SOMPO : Launch of a Corporate Venture Capital Fund(PDF/147KB)

July 12, 2017

Sompo Holdings, Inc.

Launch of a Corporate Venture Capital Fund

Sompo Holdings, Inc. (Kengo Sakurada, Group CEO and President; hereinafter "Sompo Holdings") announced today that its subsidiary Sompo Japan Nipponkoa Insurance Inc. (Keiji Nishizawa, President; hereinafter, "SJNK") has completed setting up a corporate venture capital fund (hereinafter, the "CVC Fund") to focus on startup companies centering on Silicon Valley in the U.S. The move is intended to accelerate the Group's digital strategy, a key to achieving its mid-term management plan.

1. Background and Objectives

   • In April 2016, Sompo Holdings and SJNK established the Digital Strategy Planning Department in each company and SOMPO Digital Lab in Tokyo and Silicon Valley. To create new customer value with the capacity the two companies are promoting a digital strategy including information gathering and research surveys relating to the world's leading digital technologies.

   • The two companies have been expanding their investments into digital technologies since 2016, strengthening access to leading Silicon Valley startups. As a result of these investments, rapid development of many proofs of concepts and collaborations with startups are now in progress.

   • With the CVC Fund under the Sompo name, the two companies aim to achieve further penetration of the Sompo brand within the global digital community, including Silicon Valley, and to strengthen its networks with leading startups, which will result in further acceleration of the digital strategy.

   • The two companies aim to create new products and services with the highest quality and usability and to transform their business model through innovative operation streamlining. At the same time, they will extend the knowledge and results acquired through these efforts not only to the domestic P&C insurance business but also to the domestic life insurance business, nursing care and health care business and overseas insurance business, aiming to become a world-leading digitally advanced enterprise.

2. Overview of the CVC Fund

   • Name: TransLink Capital Patners (SOMPO) I, L.P.

   • Objective: Investment in promising startup companies engaged in digital-related

     businesses globally but primarily in U.S.

   • Date of establishment: July 5, 2017

   • Fund size: $40 million (approx. ¥4.4 billion), expandable up to $80 million

   • Manager: TransLink Capital, L.L.C.* (Venture capital business)

   • Capital relationships: Capital contribution into the fund from SJNK

   * Management of CVC Fund is entrusted to TransLink Capital, L.L.C. (Headquartered in California, U.S.A.; hereinafter "TransLink"), which has a solid track record as a venture capital firm in Silicon Valley. TransLink sources investment opportunities, executes investment transactions and implements post-investment support for the startups.

3. Outlook

Through these activities, Sompo Holdings and SJNK will quickly capture the digitalization trend and promote research and development that contributes to the innovation of products and services across the Group, aiming to realize better security, health and wellbeing of customers.