritime industry
From left to right: Rainmaking co-founder Michael Pomerleau, Rainmaking director Shaun Hon and Wilhelmsen vice president of open innovation Nakul Malhotra. Image Credits: Rainmaking
A new fund has launched, with backing from the Singaporean government, to support tech innovation for the maritime industry. Called Motion Ventures, it is targeting $30 million SGD (about $22.8 million USD) and has completed its first close, with Wilhelmsen, one of the world’s largest maritime networks, and logistics company HHLA as anchor investors.
Motion Ventures was launched by Rainmaking, the venture building and investment firm that runs accelerator program Startupbootcamp, and will jointly invest in startups with SEEDS Capital, the investment arm of government agency Enterprise Singapore.