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 |
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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 |
Profile of E12 Fund I
Fund name | E12 Venture Capital Fund I, L.P. |
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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. |
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Head Office Location | California, USA |
Shareholder | Mitsui & Co., Ltd. (100%) |
Established | 2001 |
Business Activities | Management of investment partnerships |
Website |
Profile of Morado Ventures
Official name | Morado Ventures, LLC |
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Head Office Location | California, USA |
Established | 2010 |
Business Activities | Management of investment partnerships |
Website |


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”
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Secure sustainable supply of essential products
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Enhance quality of life
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Create an eco-friendly society
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Develop talent leading to value creation
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Build an organization with integrity