- TOP
- Media
- ALCONIX's BluePrint
- ALCONIX's Corporate Venture Capital: Driving the Future of Business
ALCONIX's Corporate Venture Capital: Driving the Future of Business
ALCONIX established ALCONIX VENTURES CORPORATION in August 2021, to operate a corporate venture capital (CVC) fund. By Leveraging the Group’s global network and its combined expertise in trading and manufacturing, the CVC aims to create new synergies across businesses.
We spoke with Mr. Kiyama, an Executive Officer at ALCONIX, about how the CVC is building businesses that carry innovation into the future.
Founded with a “Just give it a try” spirit
When the ALCONIX Group launched its CVC, it did so as to discover and handle cutting‑edge products that had yet to reach the market, and to differentiate itself from competitors. In materials industry, novel items of unique functions keep emerging. You can’t bet on every possibility, but unless you place some bets, you risk missing opportunities.
M&A or forming joint ventures are options. But when it comes to high‑novelty materials or technologies without adoption records, startups raise funds at a pace traditional corporate processes struggle to match. To act with agility, the Group launched a separate subsidiary that forms and operates the fund.
The entity uses a dedicated Investment Committee, enabling simple governance and fast decisions. Of course, ALCONIX tries to diligence risks thoroughly, but startup investment can fail. Focusing only on risk can mean missing the upside.
As one director put it at the time: “In short, it’s that ‘Just give it a try’ mindset, isn’t it?” Taking calculated risk to reach for future business—that, we felt, is the essence of business.
* CVC (Corporate Venture Capital) is a method whereby an operating company invests in startups and provides strategic support.
How CVC activities create new businesses
While traditional venture capital primarily targets financial returns, a corporate‑run fund like ALCONIX’s also aims to create new businesses that contribute to the Group’s operating profit.
To that end, the Business Strategy Department (which runs CVC activities) works in tandem with sales divisions to source candidates, share information, and—once invested—to collaborate on marketing and sales support for portfolio companies. Internally, this structure is known as “Team Catapult.” Investment decisions incorporate frontline sales input on product potential and go‑to‑market.
When ALCONIX supports an investee’s sales and helps make its products commercially viable, the startup’s enterprise value rises. That yields investment returns, and at the same time, ALCONIX’s own business grows—a synergy made possible because sales were engaged from the start, even before fund operations.
Looking ahead, we plan to bring in group companies more actively and pursue value creation across the entire ALCONIX Group.
Leveraging group companies — strengthening investments in manufacturing
The CVC primarily targets materials and manufacturing, fields closely aligned with ALCONIX’s core businesses. To date, we have invested in 10 companies, representing just under 40% of committed capital; six of these operate in materials (e.g., Meijo Nano Carbon, Novel Crystal Technology).
We now aim to increase our share of investments in manufacturing, with interest in areas like inspection. For example, parts such as automotive door handles often involve nickel plating on plastic, and thousands are made per day—yet every unit may still be visually inspected by humans before shipment.
That is labor‑intensive, and as Japan's labor shortages deepen, even hiring and training inspectors will be difficult. If we can automate this inspection with AI, we can alleviate the constraint.
There are pitfalls: AI can be too precise, making the NG/OK boundary hard to set. Tolerance for ambiguity remain an area where human judgment is often superior.
Because the ALCONIX Group includes manufacturing companies, we can apply startup technologies to solve real production problems in‑house. That raises productivity (and, in the inspection case, lets us research acceptable thresholds pragmatically).
Such solutions can then be handled as ALCONIX products, opening new business lines beyond traditional trading.
We will continue to invest not only in materials but also in manufacturing‑related startups.
Single‑wall carbon nanotubes manufactured by portfolio company Meijo Nano Carbon.
Co‑creating with startups as a catalyst for talent development
Startup investment isn’t only about capital gains or direct business impact. It also lets younger members work with portfolio companies and experience, firsthand, their speedy growth and the process of going from zero to one.
Witnessing marketing methods, site selection for manufacturing, fundraising, and even management decisions offers stimuli beyond day‑to‑day sales routines. Not everything goes to plan, but those deviations are valuable lessons.
For startups with limited resources, ALCONIX’s strengths—product and market information, marketing capabilities, and global expansion—are compelling reasons to accept investment. And because we have manufacturing group companies, we can provide production cooperation or contract manufacturing, which helps utilize group assets (e.g., improving utilization rates).
Members of Team Catapult.
Backing technology that tackles social issues through CVC
The startups we back via CVC are all pursuing advanced technologies or new approaches. By confronting social issues such as labor shortages and population aging, and by solving them, they deliver convenience and aim to enrich lives—for someone, somewhere, in the future.
Through investment and business collaboration, the ALCONIX Group supports the social deployment of new materials and manufacturing—and strives to deliver real value.
Summary
Through startup investment, CVC creates future business opportunities and enables new value. In our Long‑Term Management Plan 2030, we committed to discovering new “winning patterns” and “solutions.” CVC will likely shoulder a significant part of that ambition. In the landscape Mr. Kiyama sees, startups are active, and showcasing that to ALCONIX and society is one of our missions.
As a cross‑functional initiative spanning divisions and group companies, our CVC embodies the Group’s Purpose/Vision to “connect.”
In the next chapter, we’ll explore the reality of these activities through an interview with Novel Crystal Technology, Inc., one of our portfolio companies.