Living Lab Ventures Launches Japan Thematic Fund to Boost Cross-Border Innovation
- ByStartupStory | November 6, 2025
Living Lab Ventures (LLV), the corporate venture capital arm of Sinar Mas Land, in partnership with Spiral Ventures, has launched a Japan Thematic Fund aimed at strengthening business growth and innovation ties between Japan and Southeast Asia, with Indonesia as a key market. The fund reached its first close following a memorandum of understanding signing in BSD City, Indonesia, in November 2025.
The initiative seeks to ease market entry and scaling challenges for Japanese companies expanding into Southeast Asia, as well as for Southeast Asian startups aiming to access Japan. By combining capital investment with market access support, distribution networks, and localization services, the fund acts as a cross-border platform facilitating sustainable growth and partnerships.
Key strategic investors backing the fund include the Cool Japan Fund—a government-backed entity promoting the global expansion of Japanese consumer and cultural assets—alongside Bank Danamon (part of MUFG Group), Rohto Pharmaceutical, Advasa, Culture Convenience Club (operator of Tsutaya bookstores), and Sinar Mas Land itself as a cornerstone limited partner.
Living Lab Ventures plans to leverage BSD City’s development as a pilot environment and innovation hub where startups can test products and services before broader market expansion throughout Indonesia and the region. This approach embodies a staged commercialization and corporate pilot philosophy, focusing on long-term partnership building rather than rapid scaling.
The fund represents LLV’s third thematic fund, complementing its existing offerings such as the Urban Gateway Fund, which targets smart city technologies, mobility, AI, and omnichannel retail. This Japan Thematic Fund underscores the strategic importance of bridging innovative ecosystems between Japan and Southeast Asia to unlock new business models and social impact.
Executives from LLV and Spiral Ventures highlighted that the fund exemplifies true integration by combining Japan’s technological precision and cultural excellence with Southeast Asia’s entrepreneurial energy and dynamism. The collaboration aims to foster sustainable innovation and prosperity across borders.
In summary, the Japan Thematic Fund launched by Living Lab Ventures and Spiral Ventures offers a significant platform for enhancing bilateral startup collaboration, catalyzing investment and market access, and strengthening Japan-Southeast Asia economic ties through innovation and technology.
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