Mitsui & Co.

What they do

Mitsui & Co. (U.S.A.), Inc. is a wholly-owned subsidiary of Mitsui & Co., Ltd., one of the world's most diversified trading, investment, and service enterprises. While traditionally focused on import/export and supply chain logistics, Mitsui USA has evolved into a major strategic investor. The firm is uniquely positioned in the market due to its ability to fund companies across their entire lifecycle-from Seed/Series A rounds via its dedicated venture arm (E12 Ventures) to massive, multi-billion-dollar project finance and infrastructure deals directly off the corporate balance sheet. In late 2022/2023, Mitsui shifted its early-stage venture strategy by partnering with seed-stage firm Morado Ventures to launch a new joint venture called E12 Ventures.

What they look for

Mitsui's overarching thesis is to invest in businesses that secure global supply chains, drive industrial innovation, and accelerate the energy transition. For its early-stage venture arm (E12 Ventures), the thesis is to invest in "entrepreneurs with unique expertise working on hard technological problems" that are poised to disrupt legacy industries through machine intelligence, data infrastructure, and automation.

Stage

Seed, Series A, Series B+

Sectors

Climate, AI, Healthcare, Food and agriculture, Fintech, Mobility and logistics, Deeptech, SaaS

Based

New York, US