Yahoo Japan Kicks In $20M To SoftBank Capital's Investment Fund To Promote US Startups In Japan

SoftBank Capital, the investment arm of Japan’s SoftBank Corp (TYO:9984), is receiving $20 million from Yahoo Japan Corp. (PINK:YAHOY) for its capital investment fund aimed at attracting and developing U.S. startups in Japan.

“Yahoo Japan is making a big effort to expand our venture capital impact in the United States, and we are firmly committed to helping companies at all growth stages get into the Japanese market,” Toshiaki Chiku, who will be head of U.S. operations in Manhattan, said.

The $20 million will complement the $250 million PrinceVille Investments L.P. fund announced in February that was created to help entrepreneurs set up shop in the challenging markets of Japan and China. SoftBank Capital has been involved in bringing U.S. companies to the Japanese market since 1995. More recent successful exits for the fund in the U.S. include AOL Inc.’s (NYSE:AOL) acquisition of the Huffington Post news and news-aggregation site in February 2011.

The Japanese unit of Yahoo Inc. (Nasdaq:YHOO) is the product of a joint partnership with SoftBank Corp., a leading Tokyo-based Internet and mobile communication company with global operations.