Japan’s SBI Holdings Backs $100M Silicon Valley Fund Led by Former Ripple VP — Targeting AI, Blockchain, and Deep Tech
Summary
SBI Holdings is teaming up with Emi Yoshikawa’s Across Ventures to launch a $100 million fund-of-funds targeting niche U.S. micro VCs. The strategy unlocks structured access for Japanese enterprises to pre-seed and seed-stage startups, especially in AI, blockchain, fintech, and climate tech—markets that have historically been difficult to tap early.
SBI Holdings (TOKYO: 8473) announced on April 14, 2026, that it has initiated a strategic alliance with Across Ventures, a Silicon Valley-based venture capital firm founded by Emi Yoshikawa, former Vice President at Ripple, to form a fund of funds focused on specialized micro VCs in the United States.
The new vehicle, Across Ventures Fund I, L.P., is targeting approximately $100 million in capital and will make diversified investments across micro VCs with deep sector expertise in AI, physical AI, fintech, blockchain, climate tech, health tech, next-generation computing, space, and other deep tech verticals. SBI plans to participate as an anchor limited partner and will contribute deal sourcing, investment review, and access to its broad network of Japanese corporate partners.
The fund addresses a structural gap in cross-border venture capital. The U.S. early-stage market has increasingly bifurcated between mega funds deploying billions and specialized micro VCs writing smaller checks at the pre-seed and seed stages. These smaller funds often develop proprietary deal flow in narrow sectors but remain largely invisible to overseas institutional investors. Across Ventures’ fund-of-funds structure is designed to give Japanese enterprises diversified exposure to this segment without requiring them to source and evaluate individual micro VC managers independently.
For SBI, the alliance deepens an already extensive U.S. startup investment strategy and strengthens a longstanding relationship with the Ripple ecosystem. Yoshikawa’s background at Ripple — where she worked on institutional partnerships and cross-border payments — connects directly to SBI’s own significant involvement with the XRP ecosystem through its subsidiary SBI Ripple Asia.
Beyond capital deployment, SBI intends to use the fund as an intelligence channel, identifying technological and market trends relevant to Japanese enterprises and creating pathways for open innovation and future business collaboration. The company will also work with Across Ventures on certain operational aspects of the fund.
The launch reflects a broader trend of Asian financial institutions seeking earlier and more direct access to Silicon Valley deal flow, particularly as AI and blockchain startups increasingly define the terms of competition across industries. Whether a fund-of-funds model can deliver meaningful returns while also serving a strategic corporate access function will depend on how selectively Across Ventures allocates across an increasingly crowded micro VC landscape.