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Japanese translation

Mitsui Invests in E12 Ventures, a US-based Venture Capital Fund

Dec. 19, 2023

Mitsui & Co., Ltd. ("Mitsui", Head Office: Tokyo, President and CEO: Kenichi Hori), together with The Norinchukin Bank (President and CEO: Kazuto Oku), Mitsubishi Pencil Company, Limited (President: Shigehiko Suhara), and Nitto Denko Corporation (President: Hideo Takasaki) (hereinafter collectively "the Limited Partners"), announced its capital commitment to E12 Venture Capital Fund I, L.P. ("E12 Fund I") upon its final closing. The total capital commitment by the Limited Partners is USD 105 million (approximately ¥15 billion). E12 Fund I was formed in November 2022 and is managed by E12 Venture Capital, LLC ("E12 Ventures"), a venture capital firm formed and operated jointly by Mitsui & Co. Global Investment, Inc. ("MGI") and Morado Ventures, LLC ("Morado Ventures"). E12 Fund I invests in promising early-stage startups that are tackling challenges across various global industries.

E12 Ventures is a new joint venture formed through a partnership between MGI, a venture investment subsidiary of Mitsui, and Morado Ventures, a seed-stage venture capital firm with a successful track record across multiple funds, founded in 2010. E12 Ventures manages the fund as the general partner with the sole objective of maximizing financial returns through investment in early-stage startups mainly headquartered in the United States, by leveraging Mitsui's diverse industrial expertise and global network and Morado Ventures' extensive investing experience and entrepreneur-VC connections across the advanced hardware and software technologies field including artificial intelligence and machine learning. The fund's primary investment focuses include Climate Tech, AgTech, FoodTech, Digital Health, and FinTech.

The Limited Partners, with delegates dispatched to the San Francisco Bay Area, will explore ideas for new business opportunities through close collaboration with E12 Ventures in their respective focus areas. Mitsui aims to deepen its venture capital business cultivated through MGI while discovering projects that could evolve Mitsui's business model.

Company Profile

Profile of E12 Ventures

Official name	E12 Venture Capital, LLC
Head Office Location	California, USA
Shareholders	Mitsui & Co. Global Investment, Inc. Morado Ventures, LLC The Norinchukin Bank
Established	2022
Business Activities	Management of investment partnerships
Website	https://www.e12.ventures/

Profile of E12 Fund I

Fund name	E12 Venture Capital Fund I, L.P.
General Partner	E12 Venture Capital, LLC
Limited Partners	Mitsui & Co., Ltd. The Norinchukin Bank Mitsubishi Pencil Company, Limited Nitto Denko Corporation
Formed	November 2022
Term	10 years
Fund size	USD 105 million (Approximately ¥15 billion)

Profile of MGI

Official name	Mitsui & Co. Global Investment, Inc.
Head Office Location	California, USA
Shareholder	Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (100%)
Established	2001
Business Activities	Management of investment partnerships
Website	https://mitsui-global.com/

Profile of Morado Ventures

Official name	Morado Ventures, LLC
Head Office Location	California, USA
Established	2010
Business Activities	Management of investment partnerships
Website	https://www.moradoventures.com/

Primary investment focuses of E12 Fund I

Mitsui’s Materiality

“Build brighter futures, everywhere” as our corporate mission, and to gain the trust and expectations of our stakeholders to realize a better tomorrow for earth and for people around the world, we have identified five material issues (“Materiality”) for Mitsui’s sustainable growth. We anticipate this particular project/ business to contribute especially to the realization of “Enhance quality of life”